Brevard Reef 1Cocoa Beach
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Nearest structure directly off Cocoa Beach (~15 km); boat entry.
Google MapsCocoa Beach spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.4
wave 0.3 m head-on
visibility5m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 06:15
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
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
calmupdated 06:15
Cocoa Beach — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind 14 km/h
wave 0.3 m head-onwind 14, gusts 28 km/hvisibility ~8 mwindow 06:00–21:00
today, best window 09:00–12:00
fish · Visibility 8 m · Water 27.4°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
06:39–20:18 · first quarter
▲ 02:00▼ 08:00▲ 15:00▼ 21:00 · 1.0 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.64 m
Wave0.36 m
Wind20 km/h
Water28 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:55 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:50 · high · moonrise 14:52 · moderate · moon overhead 20:10 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.34 mperiod 4.7 s head-onwind 18→34surge 0.3viz 5 m
0.34 mup to ~0.68 · 110° head-on
4.7 sswell moderate
18→34gusts 34 km/h
0.3weak surge
0.11m/s
5 mrecent swell
27.2°C5 mm + hood
▼08:00tide turn near
Atmosphere15 kmlandmarks visible
highmoon underfoot
- strong wind 18 km/h, gusts 34 — caution
- low water — slack
confidence mediumtwilight
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 spotsThe 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
Ebin's PyramidsCocoa Beach
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Reef pyramids, 2.5 m relief; deep/advanced ~31 km; boat entry.
Google MapsNewy ReefCocoa Beach
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Module reef, 1.5 m relief; deep/advanced; boat entry.
Google MapsSOLO 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.
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».
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- sheepshead
- mangrove/mutton snapper
- gag/red grouperSeason is state-set — check before you go.
- hogfish
- cobia
- flounder
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.
Spearfishing in Cocoa Beach: spots, seasons and rules
Cocoa Beach spearfishing works when it is planned like a small-boat reef trip, not a casual swim beside the pier. The spots are Brevard Reef 1 about 15 km out, Ebin's Pyramids about 31 km out, and Newy Reef. All are yellow with medium solo severity. The Westgate pier camera can show chop and color, but buoy 41009, east-sector swell and legal distance from beach and pier decide whether the trip makes sense.
TL;DR
- Cocoa Beach is an offshore-structure plan, with Brevard Reef 1, Ebin's Pyramids and Newy Reef listed as boat-entry sites.
- The Atlantic bad sector is 45 to 150 degrees, and east swell around 90 degrees is the main shutdown direction.
- Florida saltwater licensing, the free State Reef Fish Angler designation and beach or pier distance rules shape the plan.
- Sheepshead, snapper, hogfish, cobia and flounder are listed; gag or red grouper needs season checking.
Where should Cocoa Beach spearfishing be planned?
The listed options are offshore structures. Keep the pier as a condition check, then build the dive around boat range, depth comfort and Florida species rules. The deeper module sites are not backup plans for a messy ocean.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard Reef 1 | Nearer offshore structure | Structure depth not stated | Intermediate boat dive | Boat entry; listed about 15 km off Cocoa Beach | Brevard Reef 1 is the nearest listed structure directly off Cocoa Beach and the logical first check before going farther. |
| Ebin's Pyramids | Reef pyramids | 2.5 m relief; described as deep/advanced | Advanced boat dive | Boat entry; listed about 31 km out | Ebin's Pyramids have named relief but also the strongest depth warning in this set. Treat it as a crew-and-conditions site. |
| Newy Reef | Module reef | 1.5 m relief; deep/advanced | Advanced boat dive | Boat entry | Newy Reef is another module site with modest relief. The deep label matters more than the module height. |
Why is the Cocoa Beach pier not the main plan?
The productive spots are offshore reef structures, and Florida rules include 100 yards from beaches, piers and bridges. Use the pier view for conditions, not as permission to hunt beside it. Brevard Reef 1 is the nearest listed structure.
What weather pattern hurts Cocoa Beach visibility?
Cocoa Beach faces east. The poor sector is 45 to 150 degrees, with 90 degrees listed as worst. Atlantic tide is noted, but no single tide stage is given for clear water. Buoy 41009 is 48.5 km away.
Which species should Cocoa Beach divers check first?
The local species mix names sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus; mangrove or mutton snapper, Lutjanus spp.; hogfish, Lachnolaimus maximus; cobia, Rachycentron canadum; flounder, Paralichthys spp.; and gag or red grouper, Mycteroperca microlepis, with a season caution.
What is no-take under the Florida notes?
Florida protects snook, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon, bonefish, pompano, goliath and Nassau grouper, billfish, sharks, rays and ornamental reef families. Spiny lobster and stone crab are hand-take only, with no puncturing.
FAQ
Is Cocoa Beach spearfishing mostly from shore?
No. The listed sites are Brevard Reef 1, Ebin's Pyramids and Newy Reef, all offshore structure.
How far is the nearest listed Cocoa Beach structure?
Brevard Reef 1 is described as about 15 km directly off Cocoa Beach.
Do Cocoa Beach reef fish require extra Florida paperwork?
The free State Reef Fish Angler designation is listed for reef fish.
Can you use a rebreather to spearfish Cocoa Beach?
No. Florida rules here make rebreathers illegal for spearfishing.
What swell direction is worst for Cocoa Beach?
The bad sector is 45 to 150 degrees, with 90 degrees listed as the worst direction.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
Get the go / no-go verdict for Cocoa Beach by email
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Cocoa Beach, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
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