Plage des Minimes / diguesLa Rochelle
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Breakwaters and riprap south of the city, 2–6 m, shore; bass and mullet, often murky water.
Google MapsLa Rochelle spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.4
wave 0.3 m
visibility5m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 05:24
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 05:24
La Rochelle — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind-wave — choppy surface
wave 0.3 mwind 17, gusts 32 km/hvisibility ~7 mwindow 06:00–21:00
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 7 m · Water 22.3°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.
Thursday · today2026-07-23
06:36–21:45 · first quarter
▼ 06:00▲ 12:00▼ 18:00 · 1.9 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.13 m
Wave0.24 m
Wind15 km/h
Water23 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:15 · moderate · moon underfoot 09:10 · high · moonrise 17:16 · moderate · moon overhead 21:30 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.30 mperiod 4.2 swind 17→32surge 0viz 5 m
0.30 mup to ~0.60 · 302° at an angle
4.2 sswell moderate
17→32gusts 32 km/h
0weak surge
0.11m/s
5 mrecent swell
22.3°C5 mm + hood
▲12:00tide turn near
Atmosphere41 kmlandmarks visible
highmoon underfoot
- wind-wave — choppy surface
- wind 17 km/h
- first hours of the flood — fish moving in
confidence mediumtwilight
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
Pointe des MinimesLa Rochelle
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Point and riprap at the harbour mouth, 2–7 m, shore; bream and bass, watch the traffic.
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
Cameras · live
Look at the water
right now.
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».
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- bar / loup (European seabass)Bag: north of 48°N — 3/day (except 1 Feb–31 Mar: catch-and-release only); south of 48°N — 2/day year-round.
- maigre (meagre)
- gilthead seabream
- white seabream
- black seabream
- grey mullet
- European conger
- striped red mullet
- common sole
- European hake
- Atlantic mackerelAtlantic 20 cm (North Sea — 30 cm), Mediterranean 18 cm.
- pollackAtlantic/Channel: max 2/day. Practically absent in the Mediterranean.
- Atlantic cod
- brown meagre / corb🚫 Mérou (5 spp.) and corb: TOTAL spearfishing ban in the French Mediterranean (mainland + Corsica), moratorium to end 2033. Size is irrelevant — not a legal target at all.
Law
- ✓No licence and no declaration since 2009 — free practice (décret 2009-727). BUT civil-liability (RC) insurance for spearfishing is MANDATORY (not a myth) — a standalone policy or an FFESSM/FFPSA federation licence. Speargun (arbalète) — 16+.
- ✓Breath-hold only — any breathing apparatus (scuba/hookah) is banned. Night prohibited (sunset to sunrise). Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water. Stay ≥150 m from vessels actively fishing; spearfishing banned in ports, bathing zones and marine reserves.
- ✓Min. sizes are façade-specific (arrêté 26 Oct 2012 + EU 2019/1241): sea bass (bar) 42 cm Atlantic/Channel and 30 cm Mediterranean. In the Med, moratoria protect the grouper (×5) and the brown meagre (corb) — don't shoot them. From 10 Jan 2026 a new registration + catch-declaration regime applies (arrêté 7 Nov 2025). See the species card and the guide.
- ✓EU Regulation 2023/2842: angler registration and catch declaration for certain species (sea bass, pollack, bluefin tuna) due from 10 Jan 2026 — obligation postponed by France while the EU app is not ready; check current status.
- ⛔ 🚫 Mérou (5 spp.) and corb — total spearfishing ban in the Mediterranean (mainland + Corsica), moratorium to end 2033.
- ⛔ Grande nacre (Pinna nobilis) — full take ban (Habitats Dir. 92/43 Annex IV). Marine mammals, turtles, seahorses (Hippocampus), corals — do not touch.
- ⛔ Crustaceans (lobster, spiny lobster, spider crab, ormer/abalone) — harpoon/foëne PROHIBITED. By hand while freediving only, where species/size/season is open. Ormeau (Haliotis) — hand-take heavily restricted/seasonal, effectively closed in many zones.
Rules change. Exact distances from beaches/ports and seasonal closures are set by the local préfecture maritime — check its arrêté and the DIRM/OFB zone map before heading out.
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 La Rochelle
Where can I spearfish in La Rochelle?
La Rochelle has rock entry points such as Plage des Minimes / digues and Pointe des Minimes. More of a base than a real shore spot: the town hosts one of the most active clubs on the coast, but the local water is estuarine and often murky. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in La Rochelle?
Summer (June–October). Charente-Maritime: the Ré and Oléron islands + meso-tides; the Gironde and Charente estuaries push out murk — best visibility is on the islands' offshore spots in calm wind.
How cold is the water in La Rochelle?
Atlantic: ~10 °C in winter, ~20–21 °C in summer (the shallows warm up). 5 mm in summer. The Gironde/Charente estuaries bring murk — plan the offshore spots of Ré/Oléron.
Is La Rochelle good for a beginner?
Moderate: islands, warm shallows in summer, but estuary murk. Beginner-friendly on calm days; the best spots are the offshore sides of Ré and Oléron.
Do I need a licence in La Rochelle?
No paid licence in La Rochelle — but third-party (RC) insurance is MANDATORY, and since 10/01/2026 a free EU registration + catch declaration (RECFishing app) applies from age 16. Breath-hold only (no scuba), buoy mandatory, no night; sizes by coast (bar 42 Atl. / 30 Med.), grouper and corb banned in the Med. See the guide.
Coming soon
Get the go / no-go verdict for La Rochelle by email
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at La Rochelle, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
26 countries · all spots
Pick your coast
Every covered town has its own live forecast, cameras and entry points. Choose where you're diving.
Portugal
Portugal map →
North
Setúbal · Arrábida
Algarve
Spain
Spain map →Cantabrian coast
Andalusia (Atlantic)
Andalusia (Med)
Italy
Italy map →Tuscany
Central Adriatic
Northern Adriatic
Greece
Greece map →Attica · Saronic
Halkidiki
Thrace · Kavala
France
France map →Hauts-de-France
North Brittany
West Brittany
Pays de la Loire
Charente-Maritime
French Basque Country
Provence — Côte d'Azur
Turkey
Turkey map →
Croatia
Croatia map →Kvarner
North Dalmatia
Central Dalmatia (Split)
Cyprus
Cyprus map →
Malta
Malta map →
Brazil
Brazil map →South Coast
São Paulo Coast
Rio de Janeiro Coast
Bahia Coast
Coral Coast
Chile
Chile map →Norte Grande
Central Chile
Colombia
Colombia map →Caribbean · Guajira
Central Caribbean
Caribbean · Gulf
Islands (Colombia)
Pacific (Colombia)
Venezuela
Venezuela map →Central Caribbean (Venezuela)
Insular Venezuela
Ecuador
Ecuador map →
Mexico
Mexico map →Baja Pacific
Sea of Cortez
Pacific Mainland
Bahamas
Bahamas map →New Providence
Grand Bahama
Bimini
Long Island
San Salvador
Cat Island
Dominican Republic
Dominican Rep. map →Southeast Caribbean
South Caribbean
Southwest Caribbean
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico map →
Peru
Peru map →
Uruguay
Uruguay map →Uruguay · Río de la Plata
Uruguay · Rocha (Atlantic)
Argentina
Argentina map →Buenos Aires
Río Negro · San Matías
Chubut · Golfo Nuevo
Tierra del Fuego
Australia
Australia map →NSW North Coast
NSW Central — Sydney/Newcastle/Illawarra
QLD South-East
QLD Capricorn Coast
QLD Tropical North
Victoria
SA Gulfs & Fleurieu
SA Limestone Coast (Bonney)
WA South-West (Perth–Capes)
WA Mid-West (Geraldton–Kalbarri)
WA North (Ningaloo–Kimberley)
New Zealand
New Zealand map →Auckland & Hauraki Gulf
Coromandel
Bay of Plenty
East Cape / Gisborne
Hawke's Bay
Taranaki & Western NI
Wellington & Cook Strait
Canterbury & Banks Peninsula
Southland & Foveaux
West Coast (South Island)
South Africa
South Africa map →Western Cape
Garden Route
Eastern Cape
Wild Coast
United States
USA map →New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Connecticut
New York
New Jersey
North Carolina
Florida
- St. Augustine
- Port Canaveral
- Vero Beach
- Fort Pierce
- Jupiter
- Palm Beach
- Boynton Beach
- Pompano Beach
- Fort Lauderdale
- Miami
- Key Largo
- Islamorada
- Marathon
- Big Pine Key
- Key West
- Fernandina Beach
- Jacksonville Beach
- Ponce Inlet
- Cocoa Beach
- Sebastian Inlet
- Stuart
- Boca Raton
- Naples
- Venice (FL)
- Sarasota
- Clearwater
- Tarpon Springs
- Steinhatchee
- Apalachicola
- Port St. Joe
- Panama City Beach
- Destin
- Pensacola
- Marco Island
- Fort Myers Beach
- Boca Grande
- Crystal River
- Cedar Key
Mississippi
Texas
California
- San Diego (Point Loma)
- La Jolla
- Encinitas
- Oceanside
- Dana Point
- Laguna Beach
- Newport Beach
- Long Beach (San Pedro)
- Palos Verdes
- Redondo Beach
- Malibu
- Avalon (Catalina Island)
- Two Harbors (Catalina Island)
- Ventura
- Santa Barbara
- Morro Bay
- San Simeon
- Monterey
- Carmel
- Santa Cruz
- Half Moon Bay
- Fort Bragg
- Mendocino
- Pacific Beach (Mission Bay)
- Carlsbad
- San Clemente
- Huntington Beach
- Oxnard (Channel Islands Harbor)
- Goleta
- Cayucos
- Pacific Grove
- Bodega Bay
- Trinidad
- Crescent City
Washington
Philippines
Philippines map →NW Luzon
Western Visayas
Cebu & Negros
Feedback
Help us make it better
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.