La Paloma spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

La Paloma · Uruguay
2.5
wave 1.5 m head-on
visibility1m

Today — sit it outwave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicushigh 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.

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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
La Paloma — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~2.9 m)
wave 1.5 m head-onwind 22, gusts 39 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 12.3°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
07:3717:48 · first quarter
00:00 04:00 05:00 09:00 13:00 22:00 · 0.5 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.05 m
Wave1.46 m
Wind17 km/h
Water12 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:45 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:00 · high · moonrise 12:11 · moderate · moon overhead 19:30 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.46 mperiod 6.2 s head-onwind 22→39surge 6.4viz 1 m
1.46 mup to ~2.92 · 115° head-on
6.2 sswell moderate
22→39gusts 39 km/h
6.4pounding the rocks
0.42m/s
1 mrecent swell
12.3°Cthicker suit + hood
▼22:00tide falling
Atmosphere14 kmovercast
lowoff the lunar peaks
  • wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~2.9 m)
  • steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
  • dawn/dusk
confidence mediumtwilight
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
Cabo Santa María — restinga del faroLa Paloma
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Rocky point below the historic lighthouse (1874); restingas and sargo near the shore, corvina and grouper. Sandbank-hazard coast — clear water on north wind. Coords approx.

Google Maps
Escollera del puerto de La PalomaLa Paloma
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

~1000 m harbour mole; sargo, corvina, grouper. Classic Rocha spearing spot. Coords approx.

Google Maps
La Paloma — El CabitoLa Paloma
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Rocky beach in the cape's lee; among the clearest, window on north wind. Coords approx.

Google Maps
La Paloma — restos de naufragio (playas Solari / Anaconda)La Paloma
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Wreck remains visible on Solari/Anaconda beaches NE of the cape; boiler and iron that aggregate shallow fish. Heritage point — don't trophy the iron. Coords approx (verify Anaconda beach).

Google Maps
Restinga de Isla de La TunaLa Paloma
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Restinga with outer channels; good rocky relief, sargo and corvina. 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.

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
  • 🚫 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.
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.
Local guide · La Paloma

Spearfishing in La Paloma: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

La Paloma is Uruguay's cleaner Atlantic-style option: a long harbour mole, rocky restingas and Cabo Santa María lee corners in salty Rocha water. The best windows come with north wind and low swell; south to southeast sea can wash the rocks quickly. Expect sargo, black corvina, flounder, brotula and occasional grouper. A 5/3 mm suit is a sensible reference. Legally, start with DINARA sport-fishing rules, personal consumption and respect for seasonal corvina care.

TL;DR

  • La Paloma is Rocha's most practical shore-spearing base.
  • The harbour mole, Isla de La Tuna and El Cabito offer shallow rock and channels.
  • Use the DINARA sport-fishing permit framework and do not sell recreational catch.

La Paloma shore spots

Pick the entry by exit quality, not by name. The rocks are shallow, but swell can make them hard to leave.

SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
La Paloma harbour moleLong port breakwaterShallow blocks and rockIntermediateFrom the portClassic Rocha structure for sargo, corvina and grouper. Keep clear of boats and line fishers.
Isla de La Tuna restingaOuter rocky channelsShallow reefsIntermediateNear the capeGood relief when the water opens. Avoid direct S/SE swell.
El CabitoLee-side rocky beachLow rockManageable on small-sea daysFrom townOften one of the clearer choices with north wind.

When is La Paloma clear?

North wind, settled swell and no recent S/SE pulse are the best signs. Rocha can clear far better than Montevideo, but it is still a temperate Atlantic coast. DINARA is the reference for sport-fishing permits, black corvina closures and minimum-size checks; sea lions, turtles and cetaceans are protected.

FAQ

Is La Paloma good for beginners?

It can be, but only on small-sea days with a partner and a visible float.

What fish are common?

Sargo, black corvina, flounder, brotula and some grouper.

Do you need a DINARA permit?

Use the DINARA sport-fishing permit framework before planning a recreational catch.

Can you sell the catch?

No. Treat sport fishing as personal-use only.

What swell is worst?

South to southeast swell washing the rocks and breakwater.

Sources

Nearby towns

Coming soon

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