José Ignacio spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

José Ignacio · Uruguay
2.5
wave 1.4 m head-on
visibility1m

Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 16:29

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

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 16:29
José Ignacio — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.8 m)
wave 1.4 m head-onwind 22, gusts 30 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~2 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 11.9°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
07:39–17:50 · first quarter
▲ 00:00▼ 03:00▲ 04:00▲ 07:00▼ 10:00▲ 13:00▼ 23:00 · 0.4 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.05 m
Wave1.40 m
Wind21 km/h
Water12 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:48 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:00 · high · moonrise 12:13 · moderate · moon overhead 19:30 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.38 mperiod 5.9 s head-onwind 22→30surge 4.3viz 1 m
1.38 mup to ~2.76 · 118° head-on
5.9 sswell moderate
22→30gusts 30 km/h
4.3pounding the rocks
0.31m/s
1 mrecent swell
11.9°Cthicker suit + hood
▼23:00tide falling
Atmosphere16 kmovercast
lowoff the lunar peaks
  • wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.8 m)
  • steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
  • dawn/dusk
confidence hightwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points

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

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

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
José Ignacio — Playa Mansa (roquerío oeste, abrigo)José Ignacio
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Rocky ground on the Mansa side, in the peninsula's lee for almost any wind; shallow sargo and mullet. Good option when Brava is breaking. Coords approx.

Google Maps
José Ignacio — punta del faroJosé Ignacio
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Rocky point by the lighthouse, restingas near the shore; sargo, black corvina, grouper. Some of Uruguay's clearest water. Coords approx.

Google Maps
José Ignacio — restinga de La Brava (SE del faro)José Ignacio
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Restingas and reefs SE of the lighthouse, Brava side exposed to swell; sargo, black corvina, grouper in very clear water. Dive after the swell drops, with a float. Coords approx.

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

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
  • sea bream (sargo)
    Diplodus argenteus · 0–12 m · legal
  • black drum
    Pogonias courbina · 1–20 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    Black corvina: mind the reproductive closure (winter). Big fish = better breeders, release them.
  • flounder
    Paralichthys spp. · 1–20 m · legal
  • brotula
    Urophycis brasiliensis · 3–25 m · legal
Law
  • ✓DINARA sport-fishing permit; sport fishing is open except for zones/species/gear that need a permit. Res. 388/2015 froze new 'from-shore' permits. Sale prohibited.
  • ✓Precautionary closed season for black corvina (DINARA) and winter brótola; respect minimum sizes.
  • ⛔ 🚫 Isla de Lobos (NP, Dto 233/024) and Cerro Verde e Islas de la Coronilla (SNAP) — no-take: no hunting. Cabo Polonio — advisory ring, avoid hunting.
  • ⛔ Sea lions, turtles and cetaceans — protected; do not disturb.

Rules change. Before heading out, get the DINARA sport-fishing permit and respect the black-corvina closure and minimum sizes.

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 José Ignacio

Where can I spearfish in José Ignacio?

José Ignacio has rock entry points such as José Ignacio — punta del faro, José Ignacio — restinga de La Brava (SE del faro) and José Ignacio — Playa Mansa (roquerío oeste, abrigo). José Ignacio opens Rocha's Atlantic: salt water and often the clearest on the Uruguayan coast (windows to ~10 m). Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in José Ignacio?

Summer (Dec–Mar) — warm clear water; sudestada muddies it for days. Best windows on N/NW offshore wind.

How cold is the water in José Ignacio?

Summer 18–22 °C — 3–5 mm suit; winter 10–14 °C — 5–7 mm. Atlantic, clearer to the east.

Is José Ignacio good for a beginner?

Moderate: Atlantic restingas; sudestada muddies it for days — catch the N/NW windows.

Do I need a licence in José Ignacio?

In José Ignacio (Uruguay) there's no specific spearfishing regulation (Ley 13.833 + Dto 149/997, DINARA); it's done on breath-hold, with a buoy. Note: Isla de Lobos and Cerro Verde/Islas de la Coronilla are no-take (SNAP) — no hunting; Cabo Polonio carries an advisory ring. Mind the black-corvina closure. See the guide.

Full guide: spearfishing in Uruguay →
Coming soon

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