Ocean City spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Ocean City · United States
2.5
wave 0.9 m
visibility1m

Today — sit it out — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 17:41

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

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
0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app
calmupdated 17:41
Ocean City — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 0.9 m + swell period 5 s
wave 0.9 mwind 20, gusts 30 km/hvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 21.8°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.

Wednesday · today2026-07-22
05:54–20:19 · first quarter
▲ 02:00▼ 08:00▲ 14:00▼ 21:00 · 1.0 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.80 m
Wave0.80 m
Wind18 km/h
Water22 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:12 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:30 · high · moonrise 14:53 · moderate · moon overhead 19:50 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 0.92 mperiod 5.1 swind 20→30surge 0.7viz 1 m
0.92 mup to ~1.84 · 177° at an angle
5.1 sswell moderate
20→30gusts 30 km/h
0.7weak surge
0.25m/s
1 mrecent swell
21.8°C5 mm + hood
▼21:00tide falling
Atmosphere21 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
  • wave 0.9 m + swell period 5 s
  • wind-wave — choppy surface
  • ebb — weaker inshore
confidence lowday
Open the seafloor map with entry points

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

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
African Queen ReefOcean City
dangerous
swell on the quarter today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Named-wreck reef ~12 nm S of the inlet; tautog, sea bass and sheepshead.

Google Maps
Isle of Wight ReefOcean City
dangerous
swell on the quarter today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

MD DNR reef ~7 nm NE of the inlet; tautog, sea bass and sheepshead.

Google Maps
Ocean City Inlet North JettyOcean City
dangerous
swell on the quarter today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Stone inlet jetty; tautog and sheepshead on the rocks — keep 100 yds from swimmers and boats.

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

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
  • tautog
    Tautoga onitis · 3–18 m · legal
  • black sea bass
    Centropristis striata · 5–40 m · legal
  • summer flounder (fluke)
    Paralichthys dentatus · 3–30 m · legal
  • scup (porgy)
    Stenotomus chrysops · 5–30 m · legal
  • bluefish
    Pomatomus saltatrix · 0–20 m · legal
  • striped bass
    Morone saxatilis · 0–15 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    Striped bass is spearable in RI/NY/NJ/DE/VA but BANNED in ME/MA/CT/MD (no ban in NH). Never gaff.
Law
  • ✓License/registry per state: ME registry $1–2, MA permit $10 (60+ free), NY/NJ registry FREE, RI $7/$10, VA $17.50/$25.
  • ✓Striped bass is spearable in RI/NY/NJ/DE/VA but BANNED in ME/MA/CT/MD (no ban in NH). Never gaff.
  • ✓Often must be fully submerged (NJ/DE); muscle-power guns only (NY). Lobster never by spear.
  • ⛔ 🚫 American lobster — NEVER by spear anywhere on the coast (hand-take only, under a separate dive permit).
  • ⛔ 🚫 Sturgeon — total ban; sharks in many states (VA/NJ/NC) not by spear. Striped bass: see the species note.

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.

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 Ocean City

Where can I spearfish in Ocean City?

Ocean City has rock entry points such as Ocean City Inlet North Jetty, Isle of Wight Reef and African Queen Reef. Ocean City's inlet jetty plus its offshore wrecks and reefs — Isle of Wight and the African Queen — hold tautog, sheepshead and sea bass. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Ocean City?

Jun–Oct at the Chesapeake mouth; no striped bass, 100-yard no-shoot rule.

How cold is the water in Ocean City?

Turbid Chesapeake mouth; clearer offshore, 18–25 °C.

Is Ocean City good for a beginner?

Intermediate: strict 100-yard no-shoot rule (people/flags/vessels), no striped bass.

Do I need a licence in Ocean City?

Yes — in Ocean City, as everywhere on the mainland, you need a recreational fishing licence (DGRM); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide for the details.

Full guide: spearfishing on the US East Coast →
Coming soon

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