Fort Lauderdale spearfishing forecast — United States

Q: Is Fort Lauderdale good for beginner spearfishing?

Jay Scutti is the most approachable listed wreck, but it is still a boat-planned ocean dive, not a casual beach entry.

Q: What swell direction is bad for Fort Lauderdale?

Northeast through southeast swell is the bad sector, with east-northeast the worst direction in local notes.

Q: Can I spear lobster on Fort Lauderdale wrecks?

No. Spiny lobster is hand-take only in Florida and cannot be punctured with a spear.

Q: Do Fort Lauderdale spearfishers need a reef-fish designation?

Yes when targeting Florida reef fish. It is free, but separate from the saltwater license.

Q: Are these Fort Lauderdale spots in a no-take zone?

No local no-take polygon is flagged for the listed marks, but Florida gear, distance and species rules still apply.

Fort Lauderdale · United States

5.4

wave 0.5 m head-on

visibility5m

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 17:59

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 17:59

Fort Lauderdale — solo, off the rocks

BORDERLINE

caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind 17 km/h

wave 0.5 m head-onwind 17 km/hvisibility ~7 mwindow 18:00–21:00

today, best window 18:00–21:00

fish · Visibility 7 m · Water 30.7°C

confidence medium · verdict for the selected day

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.

Wednesday · today2026-07-22

06:41–20:12 · first quarter

▲ 02:00▼ 09:00▲ 15:00▼ 22:00 · 0.7 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide-0.35 m

Wave0.40 m

Wind15 km/h

Water31 °C

fish activity: moonset 00:57 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:50 · high · moonrise 14:45 · moderate · moon overhead 20:10 · high

Conditions window15:00–18:00

don't go fish

Hs 0.48 mperiod 3.4 s head-onwind 20→23surge 0.4viz 5 m

0.48 mup to ~0.96 · 130° head-on

3.4 sswell moderate

20→23gusts 23 km/h

0.4weak surge

0.56m/s

5 mrecent swell

30.7°C5 mm + hood

▼22:00tide turn near

Atmosphere18 kmlandmarks visible

moderatemoonrise

strong wind 20 km/h, gusts 23 — caution
current 0.56 m/s
ebb — weaker inshore

confidence mediumday

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.

−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

Jay ScuttiFort Lauderdale

borderline

exposed head-on to the swell today

window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Shallow tugboat, beginner depth.

Google Maps

Rebel (Site C)Fort Lauderdale

borderline

exposed head-on to the swell today

window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Intact wreck, 35-ft relief; pelagics.

Google Maps

Robert EdmisterFort Lauderdale

borderline

exposed head-on to the swell today

window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Freighter on the second reef line.

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.

≈

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…

Port Everglades Webcam (PTZtv)PTZtv live HLS — Port Everglades Webcam (PTZtv). Commercial feed; its signed token is minted server-side on every load. Read the water before you go.camera: ptztv ↗

more: FLL Beach Oceanside (PTZtv) ↗ · FLL Beach House (PTZtv) ↗

Open the seafloor map →

Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now

sheepshead
Archosargus probatocephalus · 2–15 m · legal
mangrove/mutton snapper
Lutjanus spp. · 5–35 m · legal
gag/red grouper
Mycteroperca microlepis · 10–45 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
Season is state-set — check before you go.
hogfish
Lachnolaimus maximus · 5–30 m · legal
cobia
Rachycentron canadum · 3–30 m · legal
flounder
Paralichthys spp. · 1–20 m · legal

Law

✓Florida: saltwater licence $17 res / $47 non-res; reef fish need the free State Reef Fish Angler (SRFS) designation. NC: CRFL; SC/GA: saltwater licence.
✓Distances (FL): 100 yd from beaches/piers/bridges, 100 ft from the above-water part of a jetty. banned in FL and SC; rebreathers are illegal for spearfishing in FL.
✓SC: gamefish (red drum/seatrout/cobia/tarpon/striped bass) hook-and-line only (§50-5-1700). GA: speargun doubtful in state water — real hunting on federal reefs.

⛔ 🚫 Do not spear (FL FAC 68B-20.005): snook, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon, bonefish, pompano, goliath/Nassau grouper, billfish, sharks, rays + ornamental reef families.
⛔ 🚫 Spiny lobster/stone crab — hand-take only (no puncturing). banned in FL and SC. Monroe County (Long Key north to the Miami-Dade line — incl. Key Largo): spearfishing banned; the lionfish licence exemption does NOT override it — hand-held nets only there.

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 · Fort Lauderdale

Spearfishing in Fort Lauderdale: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Spearfishing Fort Lauderdale is built around the city's reef-and-wreck line. Jay Scutti is the shallow tugboat option, Robert Edmister sits on the second reef line, and Rebel (Site C) is the intact wreck with about 35 ft of relief and a better chance of pelagic traffic. The good days are warm and often clear, but the coast faces east, so northeast through southeast swell can turn the same marks milky and uncomfortable. Use Port Everglades and beach cameras as surface checks, then confirm the offshore buoy near 41122. Florida rules are the hard boundary: license, reef-fish designation where needed, divers-down flag, no powerheads, no rebreathers, and no spearing snook, redfish, seatrout or tarpon.

TL;DR

Fort Lauderdale is an Atlantic reef-line and wreck dive, not a quiet shore reef: Jay Scutti, Robert Edmister and Rebel are the core marks.
The coast faces east; northeast to southeast swell is the bad sector, with east-northeast the worst visibility direction.
Hogfish, mutton or mangrove snapper, sheepshead, cobia and flounder are the practical legal set; grouper seasons need checking.
Florida requires a saltwater license, reef-fish designation when needed, divers-down flag discipline, and no powerheads or rebreathers.

Best spearfishing spots near Fort Lauderdale

The listed sites are yellow-safety wreck or reef-line dives with no local no-take polygon hit. Access details are sparse, so treat all three as boat-planned dives and do not infer shore suitability.

Spot	Type	Depth	Level	Access	Notes
Jay Scutti	Shallow tugboat wreck	Beginner-depth wreck, qualitative only	Intermediate boat dive	Boat entry off Fort Lauderdale	The simplest of the three Fort Lauderdale wreck marks. Use it for a controlled reef-line session when east swell is low.
Robert Edmister	Freighter on the second reef line	Second reef line, qualitative only	Intermediate boat dive	Boat entry off Fort Lauderdale	A more structure-heavy option than the shallow tug. Expect snapper and reef fish logic, not a beach-entry hunt.
Rebel (Site C)	Intact wreck with relief	About 35 ft of relief	Intermediate to advanced boat dive	Boat entry off Fort Lauderdale	The higher-profile wreck in this set, with pelagic potential. Pick it only when visibility and traffic management are both in your favor.

What makes Fort Lauderdale visibility good?

The local aspect is east, and the bad sector runs from northeast through southeast. A gentle west or offshore wind is helpful; an east-northeast sea is not. Fort Lauderdale can look calm from shore while the second reef is hazy, so combine the beach view, Port Everglades camera and buoy 41122. If the reef line has been stirred for several tide cycles, wait.

How do the three wrecks differ?

Jay Scutti is the shallow tugboat and the most approachable structure. Robert Edmister is a freighter on the second reef line, so it feels more like a proper offshore reef dive. Rebel is the intact wreck with 35 ft of relief and a better chance of passing fish. The order is not a ranking; choose by sea state, crew and visibility.

Which fish are realistic in Fort Lauderdale?

The grounded Florida Atlantic list includes sheepshead in 2 to 15 m, mangrove or mutton snapper in 5 to 35 m, hogfish, cobia and flounder. Gag and red grouper are season or limit dependent. Spiny lobster may be present on these reefs, but it is hand-take only and cannot be punctured. Snook, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon, bonefish, pompano, goliath grouper, Nassau grouper, billfish, sharks, rays and ornamental reef families are no-spear.

Which Florida rules matter near Port Everglades?

Carry the Florida saltwater license and add the free State Reef Fish Angler designation if reef fish are in the plan. The divers-down flag is not optional in this boat-heavy coast. Florida bans powerheads and rebreathers for spearfishing. Stay clear of public swimming areas, piers, bridges and jetty structures, and remember that state waters on the Atlantic side run 3 nautical miles before federal rules take over.