Chatham spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Chatham · United States
2.5
wave 1.3 m head-on
visibility1m

Today — sit it outwave, wind and visibility.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicushigh confidence · data 05:55

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 05:55
Chatham — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
wave 1.3 m head-onwind 27, gusts 53 km/hvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 24.3°C
confidence medium · 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
05:2420:07 · first quarter
00:00 07:00 12:00 19:00 · 1.4 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.91 m
Wave0.88 m
Wind16 km/h
Water23 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 07:10 · high · moonrise 14:41 · moderate · moon overhead 19:30 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.26 mperiod 7 s head-onwind 27→53surge 0.3viz 1 m
1.26 mup to ~2.52 · 162° head-on
7 sswell moderate
27→53gusts 53 km/h
0.3weak surge
0.31m/s
1 mrecent swell
24.3°C5 mm + hood
▼12:00tide turn near
Atmosphere3 kmovercast
highmoon underfoot
  • wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
  • steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
  • just after high water
confidence mediumtwilight
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.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera
−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
Chatham Light Bars / Chatham InletChatham
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Outer-Cape bars and channel edges off Chatham Light; black sea bass, fluke and cod over scattered hard bottom — geography-verified, thin dive sourcing.

Google Maps
Stage Harbor Light / Harding Beach PointChatham
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Harding Beach Point at Stage Harbor mouth (Nantucket Sound); scup, black sea bass and tautog on hard bottom.

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.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera

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».

connecting to the stream…
● LIVE
Chatham Fish Pier Live (Town of Chatham)YouTube live — Chatham Fish Pier Live (Town of Chatham). Embedded live stream; if the ID rotates it opens the source page. Read the water before you go.camera: youtube
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • tautog
    Tautoga onitis · 3–18 m · legal
  • black sea bass
    Centropristis striata · 5–40 m · legal
  • summer flounder (fluke)
    Paralichthys dentatus · 3–30 m · legal
  • scup (porgy)
    Stenotomus chrysops · 5–30 m · legal
  • bluefish
    Pomatomus saltatrix · 0–20 m · legal
  • striped bass
    Morone saxatilis · 0–15 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    Striped bass is spearable in RI/NY/NJ/DE/VA but BANNED in ME/MA/CT/MD (no ban in NH). Never gaff.
Law
  • 🚫 American lobster — NEVER by spear anywhere on the coast (hand-take only, under a separate dive permit).
  • 🚫 Sturgeon — total ban; sharks in many states (VA/NJ/NC) not by spear. Striped bass: see the species note.
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 Chatham

Where can I spearfish in Chatham?

Chatham has rock entry points such as Chatham Light Bars / Chatham Inlet and Stage Harbor Light / Harding Beach Point. Chatham's outer-Cape bars off the light and Harding Beach Point hold black sea bass, fluke and cod over scattered hard bottom. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Chatham?

Jun–Oct; Cape Cod and the islands, tautog and black sea bass.

How cold is the water in Chatham?

Cool, 12–18 °C; moderate viz, best off the islands.

Is Chatham good for a beginner?

Intermediate: cool with headland current, best off the islands.

Do I need a licence in Chatham?

Yes — in Chatham, 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 on the US East Coast
Coming soon

Get the go / no-go verdict for Chatham by email

Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Chatham, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.

Optional: city, channel, phone
What to send
Where to send it
26 countries · all spots

Pick your coast

Every covered town has its own live forecast, cameras and entry points. Choose where you're diving.

United StatesUnited States

USA map →
Feedback

Help us make it better

What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.