GA-189 Mitchell's ReefGalveston
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Concrete + culvert relief.
Google MapsGalveston spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.3
wave 0.5 m
visibility4m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 17:46
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 17:46
Galveston — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind-wave — choppy surface
wave 0.5 mwind 37, gusts 48 km/hvisibility ~6 mwindow 15:00–21:00
today, best window 18:00–21:00
fish · Visibility 6 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
06:33–20:17 · first quarter
▲ 01:00▲ 03:00▼ 07:00▲ 08:00▼ 17:00 · 0.5 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.11 m
Wave0.40 m
Wind17 km/h
Water31 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:52 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:50 · high · moonrise 14:53 · moderate · moon overhead 20:10 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.40 mperiod 3.4 swind 14→16surge 0.1viz 5 m
0.40 mup to ~0.80 · 202° at an angle
3.4 sswell moderate
14→16gusts 16 km/h
0.1weak surge
0.28m/s
5 mrecent swell
31.1°C5 mm + hood
▼17:00tide turn near
Atmosphere33 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
- wind-wave — choppy surface
- wind 14 km/h
- low water — slack
confidence mediumday
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
GA-220 Big Mans ReefGalveston
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Shallowest nearshore reef, easy freedive.
Google MapsGalveston South JettyGalveston
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Granite jetty; sheepshead, flounder.
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.
Spearfishing in Galveston: spots, seasons and rules
Spearfishing Galveston is a legal-filtered Gulf dive. The structure is real: Galveston South Jetty gives granite for sheepshead and flounder, GA-220 Big Mans Reef is the shallow nearshore artificial reef, and GA-189 Mitchell's Reef adds concrete and culvert relief. The water can be murky from Gulf currents and sediment, so wait for settled weather and avoid the east-through-south bad sector, especially southeast swell. The catch is Texas law. Texas law says spear and speargun may take nongame fish only, while gamefish such as red drum, spotted seatrout and cobia are pole-and-line only. Treat sheepshead and flounder as the conservative spear targets, and do not assume red snapper is spearable unless the current state or federal rule clearly says so.
TL;DR
- Galveston is granite jetty and artificial-reef spearfishing in murky Gulf water, with South Jetty, Big Mans Reef and Mitchell's Reef as the listed marks.
- The bad sector is east through south, with southeast swell the worst visibility and comfort direction.
- Texas is the legal trap: spear and speargun are for nongame fish only, so sheepshead and flounder are the conservative targets.
- Red drum, spotted seatrout and cobia are pole-and-line gamefish; red snapper requires current state or federal season clarity before any plan.
Best spearfishing spots near Galveston
All three listed marks are yellow-safety structure dives with no local no-take polygon hit. The legal filter is stricter than the habitat: do not turn every fish on a reef into a spear target.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galveston South Jetty | Granite jetty | Jetty rocks and edge, qualitative only | Intermediate current-aware dive | Jetty access by local conditions and boat or shore planning | The backbone Galveston mark for sheepshead and flounder. Current, boat traffic and visibility decide whether it is sensible. |
| GA-220 Big Mans Reef | Nearshore artificial reef | Shallowest nearshore reef in the local set | Intermediate boat dive | Boat entry off Galveston | The easiest reef-style objective in the data. Good for a freedive plan only when the water has settled enough to identify fish clearly. |
| GA-189 Mitchell's Reef | Concrete and culvert reef | Artificial reef relief, qualitative only | Intermediate boat dive | Boat entry off Galveston | A structure option when the nearshore reef line is clear. Keep Texas nongame-only spearing rules in mind before the first drop. |
When does Galveston visibility become workable?
The local aspect points southeast, with the bad sector from east through south and southeast worst. Galveston water often carries sediment, so a single calm morning may not be enough. Check buoy 42035, the Pleasure Pier camera and recent wind. If you cannot identify fish confidently, the legal and safety answer is to wait.
Why are jetties central here?
The Texas Gulf has limited natural hard bottom near shore, so granite jetties and artificial reefs create much of the usable habitat. South Jetty offers the shore-linked structure, while Big Mans and Mitchell's are reef-program style boat marks. They can hold fish, but they also concentrate current, anglers and boat movement.
Which fish are conservative spear targets?
The Galveston-specific legal note is the driver: spear nongame fish only. Sheepshead and flounder are the conservative targets. Red drum, spotted seatrout and cobia are gamefish and pole-and-line only. Red snapper is marked season-set and limit-sensitive, and federal reef-water rules can differ, so do not plan to spear it unless the current rule for your exact water and season is explicit.
What Texas rules should a diver confirm?
Carry the Texas fishing license and saltwater endorsement. The legal devices rule is central because Texas law distinguishes nongame spearing from gamefish angling. Powerhead language is also restrictive in local notes, and federal reef-water exceptions should not be guessed from a dock conversation. Galveston rewards a short legal target list and a clean identification standard.
FAQ
Can you spear redfish in Galveston?
No. The local Texas legal note treats red drum as a gamefish, so it is pole-and-line only.
What can you spear around Galveston?
Sheepshead and flounder are the conservative targets because Texas spearing is limited to nongame fish.
Is Galveston South Jetty a beginner spot?
No. It has useful granite structure, but current, boat traffic, anglers and visibility make it an intermediate call.
What swell direction is worst for Galveston?
Southeast is the worst direction, with east through south swell in the bad sector.
Are Big Mans Reef and Mitchell's Reef no-take zones?
No local no-take polygon is flagged, but Texas species and legal-device rules still limit what can be speared.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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