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
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 Hilton Head Island, 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 mapConcrete reef balls in a federal Special Management Zone off Port Royal Sound. The pin sits on the state reef buoy itself and the sounding there is 4 m, not the 2 m once stored. Sheepshead and black sea bass on the balls.
Google MapsThe General Gordon, a steel hull 5.7 nautical miles off Port Royal Sound with barge and concrete scattered around it. The pin matches the state's wreck coordinate and the bottom is 4 m — the old 2 m fell short. Black sea bass, sheepshead, bluefish.
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 appThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appLanding craft and a tug about 23 km south of the island in 12 m. Grouper, amberjack and sheepshead; the run goes out through Port Royal Sound, where the current runs hard.
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 Hilton Head Island is mostly a boat-diving plan built around DNR reef and wreck structure. Hilton Head Reef has landing craft and a tug south of the island, Fish America Reef is concrete reef-ball habitat off Port Royal Sound, and Gordon Wreck is a steel-hulled wreck about 5.7 nautical miles off the sound. The legal filter is South Carolina-specific: gamefish such as cobia, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon and striped bass are hook-and-line only, and powerheads are banned. That pushes the spear list toward sheepshead, black sea bass, flounder, amberjack and open-season grouper.
These are boat-access structures with subtropical water and variable visibility. Broad Creek or oceanfront cameras help with local texture, while NOAA 41008 gives the offshore sea-state check before leaving protected water.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Head Reef | Artificial reef with landing craft and tug structure | Offshore reef, about 23 km south of HHI | Boat crew, intermediate and above | Boat from Hilton Head or Port Royal Sound area | Hilton Head Reef has grouper, amberjack and sheepshead. Check grouper seasons before targeting them, and keep gamefish off the spear. |
| Fish America Reef | Concrete reef balls in a Special Management Zone | Verify shallow enough for the team | Boat dive with depth check | Off Port Royal Sound | The listed targets are sheepshead and black sea bass. The Special Management Zone context makes current rules and coordinates part of the dive plan. |
| Gordon Wreck | Steel-hulled wreck | Wreck structure about 5.7 nautical miles off Port Royal Sound | Intermediate boat dive | Boat with current, traffic and weather planning | The local note lists sea bass, sheepshead and bluefish. It is a good example of Hilton Head structure where legal target selection matters more than the number of fish seen. |
Hilton Head Island water visibility improves when east and southeast swell back down and wind stops pushing color out of the sound. The bad sector runs roughly 100 to 210 degrees, with the worst direction near 150 degrees. Tidal exchange around Port Royal Sound can move dirty water over a reef even on a sunny day. Check the Palmetto Dunes ocean view, Shelter Cove water texture and NOAA 41008 before committing to a long run.
The beach is broad, sandy and busy. Fish-holding structure sits offshore on artificial reefs, wrecks and sound-edge relief. That makes freediving Hilton Head Island a boat and waypoint exercise. Watch fishing boats, charter traffic and current lines around the sound. The best days are organized around one or two known structures, not a roaming beach search.
Sheepshead, black sea bass, flounder, amberjack and legal-season grouper fit the local spear plan better than gamefish. Cobia may appear around structure, but South Carolina's local legal note groups cobia with gamefish that are hook-and-line only. Red drum, seatrout, tarpon and striped bass also stay off the spear. Goliath and Nassau grouper, sharks, rays and protected marine animals are no-take.
Carry the proper South Carolina saltwater license and check current seasons before the boat leaves. The easy-to-miss rules are method and gear: gamefish are not spear targets, and powerheads are banned statewide. Hilton Head is close enough to state and federal reef water that boundary and species discipline matter.
No under the local South Carolina note. Cobia is grouped with gamefish that are hook-and-line only.
No. The local legal block says powerheads are banned statewide in South Carolina.
Sheepshead, black sea bass, flounder, amberjack and open-season grouper are the conservative structure targets.
Not really. The useful structure is offshore on reefs and wrecks, so most trips need a boat.
NOAA NDBC station 41008 is the listed offshore reference, paired with local oceanfront and marina cameras.
buoy FRP2WAVE: 20.9° · wave 1.5 m/10 s · 1 h ago
