Today — right on the edge.
Sources & confidence
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.
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.
Safety gates
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
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
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.
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Gulf Shores, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
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.
See all spotsRelief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.
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.
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 mapThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appLimestone aggregate about 12 km offshore in 15 m. Snapper and grouper among the rock; Alabama's reef zone lets the public sink their own structure, so the bottom changes.
Google MapsThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appEast 2nd Street Access: you go in from the shore, some 1.5 km from Gulf Shores. Mapped by Alabama DCNR as a beach. Maximum depth is around 4 m. Open water shows only over a narrow sector, to the south. Gulf tides here run on a daily cycle and the range is small.
Google MapsNearshore module cluster in 11 m, with snapper and triggerfish. Alabama bans spearguns in state-park waters, so watch your position when working close to the beach.
Google MapsShallow eco-reef about 5 km off the beach in 9 m, with good visibility on swell-free days. Sheepshead and snapper; ideal for a first Gulf dive.
Google MapsEntry from the beach at Gulf Shores Main Public Beach, Gulf Place, 1.1 km out of Gulf Shores. Mapped by Alabama DCNR as a beach. Marker position: 30.246° N, 87.690° W. The deepest water here is close to 3 m. Gulf tides here run on a daily cycle and the range is small.
Google MapsEntry from the beach at Gulf State Park Pier, 3.2 km out of Gulf Shores. Marker position: 30.248° N, 87.668° W. Expect no more than about 4 m of water. Open water shows only over a narrow sector, to the south.
Google MapsYou can walk into the water at Little Lagoon Pass Park; the town of Gulf Shores is 3.5 km away. The pin sits at 30.240 N / 87.738 W on the chart. Expect no more than about 3 m of water. Gulf tides here run on a daily cycle and the range is small.
Google MapsShore access point The Whiskey wreck, roughly 0.4 km from Gulf Shores. Coordinates of the entry: 30.244 N, 87.698 W. The deepest water here is close to 5 m. NOAA soundings step from about 4 m at 50 m off the marker to 8 m at 200 m. Bottom type: a wreck and sand.
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.
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
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».
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.
Spearfishing Gulf Shores is attractive because Alabama put a lot of hard bottom close to the beach. The catch is legal, not geographic. The local rule says Alabama requires a saltwater license and limits spearing to nongame or commercial fish, with the diver fully submerged. That means Eco 16-W01, Eco 13-W01 and Agg 19-01 are structure targets for visibility and fish finding, not automatic permission to spear every reef fish that appears. South-sector swell from 150 to 225 degrees can ruin the nearshore clarity quickly. Check the Sea-N-Suds view, NOAA 42012 and Outdoor Alabama rules before you decide what can be taken.
The useful local pattern is shallow artificial reef, short boat run and strict species filtering. These spots are good for reading Alabama's nearshore reef system, but each fish still has to pass the state method rule before it goes on the stringer.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eco 16-W01 | Nearshore eco-reef | Shallow Gulf reef zone | Intermediate boat freedive | About 5 km offshore in settled weather | The local note calls it shallow with good visibility. Use it as the first check when the beach has settled, but apply the Alabama nongame or commercial-fish rule before taking anything. |
| Eco 13-W01 | Nearshore reef cluster | Freedive-friendly reef structure | Intermediate | Boat from Gulf Shores | Snapper and triggerfish may gather here, but presence is not permission. The legal plan has to start with Alabama's species method limits, then current size and season rules. |
All 367 spots → · Region: Alabama · spearo.app — All countries
| Agg 19-01 | Limestone aggregate reef | About 12 km offshore | Experienced small-boat crew | Longer nearshore run than the eco-reefs | This is the more weather-sensitive option. It can be worth the run after a flat spell, especially if the closer reefs are still stirred by beach turbidity. |
Gulf Shores water visibility improves after light wind, small swell and enough time for suspended sand to fall out. The coast faces south, so a clean forecast with a lingering south swell can still be poor underwater. The worst local swell direction is near 185 degrees. NOAA station 42012 is close enough to matter, and the Sea-N-Suds pier cam gives a fast check on color, surf and wind texture.
Hard bottom is limited along coastal Alabama, so the artificial reef program creates the structure. Eco-reefs and aggregate reefs hold bait, sheepshead, gray snapper, red snapper and triggerfish, but the hunting value is selective. A good Gulf Shores day is clear water plus a legal target species, a boat outside traffic and a diver fully submerged before any shot.
The Gulf list includes red snapper, sheepshead, flounder and cobia, but Alabama's method rule changes the way that list should be read. Sheepshead and flounder are simpler candidates than regulated reef fish, yet current state rules still decide. Protected Gulf animals stay untouched: goliath grouper, Nassau grouper, Gulf sturgeon, sawfish, sea turtles, marine mammals and many sharks. If the species is uncertain, pass.
Start with an Alabama saltwater license. Then check whether the intended species is legal by spear, because the local note says Alabama spearing is for nongame or commercial fish only. The diver must be fully submerged. Red snapper has state-set seasons and reef-fish release requirements can apply offshore.
Yes. The Alabama entry requires a saltwater license, and the target species must also be legal by spear.
Do not assume so. Red snapper is season-controlled, and Alabama's spearing rule limits method by species class.
Eco 16-W01 is the close shallow eco-reef noted around 5 km offshore.
South swell and onshore wind stir sand across the shallow shelf. Watch the 150 to 225 degree swell sector.
The reefs can be shallow, but the legal filtering, boat traffic and fast-changing visibility make it an intermediate plan.
Sargassum: in seasonshore washups possibleAFAI satellite, 2026-10-24 · NOAA/USF
