Today — right on the edge.
Sources & confidence
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.
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.
Safety gates
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
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
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.
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Kittery, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
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 spotsRelief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.
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.
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 mapBoulder ground off the Fort Foster shore on Gerrish Island, 1–7 m, with eelgrass between the rock. The pin now sits in the water beside the park's own launch instead of up the harbour. Walk-in entry, tautog and cunner. The pin marks the shore access point; the water entry has not been verified.
Google MapsRock and rubble shoreline below the Fort McClary blockhouse on Pepperrell Cove, 2-10 m. Cunner, pollock and lobster around the granite; the Piscataqua ebb rips past the point, so this is a slack-water dive only. The pin marks the shore access point; the water entry has not been verified.
Google MapsShallow boulder ledges and a tidal cut out at the Isles of Shoals, 2–4 m, with a resident seal colony. Clearest water on this stretch — cunner and pollock. Boat access and a dive flag; lobster is never legal by spear in Maine.
Google MapsGranite ledge under Whaleback Light where the Piscataqua empties into the sea, 3–15 m. The tide runs hard, so work the slack; cod, pollock and tautog sit in the cracks. Striped bass may not be taken by spear in Maine.
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.
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Check the cam BEFORE you leave. Foam, brown/green murk, or waves washing the entry rocks = No-go. At night/in fog the cam is useless — treat it as «unknown», NOT «green».
US spearfishing law is state-by-state. License, spearable species, powerhead rules and distances vary; federal sanctuaries (Gray's Reef, the Keys, Flower Garden Banks) ban spearfishing. Always confirm with the state agency and local ordinances.
Spearfishing Kittery sits at the meeting point of granite ledges, cold water and the Piscataqua River. Whaleback Ledge near the river mouth is the most distinctive structure, but it is also current-heavy. The Isles of Shoals around Duck Island and Shag Rock Cut can have the clearest water on this stretch, with boulder ledges and a seal colony nearby. Fort Foster's Rocky Beach is the easiest shore-access choice on Gerrish Island. For Kittery water visibility, watch NOAA station 44007, east swell and the tide stage before committing.
These entries are cold, tidal and exposed to Gulf of Maine swell. Cold-water exposure protection, buoy, knife and short dive plan are more realistic than a long roam. Do not aim a gun around seals at the Isles of Shoals.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whaleback Ledge | Submerged granite ledge | Ledge water at the river mouth | Advanced cold-water dive | Boat or very selective shore-supported plan | Strong Piscataqua flow holds cod, pollock and tautog. Dive only around slack and keep the pickup route simple. |
| Isles of Shoals, Duck Island and Shag Rock Cut | Boulder ledges and tidal cut | Shallow ledges to cut water | Boat crew, intermediate to advanced | Boat only from the Kittery area | Often the clearest nearby water. Seals are part of the setting, so give wildlife space and avoid confused shots. |
| Fort Foster, Rocky Beach | Boulder shore and eelgrass habitat |
| Shallow shore structure |
| Intermediate shore dive |
| Shore entry inside Fort Foster Park |
| The easiest listed Kittery access, with tautog and cunner habitat. Still exposed enough to skip on east swell. |
The coast faces the Gulf of Maine and the Piscataqua mouth adds tidal force, so slack water is the safest starting point. Swell from roughly east through south-southeast hits the ledges and boulder beaches directly, turning exits and visibility poor. NOAA station 44007, southeast of Portland, gives a useful offshore wave and water-temperature check, including cold-water reality. At Fort Foster, make the decision from the rocks. At Whaleback or the Shoals, make it from both the buoy and the boat.
Maine DMR lists saltwater spearfishing allowances for tautog, cod and pollock, subject to size, bag and seasonal limits. That does not make every fish on the ledge fair game. Maine says striped bass, sturgeon and American lobster are not allowed for spearfishing. Lobster is especially important around Kittery because seeing one in the rocks is not permission to spear it.
Register or license through Maine's saltwater recreational system unless an exemption applies, then check the DMR recreational regulations for the current season. Species rules can change by year, and groundfish details deserve a same-day look before taking cod or haddock. Striped bass may be common near the river mouth, but Maine does not allow them by spear. If diving near the state line or the Isles, use the rule for the water you are actually in, and fail closed where boundary or species status is unclear.
No. Maine DMR lists striped bass among species not allowed for saltwater spearfishing.
NOAA NDBC station 44007, southeast of Portland, is the listed offshore reference.
No. American lobster is not allowed for spearfishing in Maine.
Fort Foster's Rocky Beach is the easiest listed shore-access option, but it still needs calm east-facing conditions.
Piscataqua River current. Treat Whaleback as a slack-water dive with a short pickup plan.
