Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.
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 Mornington Peninsula, 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 mapThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appPier and marina wall; 3–6 m, seahorses, calamari, snapper. Sheltered, popular night dive.
Google MapsClassic bay pier dive; sand and pylons 3–5 m, weedy seadragons, calamari, whiting. Easy entry, huntable bay side.
Google MapsThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appDeep bay pier at the Rip's edge; weedy seadragons, snapper. Legal to spear — sits outside the (discrete) Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park no-take areas; still verify the current zone map locally.
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».
Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 15:39 (Australia/Melbourne)
Spearfishing on the Mornington Peninsula works best on the bay side, where piers, marina walls, weed beds and sand edges concentrate fish in manageable depth. Rye Pier is the easiest listed entry, Blairgowrie adds marina-wall structure, and Portsea Pier gives deeper water near the Rip. The legal catch is that Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park is split into nearby no-take areas, so do not guess around Portsea or the Heads. Carry a Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence, check current limits, and leave protected seadragons and seahorses undisturbed.
The peninsula is at its best when the bay is glassy and clear enough to read weed, sand holes and pylons. Piers make access easy, but they also bring swimmers, anglers, boats and protected marine life. Keep the float obvious, stay out of crowded water and treat any nearby marine national park boundary as closed until the official map says otherwise.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rye Pier | Bay pier with sand, weed and pylons | About 3-5 m | Accessible shore entry | Pier and beach-side entry at Rye | The simplest listed entry and a good place to judge bay clarity. Expect whiting, calamari and small reef life around weed and sand. Protected seadragons are common enough that identification discipline matters. |
| Blairgowrie Pier / marina | Pier and marina wall structure | About 3-6 m | Accessible but busy | Shore entry near pier and marina walls | Sheltered structure can hold snapper, calamari and bait. It is also a high-use boating area, so avoid tight marina traffic, use a float, and do not treat night-dive popularity as spearfishing permission. |
All 461 spots → · Region: Victoria · spearo.app — All countries
Rules change and vary BY STATE. Before heading out, check with your state's fisheries (NSW DPI, Fisheries QLD, VFA, DPIRD WA, PIRSA, NRE Tas, NT Fisheries) and the marine-park zoning map.
| Portsea Pier | Deeper bay pier near the Heads | Variable pier and drop-off water | Intermediate, tide-aware | Pier-side entry at Portsea | Portsea sits near stronger water movement and close to Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park sectors. It can be legal outside those no-take pockets, but only after a current map check and a conservative tide plan. |
Look for clear neap tides, light wind and no recent southerly or southwesterly blow across the lower bay. Piers can seem sheltered while the bottom is still milky. Rye is useful for a quick visibility check because the depth is modest. Portsea needs more respect: even when the surface is calm, tide near the Heads can move harder than the rest of the bay.
Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park protects several separate sites around the entrance to the bay, including several no-take sectors near Portsea and the Heads. Fishing and spearfishing are prohibited in marine national parks and sanctuaries. Portsea Pier sits outside the discrete no-take areas, but the correct practice is still to verify the current map before entering.
This is a shallow bay fishery. Whiting, snapper, calamari and smaller reef species are the realistic focus, with better fish moving through when water clarity and bait line up. Do not spear protected animals. Weedy seadragons, seahorses, protected sharks and marine park wildlife stay in the water. Victorian size and bag limits apply to everything kept.
Most adults need a Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence. VFA allows spear guns and hand spears only where the method and water are legal, so check restrictions before assuming a pier is open. Around piers, etiquette becomes safety: unload near people, give anglers room, display a float and avoid boat lanes. If a site is crowded, a legal dive can still be a poor decision.
Yes, most adults need a Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence unless an exemption applies.
Only outside no-take marine national park areas and under current VFA rules. Verify the Port Phillip Heads map first.
It is the easiest listed entry, but beginners still need clear water, a float and space from swimmers and anglers.
No. Weedy seadragons and seahorses are protected and must not be disturbed.
Recent S to SW wind, stirred sand and strong tidal movement near the Heads are the usual problems.
Rosebud buoy: wave 0.4 m · 1 h ago
