Sarasota spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

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⚠ Spearfishing banned here. Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone — Spearfishing banned in this protected marine zone (MPA). Verify with the managing authority. Boundaries approximate (radius circle) — verify with the managing authority.
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◈Sarasota · United States
5.2
wave 0.7 m
visibility~2m

Marginal

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

Sources: NWS · NDBC · Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 17:21

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.

01
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.
02
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
03
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
04
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
05
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
06
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
07
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.

Entry pointsNo-take zonesLive cams

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.

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Surface

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

spearo.app
Small Craft Advisory · NWSupdated 17:21
Sarasota — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
⛔ Banned here
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
wave 0.7 mwind 23, gusts 39 km/hvisibility ~2 mwindow 06:00–21:00
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 24.7°C
confidence low · verdict for the selected day
Best window · next 3 days
borderlineMonday · 15:00–18:00
you can see ~2 m ahead fish

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

Before entering, check the camera and the surge
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
07:36–18:52 · full moon
▼ 05:00▲ 12:00▼ 16:00▲ 22:00 · 0.8 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.23 m
Wave0.84 m
Wind22 km/h
Water25 °C
fish activity: moon overhead 00:20 · high · moonset 06:58 · moderate · moon underfoot 12:40 · high · moonrise 18:23 · moderate
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.70 m · slightperiod 4.5 swind 23→39surge 0.1viz 2 m
0.70 mslight · up to ~1.40 · 330° at an angle
4.5 sswell moderate
23→39gusts 39 km/h
0.1weak surge
0.11m/s
2 mrecent swell
24.7°C5 mm + hood
▲12:00tide rising
Atmosphere14 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonset
  • steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
  • strong wind 23 km/h, gusts 39 — caution
  • first hours of the flood — fish moving in
confidence lowtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →

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

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−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: 3016 spots across 406 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.

⛔ Banned here

Open the seafloor map →
Bob Johnson ReefSarasota
no data
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈15–16 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 10 m)

Deeper high-relief reef in 18 m, known for its big grouper. Scuba depth for most people; the clean water arrives on a light easterly, and the run out is about half an hour.

Google Maps
Cleveland Dr. beach access (Lido Key)Sarasota
no data
997 m from the boundary of Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone (no-take zone)
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈0.7–4.7 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 3 m)

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
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≈

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference
Cameras · live

Look at the water
right now.

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».

connecting to the stream…
● LIVE↗
Siesta Key Beach LIVEYouTube live — Siesta Key Beach LIVE. Embedded live stream; if the ID rotates it opens the source page. Read the water before you go.camera: youtube ↗
more: Rod & Reel Pier — Anna Maria I. (HDOnTap) ↗
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • sheepshead
    Archosargus probatocephalus · 2–15 m · legal
    Year-round across the façade. AL 12″ (30 cm) and 8/person, MS 14″ (36 cm) and 15, Louisiana neither a size nor a bag limit, TX 15″ (38 cm) and 5/day. Sheepshead is nongame in Texas, so gig, spear and speargun are lawful there.
  • cobia (ling)
    Rachycentron canadum · 3–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    In TEXAS cobia may NOT be taken by spear at all: it is on the game-fish list and 'game fish may be taken only by pole and line'; gig, spear and speargun are for nongame fish only. AL, MS and LA: year-round in state waters, min 36″ (91 cm), 1/person (MS 2), max 2/vessel.
  • gray (mangrove) snapper
    Lutjanus griseus · 5–35 m · legal
    The most reliable rig and jetty snapper from Alabama to Texas. Year-round in AL, MS and LA: min 12″ (30 cm), 10/person (in LA inside the 10-snapper aggregate). Texas lists no limit — unlisted species carry no bag or length limit there.
  • red grouper
    Epinephelus morio · 15–50 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    In Louisiana the rule is depth-keyed: year-round in state waters, but closed Feb 1–Mar 31 seaward of the 20-fathom (120 ft, ~37 m) line. Min 20″ (51 cm) in AL and MS, bag 2/person; in LA inside the 4-grouper aggregate. Texas lists no red grouper limit.
  • black drum
    Pogonias cromis · 0–15 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
Cocoa Beach
  • Fort Pierce
  • Port Canaveral
  • Jensen Beach
  • Stuart
  • Jupiter
  • Ponce Inlet
  • Palm Beach
  • South Daytona
  • Lake Worth Beach
  • Holly Hill
  • Boynton Beach
  • Boca Raton
  • Steinhatchee
  • Pompano Beach
  • Fort Lauderdale
  • Hallandale Beach
  • Coral Gables
  • Cutler Bay
  • Miami
  • Key Biscayne

    • All 367 spots → · Region: Florida · spearo.app — All countries

    transparency ~3 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore

    Atlantic hurricane season (Jun–Nov) — check the NHC forecast

    buoy Egmont Channel Entrance, FL (214): 24.7° · wave 1.2 m/6 s · 38 min ago

    You can walk into the water at Cleveland Dr. beach access (Lido Key); the town of Sarasota is 1.2 km away. Florida 68B-20.003(2)(a): no spearfishing within 100 yards (91 m) of the beach. The deepest water here is close to 5 m. No-take Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone is about 1000 m away.

    Google Maps
    🔒 Donald Roeher — Lido Key ReefSarasota
    no data
    Ultra · subscribers
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈7.0–8.0 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

    The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

    Open in the app →
    Gary Service Reef M-1Sarasota
    no data
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈12–13 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 3 m)

    The closest offshore reef to Sarasota in 12 m over sand and limestone. Grouper and snapper; a friendly depth if you are still building breath-hold.

    Google Maps
    Lido BeachSarasota
    no data
    662 m from the boundary of Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone (no-take zone)
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈1.0–4.6 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 3 m)

    Lido Beach gives shore access 0.9 km from Sarasota. Florida 68B-20.003(2)(a): no spearfishing within 100 yards (91 m) of a public bathing beach. Depths reach about 5 m. About 660 m away lies Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone, where nothing may be taken.

    Google Maps
    🔒 Lynn Silvertooth Reef (I-1)Sarasota
    no data
    Pro · subscribers
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈9.0–9.6 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

    The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

    Open in the app →
    M-4 SiteSarasota
    no data
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈13–13 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 3 m)

    Mid-shelf complex in 12 m with several deployments spread about. Worth hunting on the sounder before you jump — the material is not all in one place.

    Google Maps
    New Pass beach access (Longboat Key)Sarasota
    no data
    613 m from the boundary of Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone (no-take zone)
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈0.5–3.5 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 3 m)

    New Pass beach access (Longboat Key): shore entry, 1.8 km from Sarasota. Public beach: Florida rule 68B-20.003(2)(a) bans spearfishing within 100 yards (91 m) of it. Depths reach about 4 m. No-take Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone is about 620 m away.

    Google Maps
    South Lido ParkSarasota
    no data
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈2.9–5.3 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM, 3 m)

    You can walk into the water at South Lido Park; the town of Sarasota is 2.5 km away. Access type in the Florida DEP data: beach. Entry only: under 68B-20.003(2)(a) the first 100 yards (91 m) off this public beach are closed to spearfishing. Depths reach about 5 m.

    Google Maps
    Spanish Rocks ReefSarasota
    no data
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈1.6–6.1 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

    Spanish Rocks Reef is a shore entry about 23 km from Sarasota. Depths reach about 8 m. Bottom type: reef and rock. Under FAC 68B-20.003(2) spearing is restricted close to piers, jetties and bridges and off lifeguarded beaches; confirm on site.

    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.

    A shallow, dependable jetty and marsh-edge target. Year-round in LA and TX; LA slot 16–27″ (41–69 cm), 5/day with max 1 over 27″; TX 14–30″ (36–76 cm), 5/day with max 1 over 52″. MS lists no limit. Nongame in Texas, so lawful to spear there — unlike its red drum cousin.
  • hogfish
    Lachnolaimus maximus · 10–40 m · legal
    This card is LOUISIANA-anchored, not façade-wide: only LA carries an explicit hogfish line — year-round in state waters, min 14″ (36 cm), 5/person/day. No AL or MS hogfish line was found; do not read it as a Gulf-wide allowance. Florida does carry a Gulf line: min 14″ fork length, 5/person/day, year-round — so the sixteen Florida cities on this façade read Florida's rule, not Louisiana's.
  • lionfish
    Pterois volitans / P. miles · 1–60 m · invasive — target
    Invasive: no season, size or bag limit. But the basis here is negative space — lionfish is not a listed species in MS Title 22 Part 3, and Texas states plainly there are no limits except as listed. No AL or LA lionfish line was found. Florida's licence exemption DOES apply to the sixteen Florida cities on this façade: no licence is needed when taking lionfish with a pole spear, Hawaiian sling, hand-held net or a lionfish-specific device.
    • Regulated — check your state
    • red snapper📋 season by state
      Not merely 'typically May–Oct': TEXAS state waters are open ALL YEAR at 4 fish/day, min 15″ (38 cm). LA open from May 1 until further notice, 4/day, 16″. AL and MS set the season annually, 2/person, 16″ (41 cm). Red snapper is nongame in Texas, so spear and speargun are lawful gear. Florida sets its own Gulf state-waters season each year, separate from the federal one: min 16″ (41 cm), 2/person, and the free State Reef Fish Angler designation is required.
    • flounder📋 season by state
      Three DIFFERENT autumn closures inside one façade — there is no single season: AL closed all November, LA Oct 15–Nov 30, TX Nov 1–Dec 14 (bag 0), MS year-round. Min AL 14″ (36 cm), MS 12″ (30 cm), LA none, TX 15″ (38 cm). Flounder is nongame in Texas, so gigging and spearing are the normal legal method there.
    • greater amberjack📋 season by state
      The defining rig and wreck fish of the northern Gulf. Louisiana opens Sep 1 and closes Oct 14. AL/MS follow the federal season; Texas has no state closure. Min 34″ (86 cm), Texas 38″ (97 cm) — and it is nongame there, so fully spearable. Bag 1/person in all four states. Florida runs its own FWC Gulf season: min 34″ fork length, 1/person — check the current year's opening.
    • gray triggerfish📋 season by state
      Texas is the genuine outlier: 20 a day against one a day in AL, MS and LA. Min AL/MS 15″ (38 cm), TX 16″ (41 cm); in LA it sits inside the 20-reef-fish aggregate. Louisiana closed Jan 1–end of February and Jun 1–Jul 31.
    • gag grouper📋 season by state
      The practical spear season on the Louisiana shelf-edge banks is Sep 1–Dec 31 (to 23:59). AL and MS open; Texas has no state closure. Min 24″ (61 cm) in all four states, bag 2/person (in LA inside the 4-grouper aggregate). In Florida the Gulf gag season is set by FWC (in recent years Sep 1–Nov 10), min 24″, 2/person inside the 4-grouper aggregate — check the current year.
    Law
    • ✓Saltwater licence (+endorsement) per state: FL $17/$47, AL res $30, MS ~$13/$30, LA res $32, TX licence + saltwater endorsement.
    • ✓Texas: spear only (sheepshead/flounder); gamefish (red drum/seatrout/cobia) pole-and-line only.
    • ✓Red snapper: state-set season. Federal reef waters: spear + allowed outside the stressed area, descending device required.
    • ⛔ 🚫 FLORIDA's full no-spear list (FWC, FAC 68B-20.005): snook, bonefish, tarpon, goliath and Nassau grouper, red drum, spotted seatrout, weakfish, pompano, African pompano, permit, tripletail, spiny lobster, blue crab and stone crab, all billfish, sharks, manta ray and spotted eagle ray, sturgeon — plus any species whose harvest is prohibited by law.
    • ⛔ 🚫 Florida also bans spearing in fresh water, within 100 yards (91 m) of a public swimming beach, a commercial or public fishing pier or any part of a bridge from which public fishing is allowed, and within 100 ft (30 m) of the above-water part of a jetty; ornamental reef fish may not be speared. Federal Gulf waters follow the federal list instead.
    • ⛔ 🚫 Goliath/Nassau grouper, Gulf sturgeon, sawfish, sea turtles, mammals and many sharks — take prohibited.
    • ⛔ ⚠️ Texas & Alabama: gamefish (red drum/seatrout) pole-and-line only, NOT by spear. : banned in FL/TX, allowed in federal waters outside the stressed area.

    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.
    Local guide · Sarasota

    Spearfishing in Sarasota: spots, seasons and rules

    Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

    Spearfishing in Sarasota is a boat run to artificial reef and limestone structure. Gary Service Reef M-1 is the nearest offshore check, M-4 is the mid-shelf complex, and Bob Johnson Reef is the deeper high-relief choice. The city-center protected hit at Pansy Bayou is no-entry water, so it stays outside any harvest plan. Use Gulf reefs, not protected bay shortcuts.

    TL;DR

    • Sarasota is an offshore reef plan: Gary Service M-1, M-4 and Bob Johnson Reef step up by distance and relief.
    • Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone is a hard protected-water warning, not a spearfishing option.
    • East wind and low Gulf chop improve visibility; west and southwest energy from 215-300 degrees muddies the shelf.
    • Florida license, SRFS designation, distance buffers and FWC prohibited species rules all apply.

    Best spearfishing spots in Sarasota

    The reef sequence is simple: M-1 for the quick test, M-4 for a middle run, Bob Johnson for deeper grouper-minded days. All depend on clean Gulf water, a clear legal target list and a boat crew that can stay over divers.

    SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
    Gary Service Reef M-1Nearest offshore artificial reefShallow shelf structureIntermediateBoat access from Sarasota rampsA first visibility check when east winds have settled the Gulf.
    M-4 SiteMid-shelf reef complexModerate offshore structureIntermediate to advancedBoat access offshoreUseful when nearshore water is sandy but the crew does not want the longest run.
    Bob Johnson ReefDeeper high-relief reefDeeper artificial structureAdvanced boat diveLonger offshore runThe grouper-minded option; seasons and depth discipline decide the day.

    When is Sarasota visibility best?

    The rough sector is about 215-300 degrees, with west near 260 degrees stirring the shelf. Light east wind can flatten nearshore water and clean the reefs. NOAA station 42013 and local beach cams help separate good offshore days from brown-water beach days.

    What is the Pansy Bayou issue?

    Pansy Bayou No Entry Zone is marked as a hard protected hit near the city center. Do not stage, enter or hunt there. If a protected boundary is unclear, fail closed and keep the speargun unloaded.

    What fish and rules matter?

    Targets can include sheepshead, snapper, hogfish, cobia, flounder and grouper when seasons allow. Florida prohibits spearing snook, red drum, spotted seatrout, tarpon, bonefish, sharks, rays, billfish, goliath grouper, Nassau grouper, lobster and stone crab. SRFS is required for reef fish.

    How should you pick between reefs?

    Use M-1 as the condition check, not as proof that deeper reefs are safe. If M-1 is dirty or current-swept, M-4 and Bob Johnson are unlikely to become easier for the same crew.

    FAQ

    Can you spearfish in Pansy Bayou?

    No. It is marked as a hard no-entry protected zone.

    What is the nearest listed reef?

    Gary Service Reef M-1.

    Which NOAA station fits Sarasota?

    NOAA NDBC station 42013.

    Can I spear snook or redfish?

    No. Florida prohibits spearing both.

    When should I choose Bob Johnson Reef?

    Only with clean offshore conditions, enough depth experience and open seasons.

    Sources

    • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, spearing rules
    • NOAA NDBC, Station 42013 C10

    Nearby towns

    • Venice (FL) spearfishing guide
    • Boca Grande spearfishing guide
    • Dive spots near Clearwater
    • Fort Myers Beach spearfishing guide
    • Spearfishing in Marco Island
    Data partners
    dive centres that send us real visibility readings
    Águas VivasMilfontes · Sagres

    Sargassum: in seasonshore washups possibleAFAI satellite, 2026-10-24 · NOAA/USF