Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding. 🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
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
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Half Moon Bay, 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.
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.
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 mapWARNING: a very rich rocky reef, 4–10 m, but entirely inside the Montara SMR — full no-take. Exposed coast with current, and white sharks work this stretch in autumn. An observation dive only, never a hunt.
Google MapsCameras, 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».
All 367 spots → · Region: California · spearo.app — All countries
A classic NorCal jetty, 4–10 m: rockfish, lingcod and cabezon in the rocks. WARNING: legally very tight — the no-take Montara SMR is 250 m away and the Pillar Point SMCA 310 m. Stay on the harbour side and watch your GPS.
The south jetty rock pile, 4–9 m, calmer on the harbour side: cabezon and rockfish between the blocks. The Pillar Point SMCA is about 300 m west — do not round the point. Fog is frequent, so carry a bright float.
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.
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 Half Moon Bay is possible, but it is not a broad open-coast invitation. The useful structure is around Pillar Point's north and south jetties, while Montara SMR to the north is hard no-take and Pillar Point SMCA sits close enough that maps matter. The coast faces west, so swell from 220 to 320 degrees can make the jetties surge and erase visibility. Rockfish, lingcod, cabezon-style groundfish habitat and halibut are the draw, but California's MPA network controls where any harvest can happen. Check the Pillar Point harbor camera, NOAA station 46026 and CDFW maps before calling it a dive.
The safe legal frame is narrow: work the Pillar Point jetty structure only after checking the MPA boundaries. Montara / Gray Whale Cove is left out of the hunting list because Montara SMR is hard no-take.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pillar Point North Jetty | NorCal rock jetty | Shallow jetty rocks and nearby reef edge | Intermediate to advanced | Harbor-side approach only when surge and traffic allow | Stay harbor-side because Montara SMR and Pillar Point SMCA are close. Rockfish, lingcod and cabezon-style habitat are plausible, but boundary confidence comes first. |
| Pillar Point South Jetty | Rock pile and calmer inside edge | Shallow to moderate jetty structure | Intermediate in small swell | Inside edge after checking harbor traffic and exit | This is the more protected Half Moon Bay option. The Pillar Point SMCA lies west, so do not drift seaward without a map and a clear return line. |
Half Moon Bay water visibility improves after a rare run of small west swell and light wind. The bad sector is broad, from southwest through northwest, with the worst direction around 290 degrees. Upwelling is active on this coast, so a flat day can still be cold and green. The harbor camera is useful for inside texture, but NOAA 46026 is better for judging the outside pulse that will wrap into the jetties.
The city sits between protected pieces of coast. Montara SMR is hard no-take, meaning no spearfishing. Pillar Point SMCA is close to the jetty plan and should be treated as a boundary that needs confirmation, not a vague background rule. A diver who cannot place the line should not harvest. This is the difference between a legal Half Moon Bay dive and an accidental protected-area violation.
The California list includes rockfish, lingcod, kelp or sand bass, California halibut, white seabass, yellowtail and sheephead. In Half Moon Bay, the realistic nearshore focus is groundfish and halibut-style habitat around structure and sand edges, when the season and depth rules allow. Giant sea bass and garibaldi are fully protected, salmon are not a spear target, and red abalone is closed until April 1, 2036.
A California sport fishing license is required, and some areas south of Point Arguello need Ocean Enhancement, though Half Moon Bay is north of that line. More important locally are marine protected areas and gear-specific take rules. State Marine Reserves are no-take. State Marine Conservation Areas vary by zone. Lobster is hand-take only. If the swell is marginal or the map is unclear, freediving Half Moon Bay without a gun is the better call.
No. Montara SMR is hard no-take, so it is viewing water only.
Pillar Point North Jetty and South Jetty are the practical structures, with MPA boundaries checked before entering.
West and northwest energy are the main problems. The local bad sector runs roughly 220 to 320 degrees.
Yes. A California sport fishing license is required for recreational ocean take unless a specific exemption applies.
No. Red abalone is closed until April 1, 2036, and California spiny lobster is hand-take only.
buoy San Francisco Bar, CA (142): 16.8° · wave 0.9 m/15 s · 1 h ago
