Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.
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 Hampton Bays (Shinnecock Inlet), 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 mapDuck Pond Pt.: you go in from the shore, some 22 km from Hampton Bays (Shinnecock Inlet). Marker position: 41.038° N, 72.521° W. Depths reach about 3 m. Bottom type: sand.
Google MapsMattituck Jetties is a shore entry about 20 km from Hampton Bays (Shinnecock Inlet). Marker position: 41.013° N, 72.559° W. Maximum depth is around 4 m.
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».
All 367 spots → · Region: New York · spearo.app — All countries
transparency ~2 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore
buoy Long Island, NY: 16.1° · wave 1.0 m/13 s · 50 min ago
The remains of the old Ponquogue Bridge across Shinnecock Bay: two piers of encrusted concrete pilings, ankle deep at the beach and dropping to 8-9 m in the channel.
Google MapsShore access point Roanoke Pt Ships, roughly 25 km from Hampton Bays (Shinnecock Inlet). The pin sits at 40.974 N / 72.721 W on the chart. It is also reached by boat. Depths reach about 3 m.
Google MapsShinnecock Canal Jetty: you go in from the shore, some 6.2 km from Hampton Bays (Shinnecock Inlet). The pin sits at 40.896 N / 72.502 W on the chart. Depths reach about 2.0 m. NOAA bathymetry around the marker reads 0.5–1.5 m.
Google MapsBoulder jetty on the quieter east side of the inlet, 2–6 m, and far less pressured than the west wall. Same rock, fewer people — tautog and black sea bass; the tide sets the window.
Google MapsBoulder jetty on the west side of the inlet, 2–6 m, with fluke, black sea bass, tautog and bluefish off the tip. The ebb runs hard, and New York requires 100 yards clearance from a public bathing area.
Google MapsOfficial state artificial reef 2 nautical miles south of Shinnecock Inlet, 14 hectares of deployed structure in 24–26 m. Black sea bass and tautog; that depth means scuba or a well-trained freediver.
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 Hampton Bays centers on Shinnecock Inlet. The cleanest boat structure is Shinnecock Reef, an NYSDEC artificial reef about 2 nautical miles south of the inlet with deployed material in roughly 79 to 84 ft. The shore plan is boulder structure on the west or east jetty, where blackfish, black sea bass, fluke, scup and bluefish are the realistic mix. New York's legal angle is unusual for the Northeast: striped bass is spearable here under New York rules, with submerged muscle-power gear and distance from bathing areas. Lobster is never by spear.
This is a structure page, not a beach page. The reef gives planned boat diving, while the jetties give hard bottom close to shore but add current, surge, anglers and boat traffic.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinnecock Reef (NYSDEC artificial reef) | Official artificial reef | About 79 to 84 ft | Advanced freedive or boat crew | Boat, about 2 nautical miles south of Shinnecock Inlet | The site is 35 acres of deployed structure. It is the best planned dive when visibility and current allow, especially for black sea bass and tautog-style habitat. |
| Shinnecock Inlet West Jetty | Boulder inlet jetty | Shallow rocks dropping toward inlet current | Intermediate to advanced | Shore structure with heavy angler and boat awareness | The local note names fluke, sea bass, blackfish and blues off the tip. Time the dive around manageable current, not just clear water. |
| Shinnecock Inlet East Jetty | Boulder jetty on the quieter side | Shallow to moderate inlet rocks | Intermediate | Shore access with the same inlet-current caution | Less pressured than the west jetty in the local note, but not automatically safer. Watch sweep, anglers, boat wake and exit before bringing a gun. |
Hampton Bays water visibility improves after south swell drops and the inlet stops carrying stirred sand. The bad swell sector runs 135 to 225 degrees, with the worst direction due south. A clear ocean bar can still hide ripping inlet current. For the reef, check offshore sea state and boat drift. For the jetties, check water color, tide stage, boat traffic and whether you can exit without crossing anglers.
Shinnecock Reef is purpose-built habitat on a defined artificial-reef site, so the plan is coordinates, depth, boat handling and drift control. The jetties are easier to reach but less controlled. They put fish, current, anglers and prop wash in one narrow place. A good Hampton Bays day may put the reef first, then use a jetty only if current and visibility are friendly.
Tautog, black sea bass, summer flounder, scup and bluefish are the core local species. Striped bass is marked as spearable in New York, unlike several nearby states, but slot, season and method rules still apply. American lobster is never taken by spear anywhere on this coast and needs a separate dive permit for hand harvest. Sturgeon and many sharks are no-take or prohibited targets.
New York's marine registry is free but required for many saltwater anglers 16 and older. The local legal note says striped bass can be taken by submerged speargun in New York, with muscle-power guns and distance from bathing areas. Do not carry that rule into Massachusetts, Connecticut or Maryland, where striped bass spearing is banned. Hampton Bays rewards exact state rules because the Northeast changes fast across borders.
The local New York note marks striped bass as spearable, with submerged muscle-power gear and current size, season and distance rules.
New York uses a free marine registry for many marine anglers age 16 and older rather than a paid saltwater license.
No. American lobster is never a spear target. Hand harvest has separate permit rules.
It is about 2 nautical miles south of Shinnecock Inlet, with deployed artificial-reef structure in about 79 to 84 ft.
South swell, inlet current and stirred sand are the main problems. Watch the 135 to 225 degree swell sector.
