Pillar Point North JettyHalf Moon Bay
dangerousswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Classic NorCal jetty; rockfish, lingcod and cabezon — stay harbor-side (Montara SMR and Pillar Point SMCA ~0.3 km).
Google MapsHalf Moon 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 noticeable surge. 🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 16:11
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 16:11
Half Moon Bay — solo, off the rocks
don't go · wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~3.0 m)
wave 1.5 m head-onwind 13 km/hnoticeable surgevisibility ~1 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 15.2°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
06:06–20:26 · first quarter
▼ 00:00▲ 06:00▼ 11:00▲ 18:00 · 1.3 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.33 m
Wave1.26 m
Wind16 km/h
Water15 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:28 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:40 · high · moonrise 15:09 · moderate · moon overhead 20:00 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.52 mperiod 6.1 s head-onwind 13→19surge 1.9viz 1 m
1.52 mup to ~3.04 · 198° head-on
6.1 sswell moderate
13→19gusts 19 km/h
1.9noticeable surge
0.17m/s
1 mrecent swell
15.2°Cthicker suit + hood
▲18:00tide turn near
Atmosphere12 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
- wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~3.0 m)
- wind 13 km/h
- flood toward high water
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
Pillar Point South JettyHalf Moon Bay
dangerousswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
South jetty rock pile, calmer inside (Pillar Point SMCA 0.6 km W, no spear).
Google MapsMontara / Gray Whale CoveHalf Moon Bay
closedswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Rich rocky-reef life inside the Montara SMR — no-take, viewing only.
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
- white seabass
- California halibut
- California yellowtail
- California sheephead
- kelp/sand bass
- rockfish
- lingcod
Law
- ✓California sport fishing licence (+Ocean Enhancement Validation south of Point Arguello). No separate spearfishing permit.
- ✓No take: giant sea bass, garibaldi, salmon; abalone closed to 2036. network: no-take, by zone. Lobster hand-take only.
- ⛔ 🚫 Giant (black) sea bass and garibaldi — fully protected, no take. Red abalone — fishery CLOSED until Apr 1 2036. Salmon — no spear.
- ⛔ 🚫 network: State Marine Reserve () — no-take; — varies (check the specific zone). Lobster — hand-take only. No spear within 100 yd of a stream mouth north of Ventura.
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 Half Moon Bay: spots, seasons and rules
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.
TL;DR
- Half Moon Bay spearfishing is a Pillar Point jetty plan hemmed in by Montara SMR and Pillar Point SMCA.
- North Jetty and South Jetty are the practical entries; Montara / Gray Whale Cove is no-take viewing water, not a hunt spot.
- West and northwest swell are the main shut-down directions. Upwelling keeps the water cold and can make visibility change quickly.
- California license rules apply. Giant sea bass, garibaldi, salmon and red abalone are off limits, and lobster is hand-take only.
Best spearfishing spots in Half Moon Bay
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. |
When does Half Moon Bay water visibility improve?
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.
Why are MPAs the first check?
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.
Which fish make sense at Pillar Point?
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.
What California rules are easy to miss?
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.
FAQ
Can you spearfish at Montara or Gray Whale Cove?
No. Montara SMR is hard no-take, so it is viewing water only.
Where is the main Half Moon Bay spearfishing structure?
Pillar Point North Jetty and South Jetty are the practical structures, with MPA boundaries checked before entering.
What swell is bad for Half Moon Bay water visibility?
West and northwest energy are the main problems. The local bad sector runs roughly 220 to 320 degrees.
Do you need a California fishing license?
Yes. A California sport fishing license is required for recreational ocean take unless a specific exemption applies.
Can you spear abalone or lobster here?
No. Red abalone is closed until April 1, 2036, and California spiny lobster is hand-take only.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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