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

Fire Island Inlet · United States
2.5
💧 Water should clear by Thursday (~1d)
visibility1m

Today — sit it outwave, wind and surge pounding. 💧 Water should clear by Thursday (~1d)

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicushigh confidence · data 17:33

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

This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera
0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
calmupdated 17:33
Fire Island Inlet — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.6 m (occasionally up to ~3.2 m)
wave 1.6 m head-onwind 26, gusts 41 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 20.2°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
05:4120:18 · first quarter
01:00 08:00 14:00 21:00 · 1.0 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.77 m
Wave1.48 m
Wind12 km/h
Water20 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 07:20 · high · moonrise 14:52 · moderate · moon overhead 19:40 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.58 mperiod 7.4 s head-onwind 26→41surge 14.8viz 1 m
1.58 mup to ~3.16 · 169° head-on
7.4 sswell moderate
26→41gusts 41 km/h
14.8pounding the rocks
0.31m/s
1 mrecent swell
20.2°C5 mm + hood
▼21:00tide falling
Atmosphere19 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
  • wave 1.6 m (occasionally up to ~3.2 m)
  • wind-wave — choppy surface
  • ebb — weaker inshore
confidence lowday
Open the seafloor map with entry points

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

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — 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: 1152 spots across 189 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
Democrat Point JettyFire Island Inlet
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Federal jetty on the south side of Fire Island Inlet at the west tip of Fire Island (Robert Moses SP); tautog and sea bass on the rocks.

Google Maps
Fire Island Reef (NYSDEC artificial reef)Fire Island Inlet
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Official NY artificial reef 2.0 nmi south of Fire Island Light, ~850 acres of barges, dredges and rock at 62-73 ft.

Google Maps
Sore Thumb / Oak Beach JettyFire Island Inlet
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Rock/sand-dike structure on the north side of the inlet at Oak Beach, built to fight barrier erosion.

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.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — 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…
Fire Island Beach Cam — Ocean Beach (CCN)Direct HLS (ccn) — Fire Island Beach Cam — Ocean Beach (CCN). Token-free open stream. Read the water before you go.camera: ccn
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • tautog
    Tautoga onitis · 3–18 m · legal
  • black sea bass
    Centropristis striata · 5–40 m · legal
  • summer flounder (fluke)
    Paralichthys dentatus · 3–30 m · legal
  • scup (porgy)
    Stenotomus chrysops · 5–30 m · legal
  • bluefish
    Pomatomus saltatrix · 0–20 m · legal
  • striped bass
    Morone saxatilis · 0–15 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    Striped bass is spearable in RI/NY/NJ/DE/VA but BANNED in ME/MA/CT/MD (no ban in NH). Never gaff.
Law
  • 🚫 American lobster — NEVER by spear anywhere on the coast (hand-take only, under a separate dive permit).
  • 🚫 Sturgeon — total ban; sharks in many states (VA/NJ/NC) not by spear. Striped bass: see the species note.
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 · Fire Island Inlet

Spearfishing in Fire Island Inlet: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Spearfishing Fire Island Inlet works when you separate reef days from jetty days. Fire Island Reef sits about 2 nautical miles south of Fire Island Light and spreads barges, dredges, rock and hard material across roughly 850 acres in 62 to 73 ft. Democrat Point Jetty and the Sore Thumb or Oak Beach side give closer inlet rocks for tautog and black sea bass when the water is clean. South swell is the weak point: it pushes into the beach and inlet mouth at once. New York allows spearing species such as tautog, black sea bass, fluke and striped bass, but lobster is not a spear target.

TL;DR

  • Fire Island Inlet splits into two dives: Fire Island Reef offshore, and inlet rocks at Democrat Point and Sore Thumb.
  • South swell is the main problem because the coast faces open Atlantic water.
  • Tautog, black sea bass, fluke, scup, bluefish and striped bass define the local species set.
  • New York uses free marine fishing registration, muscle-powered guns, bathing-area distance rules, and lobster is never a spear target.

Best spearfishing spots around Fire Island Inlet

These are yellow-safety structure dives with no local no-take hit. The reef is a boat dive; the inlet rocks demand current awareness and a conservative surf call.

SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
Fire Island ReefNYSDEC artificial reefAbout 62 to 73 ftIntermediate boat diveBoat entry about 2 nautical miles south of Fire Island LightThe largest structure field here, with barges, dredges and rock. Pick it when south swell is down and offshore visibility beats the inlet.
Democrat Point JettyFederal inlet jettyRock edge and inlet shallows, qualitative onlyIntermediate rock diveSouth side of Fire Island Inlet at Robert Moses State ParkA tautog and black sea bass rock dive. If sets wash the stones or boat traffic is tight, skip it.
Sore Thumb / Oak Beach JettyRock and sand-dike structureInlet-side rock and sand, qualitative onlyIntermediate rock diveNorth side of Fire Island Inlet at Oak BeachUseful when the north-side structure is cleaner than the ocean beach. Treat it as an inlet dive before a fish dive.

What conditions make Fire Island Inlet diveable?

The bad swell sector runs from southeast through southwest, with straight south worst. The Ocean Beach camera can show a white surf line, but not reef clarity. For jetties, tide and boat movement matter as much as swell. For the reef, check the offshore buoy and the recent calm window.

Should you choose the reef or the jetties?

Choose Fire Island Reef with a boat, stable weather and enough visibility for 60-plus ft structure. Choose Democrat Point or Sore Thumb only when the inlet rocks are calm and current is manageable. The jetties are closer, but they concentrate tide, wake, rock and surf.

Which fish matter most at Fire Island Inlet?

The Northeast list includes tautog over rock, black sea bass on structure, summer flounder over sand breaks, scup, bluefish and striped bass. Striped bass is spearable in New York, but not in every Northeast state. American lobster is never taken by spear and belongs under separate hand-take rules.

What New York rules should divers remember?

New York uses free marine fishing registration rather than the license model used in many other states. Spearguns are muscle-powered, and divers must respect bathing-area separation. Fish have season, size and possession rules that change by species. Sturgeon are fully protected. If a fish is not clearly open by method and season, leave it.

FAQ

Can you spearfish striped bass at Fire Island Inlet?

Yes, New York is one of the states where striped bass is listed as spearable, but season and size rules still apply.

Is Fire Island Reef a shore dive?

No. It is an offshore artificial reef about 2 nautical miles south of Fire Island Light and should be planned as a boat dive.

What swell direction is worst for Fire Island Inlet?

South is the worst direction, with southeast to southwest swell also in the bad sector for this south-facing coast.

Can lobster be speared in New York?

No. American lobster is never a spear target; it is hand-take only under separate permit rules.

Are the Fire Island Inlet spots inside a no-take zone?

The listed spots are not flagged by a local no-take polygon, but New York species, season and method rules still control the dive.

Sources

Nearby towns

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