Bikini Beach pointGordon's Bay
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Rocky point beside the harbour; sheltered NE-facing False Bay corner, hottentot and galjoen. Easy shore entry.
Google MapsGordon's Bay spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
2.5
🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
visibility1m
Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding. 🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 10:50
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 10:50
Gordon's Bay — solo, off the rocks
don't go · wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~3.0 m)
wave 1.5 mwind 15, gusts 30 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~2 m
today, best window 09:00–12:00
fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 14.3°C
confidence medium · 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
07:44–17:58 · first quarter
▼ 03:00▲ 09:00▼ 15:00▲ 21:00 · 0.6 m
Hours (06→20)
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.12 m
Wave1.32 m
Wind19 km/h
Water14 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:40 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:00 · high · moonrise 12:14 · moderate · moon overhead 19:20 · high
Conditions window09:00–12:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.50 mperiod 8.9 swind 15→30surge 20viz 1 m
1.50 mup to ~3.00 · 208° at an angle
8.9 sswell moderate
15→30gusts 30 km/h
20pounding the rocks
0.14m/s
1 mrecent swell
14.3°Cthicker suit + hood
▼15:00tide turn near
Atmosphere4 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
- wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~3.0 m)
- wind 15 km/h
- ebb — weaker inshore
confidence mediumtwilight
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
Kogel Bay (Dappat se Gat)Gordon's Bay
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Rugged reef and gullies under Clarence Drive; kob and galjoen, exposed to SE. Steep rock scramble to enter.
Google MapsRooi ElsGordon's Bay
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Boulder reef at the foot of the mountains, clear on SE wind; yellowtail and roman. Long swim over kelp.
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
- yellowtail
- garrick / leervis
- geelbek (Cape salmon)
- galjoen (national fish)National fish but NOT no-take: legally spearable (35 cm, bag 2), closed 15 Oct–end Feb.
- kob / kabeljou
- red roman
- king mackerel (couta/cuda)
- elf / shad⚠️ Closed 1 Sep–30 Nov (spawning). Don't take it then.
- white musselcracker
- hottentot
Law
- ✓You need a endorsed for SPEARFISHING (MLRA 18/1998). Buy it online (fishing.dffe.gov.za) or at an authorised office (SAPO branch) — check the current fee there. Own use only — sale is banned.
- ✓Breath-hold + snorkel only — scuba/hookah are BANNED (reg 8). Spearfishing in is FULLY BANNED (reg 16, no exceptions). Daily cap of 10 fish total. Inside an obey the managing authority; in several you can't even CARRY a speargun.
- ⛔ 🚫 Table 3 (zero possession): brindle bass (Epinephelus lanceolatus), potato bass (E. tukula), seventy-four (moratorium since 1998), great white / whale / basking sharks, sawfishes, coelacanth, Natal wrasse.
- ⛔ 🚫 All hard corals, sea fans and sea pens (Scleractinia/Gorgonacea/Pennatulacea) — protected. Seahorses/pipefish (Syngnathidae) — no-take.
- ⛔ 🚫 Spearfishing in is FULLY BANNED (reg 16 — no exceptions). Inside an obey the managing authority's conditions; in several you can't even CARRY a speargun (Sardinia Bay, Bird Island, Robben Island etc.). Abalone (perlemoen) — recreationally closed until further notice.
Rules change. Before heading out, check with the DFFE (Marine Recreational Fishing brochure / permit) and the MPA managing authority (SANParks / CapeNature / Ezemvelo KZN / ECPTA / iSimangaliso).
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 Gordon's Bay: spots, seasons and rules
Spearfishing in Gordon's Bay works best as a False Bay weather call. The town sits in a protected corner, so the first look is usually Bikini Beach and the harbour edge. A moderate southeast can push clearer water into the bay, but once that wind hardens, Kogel Bay turns exposed. Carry the MLRA spearfishing permit, dive on snorkel only, and never spear in estuaries or harbour water.
TL;DR
- Gordon's Bay is the sheltered northeastern corner of False Bay, with easier kelp entries than the Atlantic side when the sea is small.
- Bikini Beach point is the simplest shore start; Kogel Bay is rougher, and Rooi Els is a longer kelp swim.
- A light southeast can clean the corner, but a hard southeast stacks chop quickly. Stay out of the Steenbras river mouth and harbour basin.
- South Africa requires an MLRA recreational permit endorsed for spearfishing, breath-hold only, and a national daily cap of 10 fish.
Where are the practical Gordon's Bay shore spots?
All three entries are rocky or kelp-edged and sit outside the Steenbras estuary and harbour basin. Treat the coast east of town with more caution than the protected bay corner; it is steeper and more swell dependent.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bikini Beach point | Rocky point beside the harbour | Shallow kelp and reef edge | Intermediate, easiest of the three | Shore entry near Bikini Beach and the harbour side | The calm-water choice for hottentot and galjoen on the sheltered northeast False Bay shore. Keep clear of the harbour basin and boat movement. |
| Kogel Bay (Dappat se Gat) | Rugged reef and gullies below Clarence Drive | Shallow reef gullies | Intermediate with a careful exit plan | Steep rock scramble from the coastal road | Kob and galjoen are the draw, but the site is exposed to southeast wind and sits near a Shark Spotters beach. Skip washing exits. |
| Rooi Els | Boulder reef at the mountain foot | Kelp-covered reef and boulder lanes | Intermediate, longer swim | Open coast shore approach west of the village | Rooi Els can clear on southeast wind and holds yellowtail and roman. The long kelp swim makes a buddy and settled morning important. |
When does Gordon's Bay get the cleanest water?
The pattern is unusual for the Cape: a southeast breeze can help the northeastern corner of False Bay, while a hard southeast quickly makes Kogel Bay uncomfortable. Avoid swell from the south through west-southwest. The useful window is calm, bright, and settled, and the Harbour Island and Strand webcams help read it before making the drive.
Which fish should a spearo expect?
Bikini Beach point is a hottentot and galjoen venue, Kogel Bay adds kob, and Rooi Els is the open kelp option for yellowtail and roman. Galjoen has a 35 cm minimum, bag limit two, and is closed from 15 October to the end of February. Hottentot is 22 cm minimum and kob is 40 cm.
What areas are closed or treated as no-go?
Do not spear in the Steenbras river mouth or the harbour basin. Estuaries are closed nationally, and harbour water is the wrong place to carry a loaded speargun. If an MPA boundary or local restriction is uncertain, treat it as restricted until confirmed with DFFE and the managing authority.
What permit is needed in South Africa?
A recreational permit endorsed for spearfishing is required under MLRA rules. It can be arranged through DFFE's online permit platform or an authorised SAPO branch, where the current fee should be checked. Spearfishing is for personal use only; sale is banned. Scuba and hookah are not allowed, and the overall daily fish cap is 10.
FAQ
Is Gordon's Bay beginner friendly for spearfishing?
On a calm day it is more forgiving than the exposed coast, especially around Bikini Beach point. Kogel Bay and Rooi Els need stronger exits.
Can I spear in the Steenbras river mouth?
No. South Africa bans spearfishing in estuaries, and the Steenbras mouth and harbour basin are excluded too.
Does a southeast wind help visibility?
A moderate southeast can push clearer water into this False Bay corner. A hard southeast builds chop fast and can spoil the dive.
Do I need a South African spearfishing permit here?
Yes. Carry a recreational fishing permit endorsed for spearfishing under MLRA rules, bought online through DFFE or at an authorised SAPO branch.
Is scuba spearfishing legal in Gordon's Bay?
No. South African recreational spearfishing is breath-hold and snorkel only; scuba and hookah are banned for spearing.
Sources
Nearby towns
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