Apalachicola · United States

2.5

💧 Water should clear by Thursday (~1d)

visibility1m

Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding. 💧 Water should clear by Thursday (~1d)

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 06:22

Sources & confidence

Sources: IPMA · NDBC buoys · Copernicus Marine
Method: Model consensus, read per window
Freshness: Re-read every hour, per coast

Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine

The verdict comes from seven water factors and hard safety gates — not ten tabs. Go or stay.

How we score the water

Our own model

Our own forecast engine — not a third-party widget. It weighs these water factors into one go-or-stay verdict for this coast; the 0–10 dial is that verdict, read out as a number.

Swell & wave memory: Height, period and direction of the swell, plus the wake of recent storms — an old storm still stirs the water, and the engine remembers.
Wind & gusts: Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
Tide phase: Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
Water temperature: Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
Currents & outflow: Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
Rain runoff & air clarity: Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
Coast shape & exposure: How the coast faces the swell — a sheltered cove keeps the water clean; an exposed, head-on point takes a penalty.

Safety gates

Thunderstorm forecast — an instant red, no exceptions.
An official warning (MeteoAlarm / IPMA) — yellow, or red for the higher ranks.
Missing input data — a would-be green is capped to yellow rather than overstated.
Strong disagreement between forecast models — a green day is pulled back to yellow.
Night hours — forced red; the window is closed after dark.

It all folds into a single 0–10 score and one verdict: go or stay.

A forecast, not a guarantee — the sea has the last word.

Where to get in, where to hunt

Entry points with coordinates

Seabed relief — promising ground

This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code — point your camera

0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app

calmupdated 06:22

Apalachicola — solo, off the rocks

DON'T GO

don't go · wave 1.7 m (occasionally up to ~3.5 m)

wave 1.7 m head-onwind 26, gusts 51 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m

today, best window 06:00–09:00

fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 29.4°C

confidence low · verdict for the selected day

Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.

Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.

Selected day

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

The day is picked above, in the hero. Here are that day's windows, the hour-by-hour map and the trends. Tap a window to break down the conditions.

Wednesday · today2026-07-22

06:53–20:39 · first quarter

▼ 00:00▲ 06:00▼ 17:00 · 0.5 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide0.01 m

Wave1.14 m

Wind16 km/h

Water30 °C

fish activity: moonset 01:11 · moderate · moon underfoot 08:10 · high · moonrise 15:13 · moderate · moon overhead 20:30 · high

Conditions window06:00–09:00

don't go fish

Hs 1.74 mperiod 6.8 s head-onwind 26→51surge 2.3viz 1 m

1.74 mup to ~3.48 · 219° head-on

6.8 sswell moderate

26→51gusts 51 km/h

2.3pounding the rocks

0.17m/s

1 mrecent swell

29.4°C5 mm + hood

▼17:00tide turn near

Atmosphere18 kmlandmarks visible

highmoon underfoot

wave 1.7 m (occasionally up to ~3.5 m)
steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
ebb — weaker inshore

confidence lowtwilight

Open the seafloor map with entry points

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

−10 m

The water column

Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.

What it is

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

spearo.app folds wind, wave, swell period, visibility, tides, water temperature and risk into a single verdict — go to the spot or not. It computes 7 days ahead from open marine models (Open-Meteo, IPMA), with no sign-up and no accounts. Built for solo spearfishing off the rocks, where any mistake costs dearly.

Now live: 1152 spots across 189 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

See all spots

−20 m

The seabed

Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.

On the rock

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

The models set the window. Whether you go in is read only at the water: count the sets, watch the surge on the entry. If in doubt, you don't get in.

Entry points

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Scouted entries, coloured by today. The colour is the sea state at the spot, not a guarantee: the wash and a slippery entry you judge on site.

Open the seafloor map

Buddy Ward Reef AApalachicola

dangerous

exposed head-on to the swell today

window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Shallower nearshore Gulf.

Google Maps

City of Apalachicola EastApalachicola

dangerous

exposed head-on to the swell today

window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Offshore Gulf reef.

Google Maps

St George Island Bridge Reef (Center)Apalachicola

dangerous

exposed head-on to the swell today

window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Old bridge rubble; grouper.

Google Maps

SOLO is the biggest risk: underwater you can black out from lack of oxygen silently and fatally, with no one around. Solo is never truly «safe». Below are the best weather windows; carry a buoy, tell someone your plan and exit time, and any doubt — don't go.

One morning glance — and you know.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

≈

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference

Open the seafloor map →

Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now

sheepshead
Archosargus probatocephalus · 2–15 m · legal
mangrove/mutton snapper
Lutjanus spp. · 5–35 m · legal
gag/red grouper
Mycteroperca microlepis · 10–45 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
Season is state-set — check before you go.
hogfish
Lachnolaimus maximus · 5–30 m · legal
cobia
Rachycentron canadum · 3–30 m · legal
flounder
Paralichthys spp. · 1–20 m · legal

Law

✓Florida: saltwater licence $17 res / $47 non-res; reef fish need the free State Reef Fish Angler (SRFS) designation. NC: CRFL; SC/GA: saltwater licence.
✓Distances (FL): 100 yd from beaches/piers/bridges, 100 ft from the above-water part of a jetty. banned in FL and SC; rebreathers are illegal for spearfishing in FL.
✓SC: gamefish (red drum/seatrout/cobia/tarpon/striped bass) hook-and-line only (§50-5-1700). GA: speargun doubtful in state water — real hunting on federal reefs.

⛔ 🚫 Do not spear (FL FAC 68B-20.005): snook, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon, bonefish, pompano, goliath/Nassau grouper, billfish, sharks, rays + ornamental reef families.
⛔ 🚫 Spiny lobster/stone crab — hand-take only (no puncturing). banned in FL and SC. Monroe County (Long Key north to the Miami-Dade line — incl. Key Largo): spearfishing banned; the lionfish licence exemption does NOT override it — hand-held nets only there.

US spearfishing law is state-by-state. License, spearable species, powerhead rules and distances vary; federal sanctuaries (Gray's Reef, the Keys, Flower Garden Banks) ban spearfishing. Always confirm with the state agency and local ordinances.

Safety protocol

Sets: watch the wave trains ≥15 min before entering; Hmax ≈ 2×Hs, the wash can run 50 m past the foam line. A lull >10 min with period >12 s = a big set «overdue», do NOT enter; enter right after a full set passes and re-check at minute 30.
Exit FIRST: find your exit AND a backup before entering. On a rocky/boulder shore a 0.5 m rise in swell can make the exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer.
Headland rip: prominent points often have a permanent topographic rip regardless of the model — locate it, enter/exit on the windward side, never swim against it.
Cold: wetsuit per the SST chip; the first shiver = a metabolic surge and a drop in breath-hold → get out at the first steady shiver. Cap the session at 45–60 min below 15 °C.
Solo discipline: buoy up; tell someone the spot and exit time; conservative breath-hold (never push it in cold/murky/surfy water); visibility <3 m — don't enter.
Afternoon wind: on many coasts the wind builds from midday — plan to be out of the water by midday; the chop builds — get out.
UV 11:00–15:00 (UVI ≥6): sunscreen and cover up on the surface interval.
Solo is a fundamental risk (hypoxic blackout with no buddy). Any doubt = No-go.

FAQ — spearfishing in Apalachicola

Where can I spearfish in Apalachicola?

Apalachicola has rock entry points such as City of Apalachicola East, St George Island Bridge Reef (Center) and Buddy Ward Reef A. Offshore Gulf reefs and old-bridge rubble (St George Island) for grouper and snapper; the bay and aquatic preserve are no-spear, so hunt the open Gulf. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Apalachicola?

Year-round; the best US regime — snappers/groupers/hogfish, lionfish encouraged.

How cold is the water in Apalachicola?

Warm year-round, 22–29 °C; the Keys and reefs are gin-clear.

Is Apalachicola good for a beginner?

Beginner-friendly on the reefs/Keys; mind the Upper Keys ban and the 100-yard rule.

Do I need a licence in Apalachicola?

Yes — in Apalachicola, as everywhere on the mainland, you need a recreational fishing licence (DGRM); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide for the details.

Full guide: spearfishing in Florida & the Gulf →

Coming soon