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

Valdez · United States
5.3
wave 0 m head-on
visibility4m

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

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 15:44

Sources & confidence

Sources
IPMA · NDBC buoys · Copernicus Marine
Method
Model consensus, read per window
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast

Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine

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 — forced red; the window is closed after dark.

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera
0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
calmupdated 15:44
Valdez — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · northerly wind picks up after midday
wave 0 m head-onwind 3 km/hvisibility ~5 mwindow 15:00–21:00
today, best window 18:00–21:00
fish · Visibility 5 m · Water —
confidence high · verdict for the selected day
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.

Wednesday · today2026-07-22
04:56–22:48 · first quarter
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.00 m
Wave0.00 m
Wind1 km/h
Water0 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 08:30 · high · moonrise 17:52 · moderate · moon overhead 20:40 · high · moonset 23:27 · moderate
Conditions window15:00–18:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.00 mperiod 0 swind 2→10surge 0viz 4 m
0.00 mup to ~0.00 · 198° at an angle
0 sswell moderate
2→10gusts 10 km/h
0weak surge
—m/s
4 mrain and mountain runoff
—no data
—
Atmosphere7 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
  • northerly wind picks up after midday
  • visibility ~4 m
confidence highday
Open the seafloor map with entry points

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

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
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: 1152 spots across 189 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
Allison Point (Dayville Rd)Valdez
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

The only road-accessible saltwater shore near town; occasional rockfish and lingcod. Glacial-silt low viz (check ADF&G PWS limits).

Google Maps
Jack / Sawmill Bay rocky pointsValdez
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

Rocky points and reefs off Valdez Arm; rockfish and halibut. Boat only, thin data.

Google Maps
Valdez Narrows / Middle RockValdez
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

The best hard structure near town — rocky narrows and Middle Rock reef; rockfish, lingcod, halibut. Boat only, deep, cold, turbid.

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.

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera
≈

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↗
South Boat Harbor multi-cam, Prince William Sound (City of Valdez)YouTube live — South Boat Harbor multi-cam, Prince William Sound (City of Valdez). Embedded live stream; if the ID rotates it opens the source page. Read the water before you go.camera: youtube ↗
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • rockfish
    Sebastes spp. · 5–60 m · legal
  • lingcod
    Ophiodon elongatus · 5–60 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    Lingcod: in SE Alaska spear/diving-gear closed in certain periods (e.g. from Dec 1).
  • Pacific halibut
    Hippoglossus stenolepis · 10–90 m · legal
Law
  • ✓ADF&G sport fishing licence. Spear/speargun (no explosive charge) — legal gear for halibut/rockfish/lingcod.
  • ✓Lingcod: in SE Alaska spear/diving-gear closed in certain periods (e.g. from Dec 1).
  • ✓In-season Emergency Orders override the printed regs — check the regional summary. Cold, low-viz water: expert level.
  • ⛔ 🚫 Sea turtles and mammals, closed waters, refuges and seasonal closures (in-season Emergency Orders override print) — check the regional summary.

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 Valdez

Where can I spearfish in Valdez?

Valdez has rock entry points such as Allison Point (Dayville Rd), Valdez Narrows / Middle Rock and Jack / Sawmill Bay rocky points. Prince William Sound fjord — Allison Point from the road or the Valdez Narrows by boat; rockfish, lingcod and halibut in cold, glacial-silt water. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Valdez?

Brief Jun–Aug window; halibut/lingcod/rockfish, cold low-viz water.

How cold is the water in Valdez?

Very cold, 4–12 °C — drysuit; low viz, Cook Inlet hyper-tides.

Is Valdez good for a beginner?

Expert: cold, Cook Inlet hyper-tides and low viz — slack only, with backup.

Do I need a licence in Valdez?

Yes — in Valdez, as everywhere on the mainland, you need a recreational fishing licence (DGRM); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide for the details.

Full guide: spearfishing in Hawaii & Alaska →
Coming soon

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