Dive today — 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 San Carlos, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
Every covered town has its own live forecast, cameras and entry points. Choose where you're diving.
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: 1391 spots across 205 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 mapVolcanic island 4.2 × 1 km some 28 km west of San Carlos, 1.5 h by boat from the marina: sheer walls, coves and outer pinnacles, 5–30 m, with about twelve named sites. A permanent colony of 400-plus sea lions; visibility often over 20 m.
Google MapsNorth tip of Nolasco: a wall and spur that pick up current, 8–30 m, advanced level. Schooling angelfish, barracuda and jacks, sponges and sea fans on the rock, black coral deeper down. Visibility is usually over 20 m.
Google MapsSouth point of the island: a deep drop-off plus a pinnacle outside it, strong current, experienced only, 5–25 m. Black-coral forests and schooling grouper nearby; sea lions are here year-round and will go for speared fish — plan for it.
Google MapsPunta Doble is the southern tip of a 926 m tongue of land that the Mexican Navy's sailing directions give as about 270 m wide and 59 to 89 m high, immediately west of the entrance to Puerto San Carlos. The pin sits in the water 150 m off the tip. WARNING: the directions note loose rocks all round it but publish neither a position nor a sounding for the place — the depth on record has no source behind it. Coords approximate.
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».
Spearfishing in San Carlos Sonora is best treated as reef and boat logistics. Isla San Pedro Nolasco is the signature run: a rocky island with sea lions, 5-30 m depth and high-visibility potential. Punta Doble/Catch-22 is a 5-20 m rocky reef outside reserves. El Cañón reaches 8-30 m, while Sea Lion Cove is listed as legal but inside or near an ANP buffer, so verify zoning before loading a gun. National rules require a CONAPESCA/SADER permit, apnea only, one allowed speargun and five fish per day.
Choose between the closer rocky reef and the island run. Around sea lions, keep distance and avoid interaction.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isla San Pedro Nolasco | Rocky island with sea lions | 5-30 m | Intermediate; boat-based | Boat from San Carlos | The main reference. Confirm entry, pickup and behavior around sea lions before diving. |
| Punta Doble / Catch-22 | Rocky reef | 5-20 m | Intermediate | Confirm local access | Legal outside reserves, with cabrilla, pez fuerte, barracuda and grouper noted. |
| El Cañón, San Pedro Nolasco | Island reef | 8-30 m | Upper intermediate | Boat, north side of the island | Medregal, cabrilla, wahoo and tuna are listed; use a visible float and clear pickup plan. |
The deciding factors are boat plan, wind and recovery. No nearby buoy is available, so use forecast wind, observed sea state and a conservative exit plan. If Sea Lion Cove zoning cannot be verified, do not shoot there.
SpainRules change. Before heading out, check with CONAPESCA/SADER (E5CINCO permit), CONANP (no-take marine ANPs) and NOM-059; apnea only.
Yes. Mexico requires an individual recreational sport-fishing permit.
No. Spearfishing is apnea only.
Keep distance and do not disturb them. Do not shoot near animals.
This guide uses the national five-fish daily limit.
No. It is a boat run from San Carlos.
Portugal
