Today — right on the edge.
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.
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 mapRemains of the barque Annie C. Maguire, wrecked in 1886 about 90 m off Portland Head Light, 2–8 m. Scattered iron over ledge, an easy short freedive — tautog and cunner among the plates.
Google MapsQuarter-mile granite finger marking the north side of Portland Harbour's entrance, 3–15 m. Current and ship traffic — boat only, flag flying and someone left aboard; cod and pollock. Pinned at the shore access, not in the water: the entry point is still unchecked.
Google MapsProtected Cape Elizabeth cove with tall eelgrass beds at 2-3 m running out to a silty bottom with scattered rock, to about 7 m. Flounder, sea raven, crab and lobster; beach entry straight from the state-park lot, and it stays diveable in a southwest blow.
Google MapsGranite ledges below the twin Cape Elizabeth lights, 2–12 m, a long-standing shore dive for tautog and pollock. The state park closes at sunset; load the gun only once you are in the water.
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».
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.
Portland has rock entry points such as Two Lights (Cape Elizabeth Light) Ledges, Annie C. Maguire Wreck Ledge, Portland Head Light and Ram Island Ledge. Casco Bay island ledges off Portland — Two Lights, Portland Head and Ram Island Ledge hold cod, pollock and tautog. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
Short Jul–Sep window once the Gulf of Maine warms; macro tides rule the slack.
Cold, 8–15 °C; thick suit, variable viz, huge tides stir the water.
Advanced: cold, macro tides and variable viz — experienced only, on the slack.
Yes — in Portland 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.
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Portland, 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.
transparency nearby ~2 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore
