Point Lookout · United States

5.2

wave 0.3 m

visibility2m

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: NWS · NDBC · Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 17:14

Sources & confidence

Sources: NWS · NDBC · Open-Meteo · Copernicus
Method: 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.

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 — 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.

Google Play — QR code — point your camera

0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app

NWS no dataupdated 17:14

Point Lookout — solo, off the rocks

BORDERLINE

caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind-wave — choppy surface

wave 0.3 mwind 14, gusts 25 km/hvisibility ~2 mwindow 06:00–21:00

today, best window 09:00–12:00

fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 17.2°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

07:23–18:14 · full moon

▼ 05:00▲ 11:00▼ 19:00▲ 23:00 · 0.3 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide-0.17 m

Wave0.10 m

Wind4 km/h

Water17 °C

fish activity: moonset 06:46 · moderate · moon underfoot 12:10 · high · moonrise 17:41 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high

Conditions window06:00–09:00

caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish

Hs 0.34 m · calmperiod 2.7 swind 14→22surge 0viz 1 m

0.34 mcalm · up to ~0.68 · 112° at an angle

2.7 sswell moderate

14→22gusts 22 km/h

0weak surge

0.08m/s

1 mrecent swell

17.2°C5 mm + hood

▲11:00tide rising

Atmosphere18 kmlandmarks visible

moderatemoonset

wind-wave — choppy surface
murky water (visibility ~1 m)
first hours of the flood — fish moving in

confidence lowtwilight

Open the seafloor map with entry points

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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

Point Lookout ReefPoint Lookout

no data

⚠️ This point is inside the restricted zone “Chesapeake Bay, Point Lookout to Cedar Point Firing Range Danger Zones”: fishing there is regulated (season, gear, permit), not banned outright. Read the zone's rules before you go.

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: ≈4.0–5.3 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

DNR clam-shell reef off the point, about 3 m. Low structure that gathers sheepshead and tautog; brackish water keeps visibility short almost all the time.

Google Maps

Point Lookout tip riprap/breakwaterPoint Lookout

no data

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: ≈0.3–1.5 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

Riprap at the Potomac–Chesapeake confluence, about 1 m. Sheepshead and tautog on the stone; hold the 100-yard clearance from swimmers and the pier, and remember striped bass is spear-banned. Inside a firing-range danger zone (33 CFR 334.200): leave if a patrol orders.

Google Maps

Point No Point ReefPoint Lookout

no data

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: ≈9.9–10 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

WARNING: this reef lies inside the Point Lookout-Cedar Point firing-range danger zone (33 CFR 334.200) - patrol craft may order you out at any time. A 1059-acre reef in 9-11 m: two barges and Woodrow Wilson bridge rubble, holding striped bass and black sea bass.

Google Maps

U-1105 "Black Panther" wreckPoint Lookout

no data

⛔ Banned here

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: ≈23–24 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

WARNING: WWII German U-boat in the lower Potomac at about 20 m — a federal and state Historic Shipwreck Preserve where diving is allowed but taking anything is not. Information zone only.

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.

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now

bluefish
Pomatomus saltatrix · 0–20 m · legal
Open all year in every state. No minimum size except Maryland (8″). Bag 5/day from shore or a private boat, 7 for for-hire passengers.
pollock
Pollachius virens · 5–45 m · legal
Essentially unregulated: open all year in MA, NY and RI with no bag limit. No minimum in MA; 19″ (48 cm) in NY and RI; NH 19″ in federal water. Maine names pollock as spearable.
cunner (bergall)
Tautogolabrus adspersus · 1–15 m · legal
The default first fish for a New England diver: on every jetty, ledge and wreck in 1–15 m. No season, no minimum size and no bag limit in any façade state. Explicitly on Maine's spearable list.
weakfish (grey trout)
Cynoscion regalis · 1–20 m · legal
Open all year from MA to VA, but the bag is hard: 1 fish per day coastwide. Min 16″ (41 cm) MA/RI/CT/NY, 13″ NJ/DE/MD, 12″ VA. No gear restriction.
sheepshead
Archosargus probatocephalus · 2–15 m · legal
The northern edge of its range: a bridge-piling and jetty fish in the Chesapeake. Open all year in MD and VA. Min 12″ (30 cm) in MD, none in VA. Bag 4 per person in both.
Atlantic spadefish
Chaetodipterus faber · 3–30 m · legal
The signature summer fish on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel structures and Virginia's offshore towers. Open all year in VA, no minimum size, bag 4 per person. Not on Virginia's spear-prohibited list.
red drum
Sciaenops ocellatus · 0–10 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
The trap is a MAXIMUM, not a minimum: no fish over 27″ (69 cm) may be possessed. Slot VA 18–26″, NJ 18–27″, CT max 27″, NY no minimum but nothing over 27″. Bag VA 3, CT/NJ 1 per person.

Regulated — check your state

tautog📋 season by state
Closed or 1 fish for much of the summer in most states. Min 16″ (41 cm), 15″ in NJ. Bag 1–5/day by state and window.
black sea bass📋 season by state
PROHIBITED by spear in Maine (DMR). Closed Jan–mid-May everywhere. Min ranges 12.5″ (NJ/DE/MD) to 16.5″ (NH); the tail filament never counts.
summer flounder (fluke)📋 season by state
The widest size spread in the façade: 15″ (NH) … 19.5″ (CT/NY from Aug 2). DE/MD/VA and NH open all year; MA/RI/CT/NY/NJ run windows. Bag 2–6/day.
scup (porgy)📋 season by state
MA/RI/CT/NY 11″ from a vessel, 9.5″ from shore; NJ 10″ (closed Jul–Aug), DE/MD/VA 9″ year-round. 30/day. Not in the ME or NH tables.
winter flounder📋 season by state
Maine names it first on its spearable list. 12″ (30 cm) min in every state. Bag: MA Gulf of Maine 8 / Southern NE 2; NH 8; RI/CT/NY/NJ 2. NY window is only Apr 1–May 30.
Atlantic cod📋 season by state
A narrow window: MA (W. Gulf of Maine) Sep 1–Oct 31 only, NH open Sep–Oct, NY Sep 1–May 31. Min 23″ (58 cm). Bag 1/day MA and NH, 5 NY. Maine names cod as spearable.
haddock📋 season by state
A deep fish — boat work for most divers. MA (Gulf of Maine) Apr 1–Feb 28, NH closed in March, NY all year. Min 17″ (43 cm) MA-GoM/NH, 18″ (46 cm) MA-SNE/NY. Bag 15/day in MA/NH. Maine names haddock as spearable.
cobia📋 season by state
Virginia's premier summer bluewater target, but the window is tight: VA Jun 15–Sep 20 only, NY all year. Min 43″ (109 cm) in both. VA 1 per person and 2 per vessel; NY 1 per angler, max 2 per vessel. Gaffing cobia is expressly prohibited.

Not a target — don't shoot

striped bass🚫 no-take
Spearable in RI/NJ/DE/VA, BANNED in ME/MA/CT/MD; no ban in NH; NY could not be confirmed from a primary source — treat as unverified. Slot 28–31″, 1 fish/day (Hudson above the GW Bridge: 23–28″). 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.
✓Spearable in RI/NJ/DE/VA, BANNED in ME/MA/CT/MD; no ban in NH; NY could not be confirmed from a primary source — treat as unverified. Slot 28–31″, 1 fish/day (Hudson above the GW Bridge: 23–28″). Never gaff.
✓Often must be fully submerged (NJ/DE); muscle-power guns only (NY). Lobster never by spear.
•Sharks may NOT be speared in Virginia (recreational take by handline or rod and reel only) or Maryland (all shark species on the no-spear list). NY and MA manage sharks by permit and prohibited-species list rather than by gear.
•Maryland: bow, gig, spear and speargun are legal tidal gear but may not be used within 100 yards (91 m) of any person, swimming area, dive flag or occupied duck blind. New Jersey requires the diver to be COMPLETELY submerged; New York allows muscle-powered guns only.

⛔ 🚫 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.
⛔ 🚫 Total possession moratorium — never take: Atlantic sturgeon (every state), sea-run Atlantic salmon, American shad (except the Connecticut and Merrimack river systems), river herring (banned in CT and in NY south of the George Washington Bridge), Atlantic wolffish, ocean pout and windowpane flounder (MA/NH).

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 Point Lookout

Where can I spearfish in Point Lookout?

Point Lookout has rock entry points such as Point Lookout tip riprap/breakwater, Point Lookout Reef and U-1105 "Black Panther" wreck. Point Lookout guards the Potomac–Chesapeake confluence — riprap, a DNR reef and the WWII U-1105 wreck (a protected preserve) for sheepshead and tautog. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Point Lookout?

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

How cold is the water in Point Lookout?

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

Is Point Lookout good for a beginner?

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

Do I need a licence in Point Lookout?

Yes — in Point Lookout almost certainly, but the licence is the STATE's, not a federal one: nearly every coastal state requires its own saltwater fishing licence, and several add a free registration or an extra endorsement on top (Florida's free State Reef Fish Survey for reef fish, Texas's saltwater endorsement, California's Ocean Enhancement Validation). Hawaii asks nothing of residents and charges visitors the NRMFL. What may be speared, and with what gear, is state law too — the price and the details depend on the state, so read the «Law» block below.

Full guide: spearfishing on the US East Coast →

Surface

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

Spots in United States

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Nearby towns

Maryland

Virginia

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Help us make it better

The water column

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The seabed

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Surfacing

What's in season,
what the law says.

FAQ — spearfishing in Point Lookout

New Jersey

North Carolina

New York

Point Lookout spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Windows, hours and the day's trends.

Get the go / no-go verdict for Point Lookout by email

Spots in United States

🇺🇸United States

Nearby towns

Maryland

Virginia

Delaware

Help us make it better

A marine instrument, go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.The call is on the rock.

Where to get in off the rocks.

What's in season, what the law says.

FAQ — spearfishing in Point Lookout

New Jersey

North Carolina

New York

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

What's in season,
what the law says.