CatarindoIlo
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Classic Ilo dive and spearfishing rock reef; cold clear water in calm. Coords approx.
Google MapsIlo spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.2
wave 1.3 m head-on
visibility2m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and surge pounding.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 14:24
Sources & confidence
- Sources
- IPMA · NDBC buoys · Copernicus Marine
- Method
- Model consensus, read per window
- Freshness
- Re-read every hour, per coast
Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine
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.
- 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.
- Wind & gusts
- Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
- Tide phase
- Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
- Water temperature
- Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
- Currents & outflow
- Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
- Rain runoff & air clarity
- Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
- 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 — forced red; the window is closed after dark.
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
Entry points with coordinates
Seabed relief — promising ground
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
calmupdated 14:24
Ilo — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
wave 1.3 m head-onwind 18, gusts 37 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~3 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 18.7°C
confidence medium · 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.
Wednesday · today2026-07-22
06:14–17:28 · first quarter
▲ 02:00▼ 09:00▲ 14:00▼ 20:00 · 0.6 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.08 m
Wave1.22 m
Wind8 km/h
Water19 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:26 · moderate · moon underfoot 06:10 · high · moonrise 11:56 · moderate · moon overhead 18:40 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 1.26 mperiod 8.4 s head-onwind 18→37surge 9viz 2 m
1.26 mup to ~2.52 · 232° head-on
8.4 sswell moderate
18→37gusts 37 km/h
9pounding the rocks
0.06m/s
2 mrecent swell
18.7°C5 mm + hood
▲14:00tide turn near
Atmosphere10 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
- wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
- steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
- near high water — movement slowing
confidence mediumday
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: 1152 spots across 189 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
See all spotsThe 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
Playa PocomaIlo
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Rock reef ideal for diving and spearfishing north of Ilo. Coords approx.
Google MapsPlaya WawakikiIlo
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Rocky beach («Los Gringos») N of Ilo (Pacocha); rock 3–10 m, good for diving and spearfishing. ⚠️Coords approx.
Google MapsPunta ColesIlo
closedexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Rocky point ~7 km SW of Ilo; walls 5–16 m, sea lions and penguins, high biomass. 🔴 National Reserve (RNSIIPG) — advisory, respect the fauna. Coords verified.
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.
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →What's in season,
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- murique grouper
- flag cabrilla
- Peruvian gruntReproductive closure in December — don't take it that month. Sale of the catch banned.
- Pacific drumClosure in April — don't take it that month.
- Peruvian morwong
- fine flounder
Law
- ✓Recreational fishing needs no PRODUCE permit, BUT spearfishing requires a DICAPI diver card/registration (Coast Guard), 18+. Spearing on scuba is banned.
- ✓RN Mar Tropical de Grau (Máncora/Tumbes/Piura) = protected area with restrictions; check the sectors before shooting.
- ⛔ 🚫 Seahorse, whale shark and manta ray — take banned. Don't shoot.
- ⛔ 🚫 RN Mar Tropical de Grau (D.S. 003-2024-MINAM), Paracas NR, San Fernando NR and RNSIIPG (guano islands/points) — no-take core zones: no hunting inside the rings.
Rules change. Before heading out, get the DICAPI diver card/registration (Coast Guard) — spearing on scuba is banned; check the sectors of RN Mar Tropical de Grau.
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.
Spearfishing in Ilo: spots, seasons and rules
For Ilo, start with exposure and zoning. A southern port with rocky coves for spearfishing; Catarindo and Pocoma are classics; Punta Coles nearby is a reserve. The worst sea is from SW; the coast is exposed, so dawn matters; upwelling can clear and cool the water at the same time. The usable plan is conservative: buddy, buoy, small sea and no shooting inside parks, reserves or uncertain sectors. The local list includes murique grouper, flag cabrilla, Peruvian grunt; the non-negotiable closures are chita in December and lorna in April.
TL;DR
- Ilo: cold rocky coves, exposed southern swell and Punta Coles kept at a distance.
- Southwest swell exposes this coast, so dawn is the window; upwelling can brighten while it chills the water.
- The legal line in Peru is DICAPI card, freediving only and no speargun use with tanks.
Practical spearfishing areas around Ilo
Treat each name as a starting point, not permission. The coves only fish clean on a small, low southwest swell at dawn. Confirm the boundary before loading.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catarindo | reef | shallow to mid-depth | Intermediate | shore entry, only in small seas | Classic Ilo dive and spearfishing rock reef; cold clear water. Get out before the boats start moving. |
| Playa Pocoma | reef | shallow to mid-depth | Intermediate | shore entry, only in small seas | Rock reef ideal for diving and spearfishing north of Ilo. Leave once launch traffic builds. |
| Playa Wawakiki | mixed bottom | 3-10m | Intermediate | shore entry, only in small seas | Rocky beach («Los Gringos») N of Ilo (Pacocha); rock 3-10. Time it for the quiet hours off the ramp. |
When should you skip spearfishing in Ilo?
Skip it when the return route is covered, visibility is too short, or zoning is unresolved. The window improves with low swell, light wind and clear Humboldt water. Avoid Punta Coles where it overlaps core, breeding-fauna or closed sectors; confirm with SERNANP in reserve water. Catarindo and Pocoma are the rocky coves worth waking up for when cold water is clear and calm. Wawakiki, also called Los Gringos, adds 3-10 m rock north of Ilo, while Punta Coles is a different category because of sea lions, penguins and the RNSIIPG reserve context. The local bad sector runs roughly 190-280 degrees, with the worst direction near 215. With no listed webcam or buoy, decide from shore: water color, set length, exit shape and boat traffic come before fish talk. Cabrilla and pintadilla fit the rocky-cove profile.
FAQ
Do you need the DICAPI card in Ilo?
The legal line in Peru is DICAPI card, freediving only and no speargun use with tanks.
Is scuba spearing allowed in Peru?
No. Tanks and speargun do not mix under the Peru framing.
Which Peru closures matter near Ilo?
Remember December for chita and April for lorna.
How should you read visibility at Ilo?
A southwest sea is the worst case on this open coast, so read it at first light; when upwelling kicks in the water gets clearer but colder.
What should be treated as off limits near Ilo?
Avoid Punta Coles where it overlaps core, breeding-fauna or closed sectors; confirm with SERNANP in reserve water.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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