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

spearo.app / Australia / Cooktown
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◈Cooktown · Australia
5.3
wave 0.4 m head-on
visibility~3m

Marginal

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 06:32

Sources & confidence

Sources
Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2
Method
spearo sea-state engine: consensus of up to 6 models + satellite clarity (ZSD) + buoy-bias checks
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast

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.

Entry pointsNo-take zones

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.

Coming soon

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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Cooktown · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
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0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
updated 06:32
Cooktown — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind 17 km/h, gusts to 36 — caution
wave 0.4 m head-onwind 17, gusts 36 km/hvisibility ~3 mwindow 12:00–21:00
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 26.9°C
confidence medium · verdict for the selected day

Dangerous jellyfish — box jellyfish and Irukandji — occur in these waters. Surf Life Saving Queensland: in tropical Queensland they may be present throughout the year. Source: Surf Life Saving Queensland

Saltwater crocodile country: estuarine crocodiles can be in any water here, including the sea off the beach. Check recent sighting reports before you get in. Source: Queensland Government — Be Crocwise

Best window · next 3 days
borderlinetomorrow · 15:00–18:00
you can see ~3 m ahead fish

↑ high tide 07:25 · slack water ~06:40–08:10 bite times: 10:00–12:00 · 16:57–17:57

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

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.

Sunday · today2026-10-25
05:46–18:20 · full moon
▼ 01:00▲ 07:00▼ 13:00▲ 19:00mid-range tides · 2.0 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.20 m
Wave0.42 m
Wind12 km/h
Water27 °C
fish activity: moonset 04:38 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:00 · high · moonrise 17:27 · moderate · moon overhead 23:20 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.40 m · calmperiod 5.9 s head-onwind 17→36surge 0.4viz 3 m
0.40 mcalm · up to ~0.80 · 83° head-on
5.9 sswell moderate
17→36gusts 36 km/h
0.4weak surge
0.17m/s
3 mrecent swell
26.9°C5 mm + hood
▲19:00tide turn near
Atmosphere21 kmovercast
lowoff the lunar peaks
  • wind 17 km/h, gusts to 36 — caution
  • first hours of the flood — fish moving in
confidence mediumday
Open the seafloor map with entry points →

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: 3016 spots across 406 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 →
Cherry Tree Bay — northern granite bouldersCooktown
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈0.6–5.1 m (bathymetry AusSeabed, 33 m)

Crocodiles can be in any water here, the sea included (Queensland Government), and SLSQ says box jellyfish and Irukandji may be present all year. The mark is the granite boulders at the north end of Cherry Tree Bay, a walk-in beach below Grassy Hill; low tide exposes more rock. About 0.5 to 5 m by bathymetry. The nearest Great Barrier Reef Coast marine national park zone, closed to all fishing under Queensland rules, is about 14 km away.

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.

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≈

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.

Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 14:36 (Australia/Brisbane)

In season now
  • coral trout
    Plectropomus leopardus · 3–35 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 38 cm · bag 7 a day · closed 6 Nov – 10 Nov · Coral reef fin fish spawning closures on the GBR — two five-day windows a year (2026: 8–12 Oct and 6–10 Nov). · ⚠️ Ciguatera area: QLD Health advises against eating large tropical reef predators, avoiding head, roe and liver, and eating no more than 300 g of an unfamiliar warm-water fish.
  • redthroat emperor (sweetlip)
    Lethrinus miniatus · 8–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 38 cm · bag 8 a day · closed 6 Nov – 10 Nov · Coral reef fin fish spawning closures on the GBR — two five-day windows a year (2026: 8–12 Oct and 6–10 Nov). · ⚠️ Ciguatera area: QLD Health advises against eating large tropical reef predators, avoiding head, roe and liver, and eating no more than 300 g of an unfamiliar warm-water fish.
  • spangled emperor
    Lethrinus nebulosus · 3–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 45 cm · bag 5 a day · closed 6 Nov – 10 Nov · Coral reef fin fish spawning closures on the GBR — two five-day windows a year (2026: 8–12 Oct and 6–10 Nov). · ⚠️ Ciguatera area: QLD Health advises against eating large tropical reef predators, avoiding head, roe and liver, and eating no more than 300 g of an unfamiliar warm-water fish.
  • red emperor
    Lutjanus sebae · 15–45 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
Portland Roads
  • Palm Island
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  • Balgal Beach
  • Toomulla
  • Magnetic Island
  • Townsville
  • Napranum
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  • Jerona
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  • Mapoon
  • Wunjunga
  • Flagstaff
  • Elliot River
  • Bowen
  • Injinoo
  • Seisia
  • Heronvale
  • Njinjilki
  • Thursday Island
  • St Josephs
  • Airlie Beach
  • Poruma
  • Shute Harbour
  • Hamilton Island
  • Gununa

    • All 461 spots → · Region: QLD Tropical North · spearo.app — All countries

    transparency ~13 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore

    min 55 cm · bag 5 a day · closed 6 Nov – 10 Nov · Coral reef fin fish spawning closures on the GBR — two five-day windows a year (2026: 8–12 Oct and 6–10 Nov). · ⚠️ Ciguatera area: QLD Health advises against eating large tropical reef predators, avoiding head, roe and liver, and eating no more than 300 g of an unfamiliar warm-water fish.
  • giant trevally (GT)
    Caranx ignobilis · 2–25 m · legal
    no minimum size · bag 20 a day (shared group bag) · ⚠️ Ciguatera area: QLD Health advises against eating large tropical reef predators, avoiding head, roe and liver, and eating no more than 300 g of an unfamiliar warm-water fish.
  • mangrove jack
    Lutjanus argentimaculatus · 1–20 m · legal
    min 35 cm · bag 5 a day · ⚠️ Ciguatera area: QLD Health advises against eating large tropical reef predators, avoiding head, roe and liver, and eating no more than 300 g of an unfamiliar warm-water fish.
  • blackspot tuskfish
    Choerodon schoenleinii · 3–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 30 cm · bag 6 a day (shared group bag) · ⚠️ Ciguatera area: QLD Health advises against eating large tropical reef predators, avoiding head, roe and liver, and eating no more than 300 g of an unfamiliar warm-water fish.
  • grass emperor (grass sweetlip)
    Lethrinus laticaudis · 2–25 m · legal
    min 30 cm · bag 10 a day · ⚠️ Ciguatera area: QLD Health advises against eating large tropical reef predators, avoiding head, roe and liver, and eating no more than 300 g of an unfamiliar warm-water fish.
  • barramundi
    Lates calcarifer · 0–8 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    58–120 cm · bag 5 a day · closed 1 Nov – 31 Jan · Barramundi may not be speared between 18:00 and 06:00 (QLD). · ⚠️ North of Gladstone is estuarine crocodile habitat; assess the site before entering the water.
  • snapper
    Chrysophrys auratus · 5–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 35 cm · bag 4 a day · closed 15 Jul – 15 Aug · A southern-reef fish on this façade: it is met at the southern end of the reef (Agnes Water, Yeppoon), rarely further north.
  • yellowfin bream
    Acanthopagrus australis · 0–6 m · legal
    min 25 cm · bag 30 a day (shared group bag)
    • off season: potato rockcod (potato cod) () · Queensland groper (giant grouper) () · humphead Maori wrasse () · barramundi cod () · red bass () · chinaman fish () · paddletail ()
    Law
    • •Spearfishing in Australia is governed by STATE law, not federal: the licence, the gear, the closed areas, the sizes and the all differ between NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, WA and TAS. Below is your state's pack; cross into the next state and the rules change at the border.
    • ✓Federally listed threatened, migratory and marine species — white and whale sharks, sawfish, marine turtles and marine mammals among them — are protected in Commonwealth waters: killing, injuring or taking one there is an offence (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). In a state's own waters the same animals are protected by that state's list (see the protected-species panel). Never shoot, disturb or take them.
    • ✓Marine park zoning applies ON TOP of the state's fishing rules: / Sanctuary / Preservation zones are full no-take, and on the Great Barrier Reef the marine park zoning sits on top of the Queensland rules. Check the boundaries on the managing agency's zone map before you enter the water (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003; NSW Marine Estate Management (Management Rules) Regulation).
    • ✓Rock lobster may not be speared in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania or Western Australia — it is taken by hand (WA also allows a hand snare or blunt crook). The Queensland and Northern Territory pages read on 26 Sep 2026 publish no such rule, so there it is not stated either way. Abalone may not be speared in Victoria or Tasmania. Spearfishing in inland fresh waters is banned in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Sources: NSW Fisheries Management (General) Regulation; Fisheries Regulations 2019 (Vic); Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA); the state fisheries guides.
    • •QLD: on the material published at qld.gov.au no general is required in tidal waters — but no verbatim confirmation could be found on an official page, so treat this as guidance and check with Queensland DPI. A SIPS permit is needed only in the listed stocked impoundments, and spearfishing is banned in fresh water anyway.
    • ✓QLD gear (per qld.gov.au): spear and speargun (bow-propelled spear included) are permitted gear in tidal waters; underwater breathing apparatus may not be used to take fish — snorkel only. A is allowed for shark defence only, never as a method of take. Barramundi may not be speared at night, between 18:00 and 06:00 (Fisheries Declaration 2019, s 164).
    • ✓QLD places: spearing is allowed in tidal waters except in the 27 regulated waters listed in the Fisheries Declaration 2019 (s 50) — among them the water under, or within 100 m of, any public jetty in or south of the Noosa River — and in fresh water spearfishing is prohibited outright. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning sits on top of the state rules: no fishing in the green and pink zones, and no spearfishing in the Public Appreciation Special Management Areas (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 2019). Check the boundaries on the GBRMPA map.
    • ✓QLD sizes and seasons: coral trout 38 cm (bag 7 across all trout), redthroat emperor 38 cm (8), spangled emperor 45 cm (5), red emperor 55 cm (5), Spanish mackerel 75 cm (1). Snapper and pearl perch are closed 15 Jul – 15 Aug; east-coast barramundi 1 Nov – 31 Jan; the reef spawning closures run five days in October and five in November (Fisheries Declaration 2019).
    • •QLD weather: the BOM marine wind warning summary for the state — bom.gov.au/marine/lite/warning/IDQ20085.shtml. Rules change: check Queensland DPI before every trip.
    • ⛔ 🚫 QLD: red bass, chinaman fish and paddletail are no-take even when the fish looks ordinary — they are top-tier ciguatera vectors. They are not to be taken at all, not merely not eaten.
    • ⛔ 🚫 No-take throughout Queensland: Queensland groper, potato rockcod, barramundi cod, humphead Maori wrasse, chinaman fish, paddletail, red bass, grey nurse shark, hammerheads, sand tiger shark, white shark, manta rays and sawfish, giant clams, helmet and trumpet shells, black and white teatfish.
    • ⛔ 🚫 The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning applies ON TOP of the Queensland rules: fishing is prohibited in (green) and Preservation (pink) zones. Check the GBRMPA zone map before you go.

    Rules change and vary BY STATE. Before heading out, check with your state's fisheries (NSW DPI, Fisheries QLD, VFA, DPIRD WA, PIRSA, NRE Tas, NT Fisheries) and the marine-park zoning map.

    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 Cooktown

    Where can I spearfish in Cooktown?

    Cooktown has rock entry points such as Cherry Tree Bay — northern granite boulders. Cooktown's wharf and nearby pontoons are closed to spearfishing under Queensland rules. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

    When is the best season in Cooktown?

    Offshore reef only; dry season (May–Oct); inshore stingers (Nov–May) and crocs — info.

    How cold is the water in Cooktown?

    24–30 °C — 2 mm/rashie; warm tropical reef, inshore stingers/crocs (info).

    Is Cooktown good for a beginner?

    Info/offshore-only: crocs and stingers inshore — not ranked as a shore city.

    Do I need a licence in Cooktown?

    Cooktown is in QLD. No — Queensland has no general recreational licence, but the Great Barrier Reef zoning rules: spearing is allowed in General Use and Habitat Protection zones and banned in the green and pink ones. Spearfishing on scuba is banned everywhere, rock lobster may never be speared, and marine-park sanctuary/green zones are no-take. See the guide for the state-by-state detail.

    Full guide: spearfishing in Australia →
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