Hout Bay spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

• yellowtail
  Seriola lalandi · 3–40 m · legal
• garrick / leervismin 70 cm
  Lichia amia · 1–20 m · legal
• geelbek (Cape salmon)min 60 cm
  Atractoscion aequidens · 5–40 m · legal
• galjoen (national fish)min 35 cm
  Dichistius capensis · 0–12 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
  National fish but NOT no-take: legally spearable (35 cm, bag 2), closed 15 Oct–end Feb.
• kob / kabeljoumin 40 cm
  Argyrosomus japonicus · 2–30 m · legal
• red romanmin 30 cm
  Chrysoblephus laticeps · 5–40 m · legal
• king mackerel (couta/cuda)
  Scomberomorus commerson · 1–25 m · legal
• elf / shadmin 30 cm
  Pomatomus saltatrix · 1–20 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
  ⚠️ Closed 1 Sep–30 Nov (spawning). Don't take it then.
• white musselcrackermin 60 cm
  Sparodon durbanensis · 3–30 m · legal
• hottentotmin 22 cm
  Pachymetopon blochii · 2–25 m · legal

• ✓You need a recreational permit endorsed for SPEARFISHING (MLRA 18/1998). Buy it online (fishing.dffe.gov.za) or at an authorised office (SAPO branch) — check the current fee there. Own use only — sale is banned.
• ✓Breath-hold + snorkel only — scuba/hookah are BANNED (reg 8). Spearfishing in ESTUARIES is FULLY BANNED (reg 16, no exceptions). Daily cap of 10 fish total. Inside an MPA obey the managing authority; in several MPAs you can't even CARRY a speargun.

• ⛔ 🚫 Table 3 (zero possession): brindle bass (Epinephelus lanceolatus), potato bass (E. tukula), seventy-four (moratorium since 1998), great white / whale / basking sharks, sawfishes, coelacanth, Natal wrasse.
• ⛔ 🚫 All hard corals, sea fans and sea pens (Scleractinia/Gorgonacea/Pennatulacea) — protected. Seahorses/pipefish (Syngnathidae) — no-take.
• ⛔ 🚫 Spearfishing in ESTUARIES is FULLY BANNED (reg 16 — no exceptions). Inside an MPA obey the managing authority's conditions; in several MPAs you can't even CARRY a speargun (Sardinia Bay, Bird Island, Robben Island etc.). Abalone (perlemoen) — recreationally closed until further notice.

Rules change. Before heading out, check with the DFFE (Marine Recreational Fishing brochure / permit) and the MPA managing authority (SANParks / CapeNature / Ezemvelo KZN / ECPTA / iSimangaliso).

• 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.