Dauphin Island spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

spearo.app / United States / Dauphin Island
PTPortuguêsRUРусскийESEspañolITItalianoELΕλληνικάFRFrançaisTRTürkçeHRHrvatski
Forecast refreshing in the background — reload the page in a minute for the latest read.
◈Dauphin Island · United States
5.1
visibility: 1 m
visibility~1m

Dayisover

Today — right on the edge.

Sources: NWS · NDBC · Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 16:22

Sources & confidence

Sources
NWS · NDBC · Open-Meteo · Copernicus
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 zonesLive cams

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

Get the go / no-go verdict for Dauphin Island by email

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

Optional: city, channel, phone
What to send
Where to send it
More spots

Spots in United States

🇺🇸United States

USA map →

Alabama

  • Fort Morgan
  • Gulf Shores
  • Orange Beach

Mississippi

  • Pascagoula
  • Ocean Springs
  • Biloxi
  • Gulfport
  • Bay St. Louis

Florida

  • Pensacola
  • Ferry Pass
  • Midway
  • Navarre
  • Fort Walton Beach
  • Destin
  • Panama City Beach
  • Panama City
  • Callaway
  • Port St. Joe
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.

spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Dauphin Island · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
Today
Notify me
Map
Download on theApp Store
GET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
Small Craft Advisory · NWSupdated 16:22
Dauphin Island — solo, off the rocks
Day is over
That is it for today — the day's windows have closed.
Tomorrow, best window 06:00–09:00
Best window · next 3 days
borderlineMonday · 18:00–21:00
you can see ~1 m ahead fish

↑ high tide 19:30 · slack water ~18:45–20:15 bite times: 10:10–12:10 · 16:37–17:37

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

Before entering, check the camera and the surge
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.

Saturday · today2026-10-24
07:00–18:11 · full moon
▼ 03:00▼ 11:00▼ 14:00▲ 20:00 · 0.3 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.04 m
Wave1.10 m
Wind13 km/h
Water25 °C
fish activity: moonset 05:20 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:10 · high · moonrise 17:07 · moderate · moon overhead 23:40 · high
Open the seafloor map with entry points →

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — 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: 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 →
Anderson Liberty ShipDauphin Island
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈26–26 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 10 m)

Sister Liberty ship to the Edwards in 23 m, with pelagics circling the structure. Amberjack and snapper; WARNING: greater amberjack has a very short federal Gulf season.

Google Maps
Audubon Bird SanctuaryDauphin Island
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈0.1–0.2 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

Audubon Bird Sanctuary gives shore access 2.0 km from Dauphin Island. Access type in the Alabama DCNR data: beach. Marker position: 30.251° N, 88.088° W. The pin is about 90 m from the shoreline. Depth at this access has not been measured. Pin: shore access; water entry unverified.

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — 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↗
Dauphin Island Sea Lab — Mississippi Sound (FOX10 News)YouTube live — Dauphin Island Sea Lab — Mississippi Sound (FOX10 News). 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
  • sheepshead
    Archosargus probatocephalus · 2–15 m · legal
    Year-round across the façade. AL 12″ (30 cm) and 8/person, MS 14″ (36 cm) and 15, Louisiana neither a size nor a bag limit, TX 15″ (38 cm) and 5/day. Sheepshead is nongame in Texas, so gig, spear and speargun are lawful there.
  • cobia (ling)
    Rachycentron canadum · 3–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    In TEXAS cobia may NOT be taken by spear at all: it is on the game-fish list and 'game fish may be taken only by pole and line'; gig, spear and speargun are for nongame fish only. AL, MS and LA: year-round in state waters, min 36″ (91 cm), 1/person (MS 2), max 2/vessel.
  • gray (mangrove) snapper
    Lutjanus griseus · 5–35 m · legal
    The most reliable rig and jetty snapper from Alabama to Texas. Year-round in AL, MS and LA: min 12″ (30 cm), 10/person (in LA inside the 10-snapper aggregate). Texas lists no limit — unlisted species carry no bag or length limit there.
  • red grouper
    Epinephelus morio · 15–50 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    In Louisiana the rule is depth-keyed: year-round in state waters, but closed Feb 1–Mar 31 seaward of the 20-fathom (120 ft, ~37 m) line. Min 20″ (51 cm) in AL and MS, bag 2/person; in LA inside the 4-grouper aggregate. Texas lists no red grouper limit.
  • black drum
    Pogonias cromis · 0–15 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
  • Apalachicola
  • Steinhatchee
  • Cedar Key
  • Crystal River
  • Hudson
  • Tarpon Springs
  • Clearwater
  • Safety Harbor
  • Gulfport
  • St. Petersburg
  • Bayshore Gardens
  • Sarasota
  • Fernandina Beach
  • Jacksonville Beach

    • Louisiana

    • Venice (LA)
    • Empire
    • Grand Isle
    • Port Fourchon
    • Cocodrie
    • Cameron

    Georgia

    • Brunswick
    • Jekyll Island

    All 367 spots → · Region: Alabama · spearo.app — All countries

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

    Atlantic hurricane season (Jun–Nov) — check the NHC forecast

    buoy Orange Beach, AL: 25.2° · wave 1.1 m/5 s · 29 min ago

    Google Maps
    Bayou Heron ParkDauphin Island
    borderline
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈0.1–0.3 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

    Bayou Heron Park: you go in from the shore, some 2.0 km from Dauphin Island. Mapped by Alabama DCNR as a beach. We have no measured depth for this entry so far. Gulf tides here run on a daily cycle and the range is small. The pin marks the shore access point; the water entry has not been verified.

    Google Maps
    Dauphin Island CampgroundDauphin Island
    borderline
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈0.6–4.1 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

    About 2.7 km from Dauphin Island, Dauphin Island Campground is reached on foot from the shore. The marked spot lies about 120 m from the waterline. Maximum depth is around 4 m. Open water shows only over a narrow sector, to the north. Pin: shore access; water entry unverified.

    Google Maps
    Edwards Liberty ShipDauphin Island
    borderline
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈29–29 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 10 m)

    A 127 m Liberty ship in 26 m, known for its big snapper. A huge hull with many entry points; a scuba dive that needs a current plan and a good look at the river discharge first.

    Google Maps
    Goat Tree ReserveDauphin Island
    borderline
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈0.1–1.1 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

    Goat Tree Reserve: you go in from the shore, some 0.7 km from Dauphin Island. Alabama DCNR lists the site as a beach. Coordinates of the entry: 30.256 N, 88.102 W. Expect no more than about 1.0 m of water. Open water shows only over a narrow sector, to the north.

    Google Maps
    🔒 Jane BDauphin Island
    borderline
    Ultra · subscribers
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈21–21 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 3 m)

    The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

    Open in the app →
    Papa Joe (John Wood)Dauphin Island
    borderline
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≥26 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 10 m)

    Metal tug sunk south of the island in 23 m. A compact hull with snapper and grouper; the Mobile River plume decides visibility on any given day.

    Google Maps
    🔒 Southwest RockDauphin Island
    borderline
    Pro · subscribers
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈19–20 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 3 m)

    The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

    Open in the app →

    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.

    A shallow, dependable jetty and marsh-edge target. Year-round in LA and TX; LA slot 16–27″ (41–69 cm), 5/day with max 1 over 27″; TX 14–30″ (36–76 cm), 5/day with max 1 over 52″. MS lists no limit. Nongame in Texas, so lawful to spear there — unlike its red drum cousin.
  • hogfish
    Lachnolaimus maximus · 10–40 m · legal
    This card is LOUISIANA-anchored, not façade-wide: only LA carries an explicit hogfish line — year-round in state waters, min 14″ (36 cm), 5/person/day. No AL or MS hogfish line was found; do not read it as a Gulf-wide allowance. Florida does carry a Gulf line: min 14″ fork length, 5/person/day, year-round — so the sixteen Florida cities on this façade read Florida's rule, not Louisiana's.
  • lionfish
    Pterois volitans / P. miles · 1–60 m · invasive — target
    Invasive: no season, size or bag limit. But the basis here is negative space — lionfish is not a listed species in MS Title 22 Part 3, and Texas states plainly there are no limits except as listed. No AL or LA lionfish line was found. Florida's licence exemption DOES apply to the sixteen Florida cities on this façade: no licence is needed when taking lionfish with a pole spear, Hawaiian sling, hand-held net or a lionfish-specific device.
    • Regulated — check your state
    • red snapper📋 season by state
      Not merely 'typically May–Oct': TEXAS state waters are open ALL YEAR at 4 fish/day, min 15″ (38 cm). LA open from May 1 until further notice, 4/day, 16″. AL and MS set the season annually, 2/person, 16″ (41 cm). Red snapper is nongame in Texas, so spear and speargun are lawful gear. Florida sets its own Gulf state-waters season each year, separate from the federal one: min 16″ (41 cm), 2/person, and the free State Reef Fish Angler designation is required.
    • flounder📋 season by state
      Three DIFFERENT autumn closures inside one façade — there is no single season: AL closed all November, LA Oct 15–Nov 30, TX Nov 1–Dec 14 (bag 0), MS year-round. Min AL 14″ (36 cm), MS 12″ (30 cm), LA none, TX 15″ (38 cm). Flounder is nongame in Texas, so gigging and spearing are the normal legal method there.
    • greater amberjack📋 season by state
      The defining rig and wreck fish of the northern Gulf. Louisiana opens Sep 1 and closes Oct 14. AL/MS follow the federal season; Texas has no state closure. Min 34″ (86 cm), Texas 38″ (97 cm) — and it is nongame there, so fully spearable. Bag 1/person in all four states. Florida runs its own FWC Gulf season: min 34″ fork length, 1/person — check the current year's opening.
    • gray triggerfish📋 season by state
      Texas is the genuine outlier: 20 a day against one a day in AL, MS and LA. Min AL/MS 15″ (38 cm), TX 16″ (41 cm); in LA it sits inside the 20-reef-fish aggregate. Louisiana closed Jan 1–end of February and Jun 1–Jul 31.
    • gag grouper📋 season by state
      The practical spear season on the Louisiana shelf-edge banks is Sep 1–Dec 31 (to 23:59). AL and MS open; Texas has no state closure. Min 24″ (61 cm) in all four states, bag 2/person (in LA inside the 4-grouper aggregate). In Florida the Gulf gag season is set by FWC (in recent years Sep 1–Nov 10), min 24″, 2/person inside the 4-grouper aggregate — check the current year.
    Law
    • ✓Saltwater licence (+endorsement) per state: FL $17/$47, AL res $30, MS ~$13/$30, LA res $32, TX licence + saltwater endorsement.
    • ✓Texas: spear only (sheepshead/flounder); gamefish (red drum/seatrout/cobia) pole-and-line only.
    • ✓Red snapper: state-set season. Federal reef waters: spear + allowed outside the stressed area, descending device required.
    • ⛔ 🚫 Goliath/Nassau grouper, Gulf sturgeon, sawfish, sea turtles, mammals and many sharks — take prohibited.
    • ⛔ ⚠️ Texas & Alabama: gamefish (red drum/seatrout) pole-and-line only, NOT by spear. : banned in FL/TX, allowed in federal waters outside the stressed area.

    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.
    Local guide · Dauphin Island

    Spearfishing in Dauphin Island: spots, seasons and rules

    Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

    Dauphin Island spearfishing is not a beach-rock article. The plan points offshore to metal: Papa Joe, the Edwards Liberty Ship and the Anderson Liberty Ship. Each entry is yellow with medium solo severity and no protected-spot flag. The area faces south, with a poor sector from 150 to 225 degrees. The buoy station is pnlm6 at 45.6 km, and the Dauphin Island live camera is a surface check, not a wreck-visibility guarantee.

    TL;DR

    • Dauphin Island is a wreck plan: Papa Joe, Edwards Liberty Ship and Anderson Liberty Ship are the listed marks.
    • The south-facing Gulf sector matters, with 150 to 225 degrees marked poor and 185 degrees the main direction.
    • Alabama resident saltwater license is listed at $30 in Gulf rules.
    • Alabama gamefish red drum and seatrout are pole-and-line only, not spear targets; red snapper remains season-dependent.

    Which Dauphin Island wrecks are listed?

    The city set is all wrecks, so the plan is boat, crew and season check. The Liberty ships are larger, more exposed objectives; Papa Joe is the simpler name but still requires clean Gulf conditions.

    SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
    Papa Joe (John Wood)Metal tug wreckWreck depth is not statedIntermediate boat diveBoat access directly south of Dauphin IslandPapa Joe is described as a metal tug directly south. Treat it as the first wreck to assess before committing to larger offshore metal.
    Edwards Liberty Ship416 ft WWII Liberty shipWreck depth is not statedIntermediate to advanced boat diveBoat accessThe Edwards Liberty Ship is the big-snapper wreck in the Dauphin list. Red snapper seasons and current rules must be checked first.
    Anderson Liberty ShipWWII Liberty ship wreckWreck depth is not statedIntermediate to advanced boat diveBoat accessThe Anderson Liberty Ship is described as a sister Liberty ship with pelagics. Keep gamefish restrictions and identification discipline front and center.

    Why is Dauphin Island mostly a wreck plan?

    All three named marks are metal wrecks: a tug and two Liberty ships. That means anchoring, pickup, current and boat traffic matter more than a beach entry. No exact depths are available here, so do not present any of them as shallow unless your current chart confirms it.

    What Alabama legal cautions matter?

    Gulf rules list Alabama resident saltwater license at $30. Alabama gamefish, specifically red drum and seatrout, are pole-and-line only and not spear targets. Keep those fish out of the speargun plan.

    How does red snapper change the checklist?

    Red snapper is state-set, often May to October, with two to four fish per day and a 15 to 16 inch line. That is not a standing invitation. Confirm the current Alabama season before building a wreck day around snapper.

    Which Gulf wildlife is protected?

    Goliath and Nassau grouper, Gulf sturgeon, sawfish, sea turtles, marine mammals and many sharks are listed as prohibited. Federal reef waters also have separate descending-device language. If a wreck is full of mixed life and identification is poor, wait.

    FAQ

    What are the listed Dauphin Island spearfishing spots?

    Papa Joe, Edwards Liberty Ship and Anderson Liberty Ship are the three listed wrecks.

    Do Alabama gamefish allow spearing here?

    Gulf rules make Alabama red drum and seatrout pole-and-line only, not by spear.

    What license cost is listed for Alabama?

    Alabama resident saltwater license is listed at $30.

    Is red snapper always open around Dauphin Island?

    No. Red snapper is flagged as state-set, so the current season must be checked.

    What swell direction is worst for Dauphin Island?

    The poor sector is 150 to 225 degrees, with 185 degrees listed as the worst direction.

    Sources

    • Alabama DCNR fishing
    • NOAA Fisheries recreational fishing

    Nearby towns

    • Fort Morgan: forecast and spots
    • Spearfishing in Gulf Shores
    • Biloxi spearfishing guide
    • Dive spots near Pensacola
    • Dive spots near Gulfport
    Data partners
    dive centres that send us real visibility readings
    Águas VivasMilfontes · Sagres

    Sargassum: in seasonshore washups possibleAFAI satellite, 2026-10-24 · NOAA/USF