Tolaga Bay spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

spearo.app / New Zealand / Tolaga Bay
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◈Tolaga Bay · New Zealand
5.3
visibility: 3 m
visibility~3m

Dayisover

Today — right on the edge.

Sources: MetService · Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 10:07

Sources & confidence

Sources
MetService · Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2
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 zones

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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Nearby towns

  • Tokomaru Bay
  • Waipiro Bay
  • Gisborne
  • Whareponga
  • Tūpāroa

East Cape / Gisborne

  • Rangitukia
  • Te Araroa
  • Horoera
  • Hicks Bay
  • Pōtaka

Hawke's Bay

  • Māhanga Beach
  • Māhia
  • Māhia Beach
  • Nūhaka
  • Whakakī
  • Wairoa
  • Waihua
  • Mōhaka
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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Tolaga Bay · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
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0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
MetService no dataThis information is made freely available by MetService. Despite this, MetService is not associated with, and does not endorse, spearo.app or have involvement in how this information is presentedupdated 10:07
Tolaga Bay — solo, off the rocks
Day is over
That is it for today — the day's windows have closed.
Tomorrow, best window 09:00–12:00
Best window · next 3 days
borderlineTuesday · 18:00–21:00
you can see ~4 m ahead fish

↓ low tide 11:17 · slack water ~10:32–12:02 bite times: 10:50–12:50 · 18:04–19:04

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

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
06:08–19:34 · full moon
▲ 05:00▼ 11:00▲ 17:00 · 1.2 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.47 m
Wave0.82 m
Wind6 km/h
Water16 °C
fish activity: moon overhead 00:00 · high · moonset 05:06 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:50 · high · moonrise 18:34 · moderate
Open the seafloor map with entry points →

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

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
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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: 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.

Open the seafloor map →
Cook's CoveTolaga Bay
borderline
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≥1.5 m (bathymetry LINZ Coastal LiDAR, 10 m)

Cook's Cove, Tolaga Bay: bay. You walk in from the shore. Published sources: 1. Plan the session on the Tolaga Bay swell and tide forecast. Object type: bay, official place name. Check the seabed and conditions on site before entering the water.

Google Maps
Marau PointTolaga Bay
borderline
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≥7.9 m (bathymetry LINZ Coastal LiDAR, 10 m)

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — 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.

Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 21:00 (Pacific/Auckland)

In season now
  • snapper (tāmure)
    Chrysophrys auratus · 3–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 27 cm · bag 10 a day · inside the combined limit 20 · West of Cape Runaway (SNA 1): 7 a day, min 30 cm. East of it (Central area): 10 a day, min 27 cm. Know which side of the cape you are on.
  • trevally (araara)
    Pseudocaranx georgianus · 3–30 m · legal
    min 25 cm · inside the combined limit 20
  • kahawai
    Arripis trutta · 0–20 m · legal
    no minimum size · inside the combined limit 20
  • tarakihi
    Nemadactylus macropterus · 10–60 m · legal
    min 25 cm · inside the combined limit 20 · Almost always sits below safe breath-hold depth — on this coast it is information, not a target.
  • John Dory (kuparu)
    Zeus faber · 5–40 m · legal
    no minimum size · inside the combined limit 20
  • red moki (nanua)
    Cheilodactylus spectabilis · 3–25 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 40 cm · inside the combined limit 20
Napier
  • Clive
  • Waimārama
  • Mangakuri Beach
  • Pourērere
  • Blackhead
  • Te Paerahi
  • Herbertville

    • Bay of Plenty

    • Omaio
    • Te Kaha
    • Te Kopua
    • Waihau Bay
    • Ōpōtiki
    • Ōhope
    • Whakatāne
    • Maketu
    • Tauranga / Mount Maunganui
    • Te Puna
    • Ōmokoroa
    • Kauri Point
    • Tanners Point
    • Athenree
    • Waihī Beach

    Coromandel

    • Whangamatā
    • Tairua
    • Thames
    • Ngārimu Bay

    All 201 spots → · Region: East Cape / Gisborne · spearo.app — All countries

    Marau Point — headland by Tolaga Bay. Entry from the shore. Published sources behind this mark: 1. Object type: headland; the name is from the LINZ place-name register. Check the seabed and conditions on site before entering the water.

    Google Maps
    Te Ikaarongamai BayTolaga Bay
    borderline
    in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈0.6–5.4 m (bathymetry LINZ Coastal LiDAR, 10 m)

    Te Ikaarongamai Bay, Tolaga Bay: bay. You walk in from the shore. Published sources behind this mark: 1. Object type: bay, official place name. Check the seabed and conditions on site before entering the water.

    Google Maps
    Tokatea RocksTolaga Bay
    borderline
    in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≈1.4–4.9 m (bathymetry LINZ Coastal LiDAR, 10 m)

    Tokatea Rocks — rocks by Tolaga Bay. You walk in from the shore. Published sources: 1. Plan the session on the Tolaga Bay swell and tide forecast. Object type: rocks, official place name. Check the seabed and conditions on site before entering the water.

    Google Maps
    Waiharehare BayTolaga Bay
    borderline
    in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    ≥7.6 m (bathymetry LINZ Coastal LiDAR, 10 m)

    Waiharehare Bay — bay by Tolaga Bay. You walk in from the shore. Published sources behind this mark: 1. Object type: bay, official place name. Check the seabed and conditions on site before entering the water.

    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.

    red / spiny rock lobster (kōura)
    Jasus edwardsii · 3–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    tail width ≥ 54 mm (♀ 60 mm) · bag 3 a day · 🚫 no spear · 🚫 possessing a speared one is an offence · ✋ by hand or hand-operated loop (spring-loaded loops banned) · Measure tail WIDTH: male 54 mm, female 60 mm; berried, soft-shell and unmeasurable ones go straight back. (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 29(2), reg. 46; MPI 7281.)
  • pāua (blackfoot abalone)
    Haliotis iris · 0–10 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 125 mm (shell) · bag 5 a day · ✋ by hand · tool: pāua knife (blunt; MPI: never use sharp objects) · West of Cape Runaway: 10 a day, min 125 mm. East and south of it (Central area): 5 a day, min 125 mm. · 🚫 Pāua is free-diving only: with underwater breathing apparatus you may neither take nor possess it — having a tank in the vehicle or on the boat while holding pāua is already an offence (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 48). A snorkel does not count as apparatus. · ⚠️ Before taking any shellfish check the NZ Food Safety biotoxin warnings — they change constantly and are separate from the fishing rules.
  • kina (sea urchin)
    Evechinus chloroticus · 1–15 m · legal
    no minimum size · bag 50 a day · ⚠️ Before taking any shellfish check the NZ Food Safety biotoxin warnings — they change constantly and are separate from the fishing rules.
  • leatherjacket (kōkiri)
    Meuschenia scaber · 3–30 m · legal
    no minimum size · inside the combined limit 20
  • butterfish / greenbone (marari)
    Odax pullus · 2–20 m · legal
    min 35 cm · inside the combined limit 20
    • Law
    • ✓There is no in New Zealand: MPI states plainly that you do not need one to fish in the sea — only fresh water needs a licence. The rules are REGIONAL, though: MPI divides the country into seven fishing areas with their own sizes and limits, and the Kaikōura Marine Area has rules of its own on top. Buying, selling or swapping recreationally caught seafood is an offence under the Fisheries Act 1996.
    • ✓Three species may not be taken with a SPEAR anywhere in the country: rock lobster, salmon and trout. For rock lobster it is an express rule — using a spear to take one, and possessing a speared lobster, are both prohibited, with a fine up to NZ$10,000 (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 29(2)). Salmon and trout are freshwater sports fish managed by Fish & Game.
    • ✓AN IMPORTANT CORRECTION to a common belief: no nationwide scuba ban for spearfishing was found in the MPI rules. The only breathing-apparatus prohibition is for PĀUA: it may be neither taken nor possessed while you have apparatus, even if the tank is merely in the car or on the boat (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013, reg. 48). A snorkel is not apparatus, and what forbids rock lobster is the SPEAR, not the tank. An absence of prohibition is not a permission: ask MPI before you go.
    • ✓: MPI describes spearfishing as catching fish with rubber-powered spearguns and slings or compressed-gas pneumatic spearguns, and its rules say neither yes nor no about or explosive tips. Treat the question as UNRESOLVED and do not carry a as permitted gear. No time-of-day restriction was found in the MPI rules or in the Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013.
    • ✓How to measure and where to check: a finfish is measured from the tip of the nose to the end of the middle ray of the tail fin — the 'V' of the tail, not its tips (Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013). Rock lobster is measured by tail WIDTH; pāua along the flat face of the shell in a straight line, not over the curve. Rules change often: MPI asks you to check them each time before you go fishing, for example in the NZ Fishing Rules app. Poaching: 0800 4 POACHER.
    • ✓Central: combined finfish daily limit 20, snapper 10 at 27 cm. Blue cod is split in two: 8 (Taranaki – Titahi Bay) 2 a day, 2 (Titahi Bay – Cape Runaway) 20 a day, min 33 cm. Pāua 5 a day at 125 mm — but 85 mm inside the Taranaki pāua fishery area. Rock lobster south of the Wairoa: 6 combined, max 3 packhorse. Waimārama is closed to blackfoot pāua until 22 December 2026, and Pukerua Bay is hand-held lines only (MPI; Fisheries (Recreational Management Controls) Notice No. 1 2026).
    • •Weather: MetService coastal forecasts and gale warnings — metservice.com/marine/coastal, areas: portland, castlepoint, cook, stephens, raglan. Fishing rules change: check MPI or the NZ Fishing Rules app before every trip.
    • ⛔ 🚫 Absolutely protected under the Wildlife Act 1953: white, basking, whale, oceanic whitetip and smalltooth sandtiger sharks, oceanic manta and spinetail devil rays, giant grouper and spotted black grouper, plus black corals, gorgonians, stony corals and hydrocorals. Marine mammals sit under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978. Penalty up to NZ$250,000 and six months.
    • ⛔ 🚫 Marine reserves (Marine Reserves Act 1971) are total no-take by any method, spearfishing included; so are areas protected under the Conservation Act 1987. and run on their own bylaws, and a is a temporary closure under the Fisheries Act 1996 with a real fine as well as a tapu. Check local bylaws and current before you go — they change several times a year.
    • ⛔ 🚫 The Cape Runaway boundary cuts everything: west of it the Auckland rules apply, east of it the Central ones, and the snapper, pāua and kina limits change at the cape itself. The Bay of Plenty marine reserves are closed to all fishing.

    Rules change and are regional. Before heading out, check with MPI (regional fishing rules / the NZ Fishing Rules app), DOC (marine reserves) and local notices (rāhui/mātaitai).

    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 Tolaga Bay

    Where can I spearfish in Tolaga Bay?

    Tolaga Bay has rock entry points such as Marau Point, Tokatea Rocks and Cook's Cove. Two temporary closures lie north of Tolaga Bay: Motuoroi, about 13 km away, and Tangoiro Waihirere, about 19 km away. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

    When is the best season in Tolaga Bay?

    Summer (Dec–Apr) — exposed east; windows on a westerly.

    How cold is the water in Tolaga Bay?

    Summer 17–21 °C — 5 mm suit; exposed east.

    Is Tolaga Bay good for a beginner?

    Moderate: exposed coast, windows on a westerly.

    Do I need a licence in Tolaga Bay?

    No — New Zealand has no recreational sea-fishing licence, so anyone may spearfish at Tolaga Bay; MPI's size, bag and gear rules still apply and they are set per MPI fishing area: Tolaga Bay is in the Central area, where the combined finfish daily limit is 20. Pāua is free-dive only — having underwater breathing apparatus while taking pāua is banned nationwide — crayfish (rock lobster) may be taken only by hand or a hand-held loop, never speared — MPI's rules set no scuba ban for crayfish; spearfishing is banned inside every marine reserve, and mātaitai, taiāpure and rāhui must be respected. See the guide.

    Full guide: spearfishing in New Zealand →
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