Hope Town spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

spearo.app / Bahamas / Hope Town
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◈Hope Town · Bahamas
5.3
wave 1.4 m head-on
visibility~3m

Marginal

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 16:11

Sources & confidence

Sources
Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2
Method
spearo sea-state engine: consensus of up to 6 models + satellite clarity (ZSD) + buoy-bias checks
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast

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.

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.

01
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.
02
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
03
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
04
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
05
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
06
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
07
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 — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.

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.

Entry pointsNo-take zones

Where to get in, where to hunt

Entry points with coordinates
Seabed relief — promising ground

This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app
updated 16:11
Hope Town — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.8 m)
wave 1.4 m head-onwind 16, gusts 27 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~3 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 28°C
confidence low · 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.

Sunday · today2026-10-25
07:12–18:30 · full moon
▼ 00:00▲ 07:00▼ 13:00▲ 19:00 · 1.0 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.16 m
Wave2.10 m
Wind29 km/h
Water28 °C
fish activity: moonset 06:33 · moderate · moon underfoot 12:20 · high · moonrise 18:01 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 1.42 m · roughperiod 8.8 s head-onwind 16→27surge 7.1viz 3 m
1.42 mrough · up to ~2.84 · 29° head-on
8.8 sswell moderate
16→27gusts 27 km/h
7.1pounding the rocks
0.17m/s
3 mrecent swell
28°C5 mm + hood
▼13:00tide turn near
Atmosphere19 kmovercast
moderatemoonset
  • wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.8 m)
  • wind 16 km/h
  • just after high water
confidence lowtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →
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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Hope Town · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
Today
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Map

Atlantic hurricane season (Jun–Nov) — check the NHC forecast

Best window · next 3 days
borderlinetoday · 06:00–09:00
you can see ~3 m ahead fish

ℹ️ Conservative visibility estimate kept

transparency ~27 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
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point your camera
−10 m

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: 3016 spots across 406 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

See all spots →
−20 m

The 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 →
Elbow Cay barrier reefHope Town
no data
window
—

Ocean-side barrier reef off Elbow Cay, 6–18 m — legal (>200 yd), reef fish and the occasional wreck. Coords approximate.

Google Maps
Little Harbour / Cherokee ocean reef (S)Hope Town
no data
⛔ Banned here
window
—

Barrier reef, 3–7 m — legal (outside reserves). Grouper, snapper. ⚠️ Marine park nearby — stay outside it. Family-Island rule: stay >200 yd from any shore.

Google Maps

SOLO 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.

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
≈

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • Nassau grouper
    Epinephelus striatus · 5–30 m · on the current by structure · daytime
    ⚠️ Closed 1 Dec–28 Feb (spawning, S.I. 71/2015). Off-season min 3 lb; head/tail/skin intact on landing.
  • yellowtail snapper
    Ocyurus chrysurus · 3–25 m · on the current by structure · dusk/night
    Small midwater snapper over the reef; comes up on a drift, shoot at dusk. Warm months.
  • lionfish
    Pterois volitans · 3–40 m · on the current by structure · daytime
    Invasive — culling ENCOURAGED year-round. Tucks under ledges / in reef shade and lets you get close. Venomous spines — handle with care; excellent eating.
off season: black grouper (Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr) · mutton snapper (Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May) · hogfish (Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun) · mahi-mahi / dolphinfish (Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun) · cero mackerel (Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr)
Law
  • ✓🚫 Spearguns are BANNED nationwide — only a or , breath-hold only (scuba/compressor banned). No spearfishing within 1 mile of New Providence, 1 mile of Freeport's south coast, or 200 yards of any Out-Island shore ().
  • ✓Foreign visitors need a sport-fishing permit (or must fish from a licensed charter); catch is for personal use only — selling it is banned (bahamas.com/fishing-faq).
  • ⛔ 🚫 Speargun banned everywhere — / only, breath-hold only (no air). Spear needs a written endorsement on the permit. Spearfishing competitions are banned.
  • ⛔ 🚫 Crawfish (season 1 Aug–31 Mar) and queen conch — hand/hook only, NO spear. Turtles and sharks — full ban (Shark Sanctuary). Corals — no-take.

Rules change. Before heading out, check with the Bahamas Department of Marine Resources and the Fisheries Resources Act; spearguns are banned — sling/pole spear only.

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.

FAQ — spearfishing in Hope Town

Where can I spearfish in Hope Town?

Hope Town has rock entry points such as Elbow Cay barrier reef and Little Harbour / Cherokee ocean reef (S). Hope Town on Elbow Cay (the candy-striped lighthouse) sits on the ocean side of the Abaco barrier reef — reef and wall past 200 yd, plus the sheltered Sea of Abaco behind. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Hope Town?

Best in summer (May–Sep). The Sea of Abaco is sheltered by the barrier reef — there's almost always a diveable lee; no-take parks nearby.

How cold is the water in Hope Town?

Warm: ~28–30 °C in summer (lycra/2 mm), ~22–24 °C in winter (3 mm). The sheltered Sea of Abaco is often glassy.

Is Hope Town good for a beginner?

Beginner-friendly: the Sea of Abaco is sheltered by the reef — there's almost always a calm lee.

Do I need a licence in Hope Town?

In Hope Town the speargun is BANNED across all Bahamian waters (Fisheries Resources Act, CH.244) — only a Hawaiian sling or pole spear is legal, breath-hold only (no scuba or air of any kind), and the spear must be endorsed in writing on your fishing permit. Don't hunt within 1 mile of New Providence or the south shore of Grand Bahama, or within 200 yards of any Family Island; spearfishing competitions are banned. A shore guest without a boat is a gray area, so take a sportsfishing permit with a spear endorsement on entry. Nassau grouper is closed 1 Dec–28 Feb, crawfish 1 Apr–31 Jul; turtles and sharks are fully protected. See the guide.

Full guide: nassau & Freeport: why hunting is offshore →

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