spearo sea-state engine: consensus of up to 6 models + satellite clarity (ZSD) + buoy-bias checks
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast
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.
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.
01
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.
02
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
03
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
04
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
05
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
06
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
07
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 — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.
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
no dataupdated 03:33
Lekeitio — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.7 m (occasionally up to ~3.3 m)
wave 1.7 mwind 12, gusts 26 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 17.4°C
confidence low · 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.
Sunday · today2026-10-25
07:36–18:11 · full moon
▲ 03:00▼ 09:00▲ 15:00▼ 21:00mid-range tides · 3.7 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-1.55 m
Wave1.96 m
Wind7 km/h
Water18 °C
fish activity: moonset 06:43 · moderate · moon underfoot 12:10 · high · moonrise 17:29 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.66 m · roughperiod 9.4 swind 12→26surge 24.1viz 1 m
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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−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: 3016 spots across 406 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
Acantilados de Mendexa (al este de Artzabal)Lekeitio
dangerous
swell on the quarter today (city-level)
window
All year when the sea allows; in August it is the clean alternative to a crowded bay.
tide
Cantabrian regime, spring range up to 4.5 m. At the point the current wraps the cape and on springs it can take you half a kilometre without you noticing.
shelter
The cliff cuts the west; on a NW it breaks full on and there is no exit up the wall.
conditions
Cleaner water than in the bay because the Lea bar is to the west; 5-8 m is normal.
hazard
Karraspio is 369 m west, already outside the 250 m of art. 14.3 — this mark slid here for exactly that reason, and in July the difference shows in the number of swimmers, not only in the regulation. A wall with no exits: in and out at the same place. censused bathing zone — from 1 Jun to 30 Sep art. 14.3 of Decreto 198/2000 bars spearfishing inside it and within 250 m
access
From Karraspio along the coast path eastward, 600 m; in off a rock ramp between two boulders.
The Mendexa cliff past Artzabal point, already clear of the Lea bar; boulders and shallow caves at 4-10 m, 369 m east of the Karraspio bathing zone.
Summer and early-autumn windows; with a north-west sea running, the shoal is simply dangerous.
tide
Cantabrian regime, spring range up to 4.5 m. On the crossing to the island the ebb pushes towards the harbour mouth: cross at slack water.
shelter
Nothing in front across the whole 300-40° sector; the shoal breaks before the shore does, so it warns you when there is swell.
conditions
Clean rock from 5 to 16 m; the best visibility in the municipality, 8-10 m on a land-wind day.
hazard
No mapped zone nearby — the nearest bathing zone is 3.1 km away and the harbour 3.0 km. What there is: surf over the shoal, a westward rip and not a soul for kilometres.
access
Drive to the top and a long walk down the path; enter off the platform and get out on a rising tide.
Wild coast towards Ea; the Penitentzi harria shoal breaks on little swell and holds scorpionfish and conger among the boulders. 3 km from the nearest bathing zone.
⚠️ This point is inside the restricted zone “Zona de baño censada «Karraspio» (Mendexa) + 250 m — pesca submarina prohibida (art. 14.3, Decreto 198/2000), 1 jun – 30 sep”: fishing there is regulated (season, gear, permit), not banned outright. Read the zone's rules before you go.
swell on the quarter today (city-level)
window
June to October is the clearest water, and exactly when the bathing zone is live: go at first light and stay on the north face.
tide
Cantabrian regime, spring range up to 4.5 m. The channel between islet and shore speeds up on the ebb and is crossed only at slack water.
shelter
The north face is open to the 300-40° sector: with a NW groundswell there is no entry. On a southerly the surface flattens and the water clears.
conditions
On a flat sea visibility runs 5-8 m; after rain the Lea estuary drops it below two, and the island is the last thing to clear.
hazard
Karraspio is 213 m south-east — INSIDE the 250 m of art. 14.3 in season, so from 1 June to 30 September this mark is not fishable and the page does not hide it; out of season the ban is not active. The harbour is 230 m west. Boats run between the island and the town. censused bathing zone — from 1 Jun to 30 Sep art. 14.3 of Decreto 198/2000 bars spearfishing inside it and within 250 m port water: art. 18.2.2 of Decreto 198/2000 closes ports, docks, anchorages and channels all year
access
Swim from Isuntza beach or round the outside from Karraspio; about 400 m. On a spring low part of the island is joined by the gravel spit.
The island that closes the bay; rock-and-boulder drop-off at 10-15 m, sea bass and sea bream. It stands 213 m off the Karraspio bathing zone, and in summer that matters.
Short summer windows: the rest of the year the north-west groundswell shuts this point for weeks at a time.
tide
Cantabrian regime, spring range up to 4.5 m. The drop-off fishes best on the flood: on the ebb the Oria's water reaches this far.
shelter
Nothing stands in front of it: the 300-40° sector rolls straight in and 320° is the worst bearing. It only works on a south or south-west land wind.
conditions
Slab and boulder bottom from 4 to 14 m; on a clean day you see 6-9 m, more than in the bay because the Lea's runoff does not reach here.
hazard
No mapped zone nearby: the nearest bathing zone (Isuntza) is 1.7 km away and the harbour 1.5 km. The risk here is the sea, not the law — an open point with no easy exit and no phone signal on the path down.
access
Footpath from the Antzoriz height and a scramble down the rock; you jump in off the slab and get out where you got in — there is no second option.
Headland north-west of the bay; slabs and boulders at mid-water, the most exposed point in the municipality and the emptiest of people.
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.
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≈
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
✓Spearfishing licence mandatory; the AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY issues it (not the State) and it is valid in the exterior waters of the whole coast. Free-diving only — scuba is banned (, art. 3).
✓Spearfishing catch may not be sold or traded — it is non-commercial fishing ().
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset to sunrise not allowed) — , art. 16.d.
✓Marker buoy MANDATORY: mark your position with a clearly visible buoy and stay within 25 m of it — , art. 15.
✓Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water — , art. 16.a.
✓Keep at least 300 m from professional fishing vessels that are working — , art. 12.b.
✓The state act (, art. 16) bans, for spearfishing: a loaded gun out of the water; explosive/electric points and lamps (hand torches excepted); underwater scooters; night — from sunset to sunrise. Plus art. 12 b), d), e): 300 m from professional fishing vessels, light as an attractant, poisons/explosives. A ban in a PARTICULAR reserve, port or beach comes from that place's OWN instrument (the reserve's order, the autonomous community's rules, the port authority) — see the no-take zones on the map and your community's rules.
✓Min. sizes by ( + + EU 2019/1241): sea bass 42 cm (rec.) / 36 cm / 25 cm Mediterranean / 22 cm Canaries; gilthead bream 20 cm and white seabream 23 cm in the Mediterranean (EU 2019/1241); grouper 45 cm. See your zone's species card.
✓Only species in Annex I of may be taken; keeping, landing or transporting undersized specimens is prohibited.
✓The licence needs a medical fitness certificate for free-diving and civil-liability insurance (or a federative licence, which includes it). Mandatory in the Basque Country/Murcia/Asturias/Galicia; the federative licence covers it in Galicia/Balearics/Cantabria; the Canaries and Andalusia do NOT require it for the individual licence (a responsible health declaration). Minimum age generally 16 (14 in Andalusia).
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 Lekeitio
Where can I spearfish in Lekeitio?
Lekeitio has rock entry points such as Isla Garraitz (San Nicolás), Punta de Antzoriz and Arrakulu y Penitentzi harria. Lekeitio hunts around Garraitz island, whose north face gives a drop-off at 10-15 m with bass and bream. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Lekeitio?
Summer and early autumn are the windows — in winter the Bay of Biscay swell shuts the coast down. Tides are large (4 m+) and set up current, so pick a small-sea day with the tide in your favour.
How cold is the water in Lekeitio?
~14–22 °C: cool, but it warms up in the summer window. A 5 mm suit at peak summer, 7 mm with a hood the rest of the year.
Is Lekeitio good for a beginner?
Demanding: strong Biscay swell, big tides and exposed rock entries. It's for those who can already read the sea and pick the window well — not a coast to start on.
Do I need a licence in Lekeitio?
Yes — in Lekeitio you need a recreational sea-fishing licence (issued by the autonomous community); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide.
✓There is no fixed national catch cap (, art. 5 delegates it to the communities); the standard is 5 kg/person/day, with 1 specimen allowed not to count (Canaries — Decreto 182/2004, art. 38.3; Murcia; Galicia; Basque Country). Protected species have per-piece quotas.
✓Only a harpoon is allowed — hand-held or mechanically propelled, with one or several points (, art. 14.1). Carrying spearfishing gear and underwater breathing equipment aboard AT THE SAME TIME is prohibited (art. 14.2) — an offence in itself, even if you dived on a breath hold.
✓Spain is not one jurisdiction. The licence is issued by a coastal autonomous community, and you must comply with the rules of the administration on whose littoral you are in the water: «debiendo cumplir la normativa establecida por la administración en cuyo litoral se realice la actividad» (, art. 13). Interior waters — inside the straight baselines: bays, coves, rías, the whole coastal strip — are the community's competence; exterior waters are the State's. So the age, the days of the week, the distances and the are found in your community's act, not in the state one.
✓Basque Country: the spearfishing licence is issued by the Basque Government — Gobierno Vasco (Eusko Jaurlaritza): Decreto 198/2000, platform, spearfishing valid 1 year.
✓Basque Country: spearfishing needs a SEPARATE licence (Decreto 198/2000, art. 4); it takes being 16, an official sports medical certificate of fitness for this very activity, and accident + civil-liability insurance (art. 7.3). The cap is 5 kg (art. 12.1). Barred within 250 m of properly delimited bathing or watersport areas (art. 14.3); orto to ocaso only (art. 16). Ports, docks, habitual anchorages, navigation channels and vessel-traffic zones are closed; and a biotope, a special-protection zone or an artificial reef closes spearfishing only when ITS OWN norm says so (art. 18).
⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected (RPE).
Rules change and are REGIONAL. Before heading out, check with the competent autonomous community (licence) and the min-size table in force.
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