Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding.
Sources:Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 14:47
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.
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.
point your camera
0 m
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
updated 14:47
Flinders — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.8 m (occasionally up to ~3.7 m)
wave 1.8 mwind 19, gusts 39 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~2 m
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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.
Chosen from seabed measurements, not from divers' reports.
swell on the quarter today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈0.8–6.7 m (bathymetry AusSeabed, 30 m)
Chosen by measurement, not by a confirmed source. Depth by the grid from mean sea level: 0.8–6.7 m; bottom height varies by 5.9 m (moderate). At low tide only about 33% of the area is deeper than 1 m. Come on a rising or high tide. Access, visibility and fish are unknown: judge it on the shore.
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.
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».
Westernport Yacht Club — Balnarring Beach — Windy webcam · 13 kmCamera at Balnarring Beach, 13 km away. Windy webcam — Westernport Yacht Club — Balnarring Beach. Official windy.com player (a timelapse of recent stills), plays on the page. Webcams provided by windy.com — add new webcam: windy.com/webcams/add. Read the water before you go.camera: windy ↗Webcams provided by windy.com - add new webcam
Somers Yacht Club — Western Port — Windy webcam · 15 kmCamera at Somers, 15 km away. Windy webcam — Somers Yacht Club — Western Port. Official windy.com player (a timelapse of recent stills), plays on the page. Webcams provided by windy.com — add new webcam: windy.com/webcams/add. Read the water before you go.camera: windy ↗Webcams provided by windy.com - add new webcam
Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 15:36 (Australia/Melbourne)
In season now
yellowtail kingfish
Seriola lalandi · 3–35 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 60 cm · bag 2 a day
snapper
Chrysophrys auratus · 5–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 28 cm · bag 10 a day
dusky flathead
Platycephalus fuscus · 1–15 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
30–55 cm · bag 5 a day
luderick (blackfish)
Girella tricuspidata · 0–12 m · legal
min 23 cm · bag 10 a day
silver trevally
Pseudocaranx georgianus · 3–30 m · legal
min 20 cm · bag 20 a day
rock blackfish (black drummer)
Girella elevata · 0–12 m · legal
no minimum size · bag 5 a day
Australian salmon
Arripis trutta · 0–15 m · legal
min 21 cm · bag 20 a day
bastard trumpeter
Latridopsis forsteri · 5–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
no minimum size · bag 5 a day
striped trumpeter
Latris lineata · 15–50 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
no minimum size · bag 5 a day
banded morwong
Cheilodactylus spectabilis · 3–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 23 cm · bag 5 a day
bluethroat wrasse
Notolabrus tetricus · 3–30 m · legal
min 27 cm · bag 5 a day
mulloway (jewfish)
Argyrosomus japonicus · 2–25 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 60 cm · bag 5 a day
yellowfin bream
Acanthopagrus australis · 0–6 m · legal
min 28 cm · bag 10 a day
black bream
Acanthopagrus butcheri · 0–6 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 28 cm · bag 10 a day
southern calamari
Sepioteuthis australis · 1–12 m · legal
no minimum size · bag 10 a day
octopus
Octopus spp. · 0–10 m · legal
no minimum size · bag 10 a day
cuttlefish
Sepia spp. · 1–15 m · legal
no minimum size · bag 10 a day
King George whiting
Sillaginodes punctatus · 0–6 m · legal
min 27 cm · bag 20 a day
tailor
Pomatomus saltatrix · 0–10 m · legal
min 23 cm · bag 20 a day
cobia (black kingfish)
Rachycentron canadum · 3–25 m · legal
no minimum size · bag 5 a day
Spanish mackerel
Scomberomorus commerson · 3–25 m · legal
no minimum size · bag 5 a day
off season: eastern blue groper () · black cod (black rockcod) () · grey nurse shark ()
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.
✓VIC: a recreational fishery licence is required to take fish or to use or carry fishing gear in, on or next to Victorian waters — spearfishing included (Fisheries Act 1995, s 44; Fisheries Regulations 2019, reg. 99). For the current fee, check the VFA. Exempt: under-18s (Act s 47), people aged 70 or over, Seniors Card holders, aged or invalid pensioners, TPI and service pensioners, holders of a concession card from a carer payment, Veterans Card – Victoria holders and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people (reg. 98).
✓VIC gear and places (per VFA): a speargun, included, may be used in any marine water that is not a restricted water; a hand spear may take any fish except rock lobster and abalone. Speargun and hand spear are banned within 30 m of any jetty or pier and within 30 m of the mouth of any creek or river. No express scuba prohibition for spearfishing was found in the VFA rules — that is not the same as «allowed», so check with the VFA before you go (Fisheries Regulations 2019, reg. 120–121).
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 Flinders
Where can I spearfish in Flinders?
Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary begins about 1 km south-west of Flinders, a village on the Victorian coast, and all fishing, spearfishing included, is banned inside it. Check today's forecast above and pick a calm-sea day, always with a marker buoy.
When is the best season in Flinders?
Summer (Dec–Mar) — Bass Strait calms; cold, dive the slack at the Heads.
How cold is the water in Flinders?
Summer 14–19 °C — 5–7 mm suit; winter 11–13 °C — 7 mm. Cold Bass Strait.
Is Flinders good for a beginner?
Hard: cold, strong race at the Heads — dive the slack.
Do I need a licence in Flinders?
Flinders is in VIC. Yes — Victoria requires a Recreational Fishing Licence, and the spear is banned in and beside every inland water. 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.
✓VIC closed waters: a speargun may not be used or carried in Anderson, Corner, Curdies, Mallacoota, Shallow, Tamboon and Wingan Inlets, Lake Tyers and the Gippsland Lakes — where only four named spots are open (Fisheries Regulations 2019, reg. 120; version 006 of 1 July 2023 is still the one in force). and Marine are closed outright (National Parks Act 1975). A gun may be carried through prohibited waters in a boat only by the most direct route.
✓VIC sizes and seasons: the same limits as for every other method; a species not listed carries a bag of 5. Key ones: snapper 28 cm, bag 10 (no more than 3 fish ≥40 cm), no closed season; kingfish 60 cm, bag 2. Rock lobster: males closed 15 Sep – 15 Nov, females 1 Jun – 15 Nov — and it may not be speared in any case (Fisheries Act 1995).
•VIC weather: the BOM marine wind warning summary for the state — bom.gov.au/marine/lite/warning/IDV20600.shtml. Rules change: check the VFA before every trip.
⛔ 🚫 Victoria: eastern AND western blue groper, black cod, plus seahorses, seadragons and pipefish — taking or possessing is prohibited (for Syngnathidae even attempting to take, catch-and-release included). Rock lobster may not be speared: a speargun may be carried while diving for lobster but never used on it.
⛔ 🚫 Eastern blue groper (the NSW state fish) and black cod may not be speared. Grey nurse shark, white shark, seahorses, seadragons and pipefish are protected. Rock lobster may not be taken with a spear in NSW, VIC or TAS; abalone may not be speared in VIC or TAS.
⛔ 🚫 and Marine (VIC), Tasmanian marine reserves and NSW aquatic reserves — all fishing prohibited. Every inland (fresh) water is closed to spearfishing in all three states.
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.
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