Taft (Siltetz River) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’ve got a look at the Siltetz River mouth here at Taft for the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, the outlook is a grind. It’s mostly a waiting game for a few windows that might be worth a paddle, but nothing is screaming "go now." The first real surf we see is on Wednesday, July 15th, but it’s small and messy. We’ve got a tiny 3ft swell from the WNW with a short 10-second period, but a cross-onshore breeze from the NNW is chopping it right up. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so it’s not a shock to the system.

We sit through a few more days of marginal, choppy junk. The wind stays cross or cross-onshore through the week, and the swell is either too small or too wind-affected. Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th are write-offs for any real quality.

The first glimmer of something decent pops up on Saturday, July 18th. The swell bumps up to 5ft from the NW, but the period drops to 10 seconds and the wind is still cross-shore from the NNW at 12 mph. It’s got some moderate energy behind it, but it’s going to be a bit of a bumpy, cross-chop mess. This is more of a "check the tide and hope for a lull" kind of day.

Monday, July 20th afternoon is the standout. The wind swings light out of the west and goes glassy. The swell holds at 5ft from the NW, and the energy is still moderate. For a river mouth, that glassy window is what you’re looking for. The waves will be clean and rideable, but with that 9-second period, it’s a short-period swell. It’s a good, solid session for an intermediate surfer, and it’s the best on offer in the whole outlook. The crowds here are *sometimes* an issue, so on a Monday afternoon, you might have it manageable.

After that, it’s a long, dry spell. The wind stays onshore or cross-shore for most of the next week, and the swell quality drops right off. There are some pulses of size around the 5ft mark at the end of July (the 27th and 28th), but the wind is always a problem, and the period is short and weak. For the second week, the only faint hope is a couple of marginal sessions, but the wind is just too messy to get excited about. The 27th of July has a 5ft NW swell with a 10-second period, but the wind is cross-shore, so it’s a chop-fest.

If you’re a kite surfer, the afternoons from the 18th onwards with consistent 12-15 mph cross-shore winds and 5ft+ chop will be a playground. For paddle surfing, it’s a one-day window: Monday, July 20th, afternoon. Go then or don’t go at all.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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