California PointEmpire
dangerousswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Breton Sound rubble ~16 km NE via Adams Bay; approx depth; boat entry.
Google MapsEmpire spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
2.5
wave 1.1 m head-on
visibility1m
Today — sit it out — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 17:56
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 17:56
Empire — solo, off the rocks
don't go · wave 1.1 m + swell period 5 s
wave 1.1 m head-onwind 37, gusts 43 km/hvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 31.1°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
06:12–19:56 · first quarter
▲ 05:00▼ 15:00 · 0.3 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.44 m
Wave1.84 m
Wind34 km/h
Water31 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:30 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:30 · high · moonrise 14:32 · moderate · moon overhead 19:50 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.10 mperiod 5 s head-onwind 37→43surge 0.2viz 1 m
1.10 mup to ~2.20 · 222° head-on
5 sswell moderate
37→43gusts 43 km/h
0.2weak surge
0.25m/s
1 mrecent swell
31.1°C5 mm + hood
▲01:00tide turn near
Atmosphere1 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
- wave 1.1 m + swell period 5 s
- steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
- first hours of the flood — fish moving in
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
South Pass 37 (reefed platform)Empire
dangerousswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Far-offshore standing and reefed rigs ~60 km around the delta; snapper and cobia; approx depth; 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
- red snapperRed snapper: state-set season (typically May–Oct), 2–4/day, 15–16″.
- sheepshead
- flounder
- cobia (ling)Texas: spear NONGAME only (sheepshead/flounder); gamefish (red drum/seatrout/cobia) pole-and-line only.
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.
FAQ — spearfishing in Empire
Where can I spearfish in Empire?
Empire has rock entry points such as California Point and South Pass 37 (reefed platform). A spot-poor delta town at the Mississippi's edge: inshore is turbid estuary, so the real fishery is far-offshore standing and reefed rigs (~60 km around the delta) holding snapper and cobia, plus Breton Sound rubble ~16 km NE. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Empire?
Apr–Oct; rig-diving (rigs-to-reef) culture in federal waters.
How cold is the water in Empire?
The Mississippi plume clouds the coast; clear 22–29 °C on the far rigs.
Is Empire good for a beginner?
Advanced: serious hunting on the far rigs; plume-murky nearshore.
Do I need a licence in Empire?
Yes — in Empire, 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.
Coming soon
Get the go / no-go verdict for Empire by email
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Empire, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
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