Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding. 🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
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
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Virginia Beach, 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.
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 mapRip-rap island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, about 1 m along the stone. Sheepshead and tautog at slack on the sheltered side; the 250-yard CBBT rule covers gill nets, not spearfishing. The pin marks the shore access point; the water entry has not been verified.
Google MapsCameras, 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».
buoy York Spit, VA: 16.7° · wave 0.5 m/4 s · 46 min ago
VMRC reef off the Virginia Beach oceanfront in about 8 m. Tautog, sheepshead and black sea bass; in Virginia spearfishing is recreational only — commercial spearing is banned outright.
Virginia's offshore Liberty-ship reef, 16.5 nm bearing 073 from the Chesapeake Light Tower: six large vessels in 30 m of water standing 8-10 m proud, so the tops sit around 21 m. Charter boat only; late summer brings amberjack, cobia and big sheepshead onto the wrecks.
Google MapsDeeper VMRC reef seaward of Virginia Beach at about 18 m, with far less fishing pressure. Black sea bass and tautog; sharks may not be taken by spear in Virginia.
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.
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.
Spearfishing in Virginia Beach is structure and tide first. CBBT Island One pilings and rip-rap are the signature slack-water feature, East Ocean View Reef is the inshore VMRC reef option, and Tower Reef is the deeper seaward choice. The water is cooler than the southern Gulf, with a 5 mm suit noted locally. Virginia is more spear-friendly than some Chesapeake neighbors, but sharks and sturgeon remain off the target list and lobster is never by spear.
Pick the site by tide and traffic. CBBT is famous but demanding, East Ocean View is the inshore reef check, and Tower Reef is the deeper low-pressure boat day. Every option needs a visible flag and a crew watching current lines.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBBT Island One pilings | Bridge-tunnel rip-rap and pilings | Structure and rock edges | Advanced | Boat access on calm-side slack high tide | A legal, famous sheepshead and tautog spot in the local notes. Watch traffic and current. |
| East Ocean View Reef | VMRC inshore reef | Inshore reef structure | Intermediate boat dive | Boat access off the oceanfront | A practical reef for tautog, sheepshead and black sea bass when color and tide cooperate. |
| Tower Reef | Deeper VMRC reef | Deeper seaward reef | Advanced boat dive | Longer boat run | Less pressure and more depth, with sea bass and tautog listed on structure. |
CBBT Island One is tied to calm-side slack high tide. On the oceanfront, the bad exposure sector is about 30-140 degrees, with the worst direction near 70. NOAA station 44056 and local cams help check wave energy and water color.
The local list includes tautog, black sea bass, summer flounder, scup, bluefish and striped bass, plus sheepshead at CBBT and East Ocean View. Cobia appears in summer. Verify current season, slot and any permit before taking striped bass.
VMRC licensing rules list spear and gig among recreational saltwater methods. Adult anglers need the proper license or qualifying FIP registration status. Sharks and sturgeon are not spear targets, and American lobster is hand-take only under separate rules, never by spear.
Work the calm side, keep the boat ready for pickup and leave before slack fades. If visibility drops around the pilings, shift to a reef or cancel rather than drifting blind through bridge traffic.
The local note treats CBBT Island One as legal; dive calm-side slack high tide.
Virginia is listed as spearable, but current season and size rules still apply.
No. Sharks are not spear targets in Virginia.
NOAA NDBC station 44056.
Use the correct VMRC saltwater license or qualifying FIP status.
