Jones Beach spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Jones Beach · United States
2.5
wave 1.2 m head-on
visibility1m

Today — sit it outwave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicushigh confidence · data 18:10

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

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

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
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0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
calmupdated 18:10
Jones Beach — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.2 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
wave 1.2 m head-onwind 19, gusts 34 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 18:00–21:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 21°C
confidence high · 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
05:4220:18 · first quarter
01:00 08:00 14:00 21:00 · 1.1 m
Hours (06→20)
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.78 m
Wave1.18 m
Wind10 km/h
Water21 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:01 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:20 · high · moonrise 14:53 · moderate · moon overhead 19:40 · high
Conditions window18:00–21:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.24 mperiod 6.5 s head-onwind 19→34surge 9viz 1 m
1.24 mup to ~2.48 · 174° head-on
6.5 sswell moderate
19→34gusts 34 km/h
9pounding the rocks
0.25m/s
1 mrecent swell
21°C5 mm + hood
▼21:00tide turn near
Atmosphere7 kmprecip 1.8 mm
highmoon overhead
  • wave 1.2 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
  • strong wind 19 km/h, gusts 34 — caution
  • ebb — weaker inshore
confidence hightwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points

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

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
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: 1152 spots across 189 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
Hempstead ReefJones Beach
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Official NY artificial reef ~9 km S off Jones Beach — rail cars, tug and bridge material; tautog, black sea bass and striped bass (shared with Long Beach/Freeport).

Google Maps
Jones Inlet East JettyJones Beach
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Boulder jetty on the east side of Jones Inlet; tautog and sea bass on the rocks — the 100-yard rule keeps take off the adjacent bathing beach.

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.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — 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
  • tautog
    Tautoga onitis · 3–18 m · legal
  • black sea bass
    Centropristis striata · 5–40 m · legal
  • summer flounder (fluke)
    Paralichthys dentatus · 3–30 m · legal
  • scup (porgy)
    Stenotomus chrysops · 5–30 m · legal
  • bluefish
    Pomatomus saltatrix · 0–20 m · legal
  • striped bass
    Morone saxatilis · 0–15 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    Striped bass is spearable in RI/NY/NJ/DE/VA but BANNED in ME/MA/CT/MD (no ban in NH). Never gaff.
Law
  • 🚫 American lobster — NEVER by spear anywhere on the coast (hand-take only, under a separate dive permit).
  • 🚫 Sturgeon — total ban; sharks in many states (VA/NJ/NC) not by spear. Striped bass: see the species note.
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 Jones Beach

Where can I spearfish in Jones Beach?

Jones Beach has rock entry points such as Hempstead Reef and Jones Inlet East Jetty. Jones Beach fishes the offshore Hempstead Reef and the Jones Inlet east jetty — tautog, black sea bass and striped bass. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Jones Beach?

Jun–Oct; striped bass legal, but the 100-yard public-beach rule applies.

How cold is the water in Jones Beach?

16–22 °C in summer; viz poor (bays) to decent (ocean side).

Is Jones Beach good for a beginner?

Intermediate: mind the 100-yard beach rule and boat traffic.

Do I need a licence in Jones Beach?

Yes — in Jones Beach, as everywhere on the mainland, you need a recreational fishing licence (DGRM); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide for the details.

Full guide: spearfishing on the US East Coast
Coming soon

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