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 Havelock, 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 mapRocky Cullen Point at the Havelock/Pelorus entrance; blue cod and butterfish, clearer than the muddy head.
Google MapsCameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 17:37 (Pacific/Auckland)
transparency nearby ~5 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore
The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
The 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 appThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appFrench Pass/Te Aumiti — blue cod and butterfish in clear water, but the pass runs to ~4 kn: SLACK WATER ONLY.
Google MapsRock reef at Okiwi Bay on the Croisilles; blue cod, butterfish and cray in clearer outer-Sound water.
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.
Rules change and are regional. Before heading out, check with MPI (regional fishing rules / the NZ Fishing Rules app), DOC (marine reserves) and local notices (rāhui/mātaitai).
Spearfishing in Havelock is about leaving the muddy head of Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere and choosing clearer water. Cullen Point is the close rock option, Okiwi Bay offers outer-Sound reef, and French Pass / Te Aumiti is a serious current gate that should be dived only at slack. There is no New Zealand sea-fishing licence, but Havelock sits in the MPI Challenger area, where the combined daily finfish limit is 20 per fisher (10 inside Paringa, Popotai Taumaka/Open Bay Islands, Okahu/Jacksons Bay, Tauneke/Barn Bay mātaitai), unless specific local rules are stricter.
The three entries move progressively away from town and into clearer, more committing water. Current, boat traffic and blue cod closures deserve as much attention as visibility.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cullen Point | Pelorus entrance rock | Shallow rock and kelp edge | Intermediate | Shore entry near the Havelock / Pelorus entrance | Cullen Point is clearer than the muddy sound head and is named for blue cod and butterfish. It is the closest practical check before driving farther out. |
| Okiwi Bay | Outer-Sound rock reef | Shallow to moderate reef | Intermediate | Shore or small-boat access at Okiwi Bay | Okiwi Bay on the Croisilles brings clearer water, blue cod, butterfish and crayfish. It is a better target when inner Pelorus is coloured. |
| French Pass (slack only) | High-current pass and reef | Clear current-swept water | Advanced, slack only | Boat-supported or very careful shore plan | French Pass / Te Aumiti is named for blue cod and butterfish, but the pass can run to about 4 knots. Treat slack water as a hard requirement. |
The town sits at the head of Pelorus Sound, where river and mud influence can reduce visibility. Better spearfishing usually means moving out toward Cullen Point, Okiwi Bay or beyond. The tradeoff is exposure, distance and boat movement. In this area, the first question is not where the fish are, but whether the water has cleared enough to dive safely.
French Pass is a current feature, not merely another reef. It can run to about 4 knots, so diving it outside slack water is not a reasonable plan. If the tide table, boat handling or buddy experience is uncertain, stay with Okiwi or Cullen Point. Current-swept fish are never worth a forced entry.
MPI Challenger rules set a combined daily bag limit of 20 finfish per fisher (10 inside Paringa, Popotai Taumaka/Open Bay Islands, Okahu/Jacksons Bay, Tauneke/Barn Bay mātaitai). Blue cod, mātaitai restrictions, shellfish rules and rock lobster rules need checking immediately before the trip, because local settings can be tighter than the general limit.
Crayfish and pāua are common legal traps for visiting divers. They are free-dive only for divers, and taking them on scuba is banned nationwide. Crayfish are not speared or punctured, and must meet tail-width and condition rules. Pāua must meet the applicable shellfish size and daily limit, and local closures override a general plan.
No sea-fishing licence is required, but MPI Challenger rules and local closures still apply.
MPI lists a combined daily limit of 20 finfish per fisher in the Challenger area (10 inside Paringa, Popotai Taumaka/Open Bay Islands, Okahu/Jacksons Bay, Tauneke/Barn Bay mātaitai), with stricter mātaitai settings in some places.
No. Treat it as slack-water-only because the pass can run to about 4 knots.
Not always. Blue cod rules can change by area and season, so check the current MPI Challenger blue cod limits and any local closure before taking fish.
Look away from the muddy head toward Okiwi Bay and the outer Sound, with Cullen Point as the closer check.
