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
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 Hobart / D'Entrecasteaux, 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 mapThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appReef around the point and blowhole; 3–8 m, crayfish, abalone, wrasse. Sheltered on W wind, walk-in.
Google MapsThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appA bay out of the swell — sand broken by weed and rock, 2–11 m, the mark about 70 m off the shoreline. Exposure recorded for Hobart: bad from 40° to 170°, worst at 120°.
Google MapsReef ledges on the Derwent's W shore; 2–6 m, crayfish, abalone, flathead. Easy sheltered estuary entry, low-mod viz. CLOSED: the mark is inside «Taroona Waters Buffer» — a no-take zone, spearfishing included.
Google MapsFamous shore dive — Tinderbox Marine Reserve, NO-TAKE. Reef and weed, boarfish, look only.
Google MapsThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appSOLO 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.
Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 15:38 (Australia/Hobart)
Spearfishing near Hobart works best when the plan separates closed reserve water from ordinary shore reef. Tinderbox is famous for diving but it is a Marine Reserve, so do not spear there. Blackmans Bay gives a legal reef and point option in moderate depth, while Taroona and Hinsby Beach are sheltered Derwent entries with easier access and often softer visibility. Tasmania rules are species and method specific: check scalefish limits, protected species and marine reserve boundaries before packing extra gear.
Hobart is forgiving compared with the Tasman Peninsula, but it has more suburban traffic and more reserve traps. Treat Tinderbox as a closed dive site, then judge Blackmans Bay and Taroona by visibility, wind and boat movement. A good Hobart session is usually a modest one: short swim, visible float and a clean exit.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tinderbox | Marine reserve reef | Shallow reef and weed beds | No-take closure | Shore dive site south of Hobart | A classic snorkel and dive area with boarfish and reef life, but not a spearfishing spot. The reserve rule is simple: no fishing or setting gear. Keep the gun out of the plan. |
| Blackmans Bay | Point reef and blowhole ledges | About 3-8 m | Accessible intermediate | Walk-in around the point | The main huntable entry in this group. It has reef ledges, wrasse, flathead ground and cray habitat nearby. It is more comfortable on a settled forecast with wind that does not push chop into the bay. |
All 461 spots → · Region: Tasmania · spearo.app — All countries
Rules change and vary BY STATE. Before heading out, check with your state's fisheries (NSW DPI, Fisheries QLD, VFA, DPIRD WA, PIRSA, NRE Tas, NT Fisheries) and the marine-park zoning map.
| Taroona / Hinsby Beach |
| Sheltered Derwent shore reef |
| About 2-6 m |
| Accessible, low to moderate visibility |
| Beach and foreshore walk-in |
| A convenient estuary-side option when ocean entries are too rough. Expect reef ledges, flathead and shellfish habitat, but plan around lower visibility and local boating. |
Hobart visibility is more estuary-influenced than Eaglehawk Neck. Taroona can be calm yet green, especially after rain or wind-driven Derwent movement. Blackmans Bay often gives the better balance of reef and water movement, but it still needs a settled forecast. W wind shelter is useful at Blackmans only if swell and surface chop stay manageable. Cold water is normal, so long rests and a conservative route help.
No. Tinderbox Marine Reserve is a no-fishing area, and spearfishing is prohibited. It is fine as a look-only dive if conditions suit, but not as a backup hunting mark. The safe approach is to draw the reserve boundary before the trip, not from memory at the car park. If the cleanest water sits inside Tinderbox, leave it for snorkelling.
Around open reef, divers may encounter wrasse, flathead, occasional snapper influence and other temperate scalefish. Keepers depend on the current Tasmania size and bag table. Seahorses, weedy seadragons, white sharks and grey nurse sharks are protected.
Hobart hazards are quieter than cliff-coast hazards, which can make them easier to underestimate. Low visibility, moorings, small boats, cold water and slippery foreshore exits are the usual problems. Carry a high float, stay out of navigation paths and avoid loading a speargun near swimmers. If diving alone, keep the route shallow enough that a missed exit does not become a long cold swim.
Check the method. Scalefish by spear is covered by gear and catch rules, while rock lobster and abalone sit under separate rules.
No. Tinderbox is a marine reserve, and fishing or setting gear is prohibited.
Blackmans Bay is the strongest listed legal option when swell, wind and visibility line up.
It sits in the Derwent system, so rain, estuary movement and wind chop can reduce visibility even when the surface looks calm.
Yes. Weedy seadragons and seahorses are protected and must not be taken.
