Pebble Beach / Preston IslandCrescent City
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Former-quarry island with reef and stacks along Pebble Beach Dr; rockfish and lingcod, easy shore access.
Google MapsCrescent City spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
2.7
wave 1.5 m
visibility3m
Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 16:41
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 16:41
Crescent City — solo, off the rocks
don't go · wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~3.0 m)
wave 1.5 mwind 17, gusts 29 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~4 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 4 m · Water 14.7°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
06:01–20:44 · first quarter
▼ 01:00▲ 07:00▼ 12:00▲ 18:00 · 1.6 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.27 m
Wave1.44 m
Wind14 km/h
Water14 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:24 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:50 · high · moonrise 15:28 · moderate · moon overhead 20:10 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.50 mperiod 6.2 swind 17→29surge 4viz 3 m
1.50 mup to ~3.00 · 241° at an angle
6.2 sswell moderate
17→29gusts 29 km/h
4pounding the rocks
0.22m/s
3 mrecent swell
14.7°Cthicker suit + hood
▲18:00tide turn near
Atmosphere15 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
- wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~3.0 m)
- wind-wave — choppy surface
- flood toward high water
confidence lowday
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
Point St. George nearshore reefCrescent City
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Prominent point ~3 mi N of town — the region's biggest lingcod (to 25 lb) and jumbo rockfish. Clear of the Castle Rock Special Closure.
Google MapsWhaler Island breakwaterCrescent City
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Harbor-lee rock breakwater; sheltered rockfish and lingcod when the outer coast is blown out (lower viz after rain).
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».
connecting to the stream…
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- white seabass
- California halibut
- California yellowtail
- California sheephead
- kelp/sand bass
- rockfish
- lingcod
Law
- ✓California sport fishing licence (+Ocean Enhancement Validation south of Point Arguello). No separate spearfishing permit.
- ✓No take: giant sea bass, garibaldi, salmon; abalone closed to 2036. network: no-take, by zone. Lobster hand-take only.
- ⛔ 🚫 Giant (black) sea bass and garibaldi — fully protected, no take. Red abalone — fishery CLOSED until Apr 1 2036. Salmon — no spear.
- ⛔ 🚫 network: State Marine Reserve () — no-take; — varies (check the specific zone). Lobster — hand-take only. No spear within 100 yd of a stream mouth north of Ventura.
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 Crescent City: spots, seasons and rules
Crescent City spearfishing is less about calendar season and more about finding the rare calm edge on a north-coast shoreline. The three marks cover different jobs: Point St. George nearshore reef about three miles north of town, Pebble Beach / Preston Island along Pebble Beach Drive, and the Whaler Island breakwater in the harbor lee. All are yellow with medium solo severity. Buoy 46027 sits 18.1 km away, much closer than most stations in this batch, so use it seriously.
TL;DR
- Crescent City is a northern California cold-water page built around Point St. George, Pebble Beach / Preston Island and Whaler Island breakwater.
- The bad swell sector is 220 to 320 degrees, with 290 degrees the worst direction on this upwelling coast.
- Point St. George is noted for big lingcod and jumbo rockfish but must stay clear of the Castle Rock Special Closure.
- California protected rules still apply: giant sea bass, garibaldi, salmon and red abalone are no-take items.
How should Crescent City divers rank the three listed marks?
Point St. George is the outside prize, Pebble Beach is the easier shore-access reef, and Whaler Island is the backup when the outer coast is blown out. None is marked as protected, but a nearby closure warning is explicit.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point St. George nearshore reef | Prominent nearshore reef | Rock reef; no numeric depth is stated | Intermediate cold-water dive | Nearshore reef about three miles north of town | The note names the region's biggest lingcod, to 25 lb, and jumbo rockfish. It also says to stay clear of the Castle Rock Special Closure. |
| Pebble Beach / Preston Island | Former-quarry island with reef and stacks | Reef and stacks; no numeric depth is stated | Intermediate shore-access dive | Easy shore access along Pebble Beach Drive | This is the most accessible Crescent City entry in the set, with rockfish and lingcod around island reef and stacks. |
| Whaler Island breakwater | Harbor-lee rock breakwater | Breakwater edge; no numeric depth is stated | Intermediate, visibility-dependent | Harbor-lee access | Whaler Island is the sheltered rockfish and lingcod option when the outer coast is blown out, but lower visibility after rain is possible. |
Why is Crescent City a buoy-first decision?
The coastline faces west, with 220 to 320 degrees marked as the poor sector and 290 degrees as the worst direction. This is upwelling coast, so cold, green water can follow wind even when the sky looks friendly. Buoy 46027 is close enough to shape the go/no-go call.
Where does the harbor help?
Whaler Island breakwater sits in the harbor lee and is listed as the shelter option for rockfish and lingcod when the outer coast is blown out. It is not magic: after rain, lower visibility is possible, so do not treat shelter as automatic clarity.
What California closures matter here?
Point St. George is clear of the Castle Rock Special Closure. Keep it that way. California SMRs are no-take, and SMCAs vary by zone. If a boundary is unclear from the water, fail closed and move.
Which fish define the north-coast dives?
The species mix includes white seabass, California halibut, yellowtail, sheephead, bass, rockfish and lingcod, but Crescent City itself is clearly rockfish-and-lingcod focused. Point St. George is the big-fish mark; Pebble Beach and Whaler Island are the practical choices.
FAQ
What is the best protected-weather option in Crescent City?
Whaler Island breakwater is listed as the harbor-lee option when the outer coast is blown out.
Can you dive Point St. George near Castle Rock?
The note says Point St. George is clear of the Castle Rock Special Closure. Do not drift into that closure.
What swell direction hurts Crescent City most?
The poor sector is 220 to 320 degrees, with 290 degrees listed as worst.
Is Pebble Beach / Preston Island shore accessible?
Yes. Pebble Beach / Preston Island has easy shore access along Pebble Beach Drive.
What is no-take under California rules here?
Giant sea bass, garibaldi, salmon and red abalone are no-take, and SMR water is closed to take.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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