Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine · How it works →
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.
01
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.
02
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
03
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
04
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
05
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
06
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
07
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 — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.
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.
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0 m
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
no dataupdated 12:51
Cádiz — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
wave 0.8 m head-onwind 21, gusts 34 km/hnoticeable surgevisibility ~3 m
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Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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−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: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
The good window is summer and early autumn, with two or three days of levante in a row and the tide at half flood or high, which gives more water over the rock. Go early: the sea breeze usually fills in by midday and the shoal turns uncomfortable. Night is not allowed.
tide
With ranges of up to a little over three metres on springs, the depth of water over the rock changes completely between low and high tide, and at low water the shoal starts breaking on its own. The tidal stream also sweeps round the point, so plan the swim back with it, not against it.
shelter
The shoal lies offshore, west of Santa Catalina castle, with no shelter at all: it takes the 205–300° sector head-on and especially the straight west (270°). It only comes good on a sustained levante, when the land wind irons the surface flat and the ground swell drops.
conditions
Being further out it picks up cleaner water than the cove: on a good levante spell you get six or seven metres over the rock drop-offs. What ruins it is the westerly ground swell, which stirs the reef and leaves the water white even with no wind at all.
hazard
It is an isolated rock offshore: ground swell breaks over it without warning and can slam you onto the edge. It sits on the track of boats running in and out of Cádiz, so the float is essential and you must stay within 25 metres of it. The Andalusian limit is 5 kg live or 4 kg gutted per licence per day.
access
The usual way is to enter at the north end of La Caleta beach, below Santa Catalina castle, and swim west for three or four hundred metres until you find the rock. You can also reach it by boat from the marina. If the shoal is breaking, do not attempt it from shore.
Rocky shallows off Santa Catalina; rock drop-offs, exposed to W swell.
The good days are settled levante, most often from July to October, and preferably at first light before the sea breeze fills in. In winter the place is nearly always churned up. Since surf and kite schools work the beach, a weekday is a far better bet.
tide
With springs of about three metres the beach turns into a huge flat and the sea retreats a very long way; the walk with gear is punishing. The practical window is the flood: the sand has settled and the longshore current running parallel to the beach is easier to handle.
shelter
A long open beach on the isthmus, facing southwest (230–250°), with nothing to shelter it — no headland, no island. Easterly levante blows off the land and flattens the shoreline; with poniente and anything in the 205–300° arc you get shorebreak and sand in the water.
conditions
Sand rules here: scattered stone patches and bits of rubble spread over a flat bottom, so you have to hunt for structure. In a levante calm you get three or four metres; after a storm the sand takes days to settle and you cannot see your own gun at arm's length.
hazard
Southeast of Cortadura the Torregorda military ground begins: it is signposted, some stretches are off limits, and you should not enter the water in front of them. Rip currents form in the shorebreak and pull straight out. The float is compulsory and you must stay within 25 metres of it.
access
There is roadside parking all along the Cortadura promenade beside the road out of Cádiz, and from there you cross the dune in a couple of minutes. Entry is over sand with no rock, but at low water the sea is several hundred metres away. Always come out where you went in — the shoreline looks identical and it is easy to lose your bearings.
Rock and shallows off Cortadura beach; mixed bottom, moderately exposed to the SW.
Go first thing in the morning, before the beach fills up, and on levante spells in late summer or early autumn. In August La Caleta is a busy city beach: either keep well clear of the swimmers or pick another spot. Night diving is banned everywhere in Spain.
tide
Springs run around three metres and here you feel every centimetre: at low water the slabs between the two castles dry out and you can walk almost to the reef. At high water there is plenty over the rock, but the stream sweeps along the San Sebastián causeway.
shelter
La Caleta's cove faces west (250°), tucked between the Santa Catalina and San Sebastián castles. An easterly levante (90°) blows offshore and leaves the water flat and clear; with poniente and anything in the 205–300° sector it breaks right inside the cove and there is no point going.
conditions
Shallow ground, three to six metres, sand broken by slabs of oyster rock and patches of weed. After a few days of levante you get four or five metres of visibility; after a poniente swell the water turns milky and you cannot pick out a fish even at two metres.
hazard
Oyster rock cuts like glass and even a small swell pushes you onto it; gloves and boots are not optional. Andalusia's Decreto 205/2023 applies: licence from 14, five kilos live weight or four gutted per licence per day, no selling the catch, no powder or gas guns.
access
Park in the old town, around Campo del Sur or plaza de San Antonio, and walk down to the beach between the two castles. Enter at the southern end by the San Sebastián causeway on a rising half tide and swim a couple of hundred metres out to the reef. With poniente swell, never exit over the slabs.
Rocky ground between the La Caleta castles; rock shallows, sea bream and gilthead, exposed to the westerly (Poniente, W).
It only makes sense at slack water and with little traffic, which means early on a weekday before the ferries start running. In summer the breakwater fills with rod anglers and you have to leave them room. Night diving is banned throughout Spain.
tide
Every drop of water in the bay funnels through this mouth, so the current is the first thing to check: on springs, with nearly three metres of range, it pulls far harder than it looks from the rocks. The only comfortable window is slack, half an hour either side of the turn.
shelter
The breakwater sits in the lee of the city and of its own riprap when the poniente blows, and that is its whole virtue. It opens instead to the north and northeast across the bay: a strong levante sends a short, annoying chop down from El Puerto de Santa María.
conditions
This is harbour water: nearly always murky, one or two metres of visibility, three on a good day at high water when clean sea is pushing in. There are octopus and conger among the blocks, but you work close and half by feel; it is no place for hunting on the wait.
hazard
This is the mouth of a working commercial port, with ferries to El Puerto and Rota and the naval base across the bay: spearfishing is not allowed inside port waters, and you must check the limits with the Port Authority before going in. The 300-metre rule from working professional boats applies as well.
access
You get there along the Alameda Apodaca and the Punta de San Felipe walkway, park near the fishing quay and climb down the blocks at the head. The stone is slick with green weed and there is old ironwork among the boulders, so wear hard-soled boots. If you are unsure where the port zone ends, go somewhere else.
Harbour-mouth breakwaters; boulders with octopus, semi-sheltered from the easterly, good for beginners.
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.
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≈
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Cameras · live
Look at the water right now.
Check the cam BEFORE you leave. Foam, brown/green murk, or waves washing the entry rocks = No-go. At night/in fog the cam is useless — treat it as «unknown», NOT «green».
✓Spearfishing licence mandatory; the AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY issues it (not the State) and it is valid in the exterior waters of the whole coast. Free-diving only — scuba is banned (, art. 3).
✓Spearfishing catch may not be sold or traded — it is non-commercial fishing ().
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset to sunrise not allowed) — , art. 16.d.
✓Marker buoy MANDATORY: mark your position with a clearly visible buoy and stay within 25 m of it — , art. 15.
✓Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water — , art. 16.a.
✓Keep at least 300 m from professional fishing vessels that are working — , art. 12.b.
✓The state act (, art. 16) bans, for spearfishing: a loaded gun out of the water; explosive/electric points and lamps (hand torches excepted); underwater scooters; night — from sunset to sunrise. Plus art. 12 b), d), e): 300 m from professional fishing vessels, light as an attractant, poisons/explosives. A ban in a PARTICULAR reserve, port or beach comes from that place's OWN instrument (the reserve's order, the autonomous community's rules, the port authority) — see the no-take zones on the map and your community's rules.
✓Min. sizes by ( + + EU 2019/1241): sea bass 42 cm (rec.) / 36 cm / 25 cm Mediterranean / 22 cm Canaries; gilthead bream 20 cm and white seabream 23 cm in the Mediterranean (EU 2019/1241); grouper 45 cm. See your zone's species card.
✓Only species in Annex I of may be taken; keeping, landing or transporting undersized specimens is prohibited.
✓The licence needs a medical fitness certificate for free-diving and civil-liability insurance (or a federative licence, which includes it). Mandatory in the Basque Country/Murcia/Asturias/Galicia; the federative licence covers it in Galicia/Balearics/Cantabria; the Canaries and Andalusia do NOT require it for the individual licence (a responsible health declaration). Minimum age generally 16 (14 in Andalusia).
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.
Local guide · Cádiz
Spearfishing in Cádiz: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Cádiz is an Atlantic shallow-rock city where Poniente controls the day. La Caleta and Bajo de Santa Catalina need low west swell; Cortadura / Torregorda has moderate southwest exposure; Punta de San Felipe is more sheltered from Levante but must be treated carefully because it is a harbour-mouth breakwater. The legal split is Andalusia plus Gulf of Cádiz sizes, including 36 cm seabass.
TL;DR
Main weather risk: west swell and Poniente, especially at La Caleta and Santa Catalina.
Best cautious check: Cortadura or San Felipe only where access and port limits are clear.
Legal split: Andalusian licence, medical certificate, Gulf of Cádiz size table.
Best legal spearfishing spots near Cádiz
These shore-entry zones should only be used with settled sea, a visible buoy and confirmed local limits.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Punta de San Felipe
Breakwater boulders and shore rock
Boulder ground near shore
Careful beginner
From the outer shore rock, outside port waters
Breakwater boulders with octopus, sheltered from Levante. Check access and traffic. Stay out of port restrictions.
Cortadura / Torregorda
Rocky beach edges
Shallow rock and sand
Intermediate
From the beach edge, away from bathers
Mixed rock and shallows off the beach. Moderate SW exposure. Andalusian licence required.
La Caleta
Rocky ground between the La Caleta castles
Shallow rock and sand
Intermediate
Shore entry with a clear exit route
Rocky shallows between the castles. Avoid Poniente. Avoid bathing areas.
Bajo de Santa Catalina
Rocky shallows off Santa Catalina
Rock ledges and drop-offs
Intermediate
Shore entry with a clear exit route
Rocky ledges off Santa Catalina. West swell sensitive. Gulf of Cádiz sizes apply.
✓There is no fixed national catch cap (, art. 5 delegates it to the communities); the standard is 5 kg/person/day, with 1 specimen allowed not to count (Canaries — Decreto 182/2004, art. 38.3; Murcia; Galicia; Basque Country). Protected species have per-piece quotas.
✓Only a harpoon is allowed — hand-held or mechanically propelled, with one or several points (, art. 14.1). Carrying spearfishing gear and underwater breathing equipment aboard AT THE SAME TIME is prohibited (art. 14.2) — an offence in itself, even if you dived on a breath hold.
✓Spain is not one jurisdiction. The licence is issued by a coastal autonomous community, and you must comply with the rules of the administration on whose littoral you are in the water: «debiendo cumplir la normativa establecida por la administración en cuyo litoral se realice la actividad» (, art. 13). Interior waters — inside the straight baselines: bays, coves, rías, the whole coastal strip — are the community's competence; exterior waters are the State's. So the age, the days of the week, the distances and the are found in your community's act, not in the state one.
•Andalusia: spearfishing licence; requires a medical certificate (NO civil-liability insurance — a responsible health declaration replaces it, ); applied for at the Junta de Andalucía. Confirm the exact procedure page at juntadeandalucia.es.
✓Andalusia: minimum licence age (incl. spearfishing/class 4) — 14; under-14s only surface modalities accompanied by an adult (Decreto 205/2023, art. 4.2/4.3). No civil-liability insurance: a responsible health declaration (, Annex IV).
✓Bans: RMIP Cabo de Gata-Níjar and Alborán island — spearfishing banned (see zones).
✓Andalusia: licence from age 14 (Decreto 205/2023, art. 4.2), minors accompanied (art. 5.3). The cap is 5 kg live weight or 4 kg gutted per licence per day (art. 9.1). Selling the catch (art. 12.a), powder or gas guns (art. 12.l), autonomous equipment and underwater scooters (art. 12.m) are prohibited. Buoy red or orange with the «Alfa» flag (art. 20.2); keep 250 m from people on the beach, bathing places, busy areas, port areas and navigation channels, and the same from set gear and professional vessels (art. 20.3). Allowed every day of the year, but only from sunrise to sunset (art. 22).
⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected (RPE).
Rules change and are REGIONAL. Before heading out, check with the competent autonomous community (licence) and the min-size table in force.
The bad sector runs from south-southwest to west-northwest, with west worst. Use the Playa de La Caleta webcam because no NDBC buoy is listed. La Caleta has rocky shallows with sargo and gilthead but is exposed to Poniente. Cortadura / Torregorda has mixed ground and moderate SW exposure. Punta de San Felipe has boulders with octopus and shelter from easterly Levante, yet port and traffic restrictions must be respected. Bajo de Santa Catalina has rocky ledges and takes west swell. Andalusia requires a spearfishing licence and medical certificate; the local caladero is Gulf of Cádiz.
FAQ
What wind is worst in Cádiz?
Poniente and west swell.
What licence applies?
An Andalusian spearfishing licence with a medical certificate.
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