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

spearo.app / Australia / Whyalla
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◈Whyalla · Australia
5.2
wave 1.4 m head-on
visibility~2m

Marginal

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

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 06:55

Sources & confidence

Sources
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 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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Nearby towns

  • Blanche Harbor
  • Weeroona Island
  • Port Pirie
  • Miranda
  • Fisherman Bay

SA Gulfs & Fleurieu

  • Port Broughton
  • Tickera
  • Lucky Bay
  • Cowell
  • Wallaroo
  • Port Gibbon
  • Moonta
  • Arno Bay
  • Clinton
  • Port Wakefield
  • Balgowan
  • Price
  • Ardrossan
  • Port Victoria
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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Whyalla · 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
updated 06:55
Whyalla — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.7 m)
wave 1.4 m head-onwind 31, gusts 53 km/hvisibility ~2 mwindow 15:00–21:00
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 21°C
confidence low · verdict for the selected day
Best window · next 3 days
borderlinetomorrow · 12:00–15:00
you can see ~3 m ahead fish

↓ low tide 12:40 · slack water ~11:55–13:25 bite times: 11:00–13:00 · 18:18–19:18

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
06:27–19:40 · full moon
▼ 00:00▲ 06:00▼ 13:00▲ 19:00mid-range tides · 2.1 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.10 m
Wave0.94 m
Wind16 km/h
Water21 °C
fish activity: moon overhead 00:00 · high · moonset 05:27 · moderate · moon underfoot 12:00 · high · moonrise 18:48 · moderate
Conditions window15:00–18:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 1.36 m · roughperiod 5.9 s head-onwind 31→53surge 0.3viz 2 m
1.36 mrough · up to ~2.72 · 239° head-on
5.9 sswell moderate
31→53gusts 53 km/h
0.3weak surge
0.11m/s
2 mrecent swell
21°C5 mm + hood
▲19:00tide rising
Atmosphere18 kmlandmarks visible
lowoff the lunar peaks
  • wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.7 m)
  • steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
  • flood — water rising
confidence lowday
Open the seafloor map with entry points →

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

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — 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: 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 →
Black Point (Point Lowly)Whyalla
borderline
664 m from the boundary of Upper Spencer Gulf Sanctuary Zone — Cuttlefish Coast (no-take zone)
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
no data (coarse grid)

On the Point Lowly peninsula, 20 m bluffs are fronted by rock flats, and the beach in the lee of Black Point is reached off the Lowly Point road. The habitat map shows bare sand at the mark, with no reef within 150 m.

Google Maps
Black Point / Stony PointWhyalla
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

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
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».

more: Whyalla boat ramp and foreshore — Spencer Gulf — live (Marine Safety SA) — link-out ↗
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 15:08 (Australia/Adelaide)

In season now
  • King George whiting
    Sillaginodes punctatus · 2–20 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 32 cm · bag 10 a day · closed 1 Mar – 30 Jun · The GSV and Kangaroo Island limits were cut on 1 May 2026.
  • snook
    Sphyraena novaehollandiae · 1–15 m · legal
    min 45 cm · bag 20 a day
  • southern sand flathead
    Platycephalus bassensis · 1–20 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 30 cm · bag 10 a day
  • yellowtail kingfish
    Seriola lalandi · 3–35 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 60 cm · bag 1 a day · Boat limit 3 in both gulf zones.
  • samsonfish
    Seriola hippos · 5–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 88 cm · bag 1 a day
  • silver trevally
    Pseudocaranx georgianus · 3–30 m · legal
    min 24 cm · bag 20 a day
Port Neill
  • Parham
  • Pine Point
  • Thompson Beach
  • Port Rickaby
  • Port Julia
  • Middle Beach
  • Tumby Bay
  • Corny Point
  • Wool Bay
  • Yorke Peninsula (Edithburgh)
  • Adelaide (Glenelg)
  • Foul Bay
  • Port Lincoln (Eyre Peninsula)
  • Marion Bay
  • Whalers Bay
  • Elliston
  • Coffin Bay
  • Port Kenny
  • Venus Bay
  • Normanville
  • Cape Jervis
  • Kangaroo Island
  • Victor Harbor (Fleurieu)
  • Baird Bay
  • Perlubie

    • All 461 spots → · Region: SA Gulfs & Fleurieu · spearo.app — All countries

    transparency ~6 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore

    Seabed depth of the selected area
    no data (coarse grid)

    Rocky reef by town; 2–6 m, snapper, whiting, squid. In May–Aug the giant-cuttlefish aggregation runs here — cephalopod no-take zone, look only in season.

    Google Maps
    Cap MoliereWhyalla
    borderline
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    no data (coarse grid)

    Headland ground near Whyalla — boulders and reef around the tip, 3–7 m, walked in from the shore. GEBCO 2020 puts 1 m 400 m out and 2 m at 900 m — useful for the shape of the drop, not for the metres you dive.

    Google Maps
    Point Lowly / Fitzgerald BayWhyalla
    borderline
    ⚠ Restrictions apply
    exposed head-on to the swell today
    window
    —
    Seabed depth of the selected area
    no data (coarse grid)

    Reef and the giant-cuttlefish aggregation site — Point Lowly to Backy Point is a CEPHALOPOD no-take zone (protected). Look only; huntable for fish outside the cuttlefish closure.

    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.

    sea sweep
    Scorpis aequipinnis · 1–20 m · legal
    min 24 cm · bag 20 a day
  • blue morwong (queen snapper)
    Nemadactylus valenciennesi · 8–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 38 cm · bag 5 a day
  • harlequin fish
    Othos dentex · 5–35 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    no minimum size · bag 2 a day
  • Australian herring (tommy ruff)
    Arripis georgianus · 0–12 m · legal
    no minimum size · bag 40 a day
  • bight redfish
    Centroberyx gerrardi · 15–50 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    min 30 cm · bag 10 a day
  • silver drummer
    Kyphosus sydneyanus · 0–8 m · legal
    min size: no data
    • off season: snapper () · western blue groper () · southern calamari () · giant Australian cuttlefish ()
    Law
    • •Spearfishing in Australia is governed by STATE law, not federal: the licence, the gear, the closed areas, the sizes and the all differ between NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, WA and TAS. Below is your state's pack; cross into the next state and the rules change at the border.
    • ✓Federally listed threatened, migratory and marine species — white and whale sharks, sawfish, marine turtles and marine mammals among them — are protected in Commonwealth waters: killing, injuring or taking one there is an offence (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). In a state's own waters the same animals are protected by that state's list (see the protected-species panel). Never shoot, disturb or take them.
    • ✓Marine park zoning applies ON TOP of the state's fishing rules: / Sanctuary / Preservation zones are full no-take, and on the Great Barrier Reef the marine park zoning sits on top of the Queensland rules. Check the boundaries on the managing agency's zone map before you enter the water (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003; NSW Marine Estate Management (Management Rules) Regulation).
    • ✓Rock lobster may not be speared in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania or Western Australia — it is taken by hand (WA also allows a hand snare or blunt crook). The Queensland and Northern Territory pages read on 26 Sep 2026 publish no such rule, so there it is not stated either way. Abalone may not be speared in Victoria or Tasmania. Spearfishing in inland fresh waters is banned in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Sources: NSW Fisheries Management (General) Regulation; Fisheries Regulations 2019 (Vic); Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA); the state fisheries guides.
    • •SA: there is no in South Australia, hand fish spears and spearguns need no registration, and they may be used in most South Australian waters (PIRSA).
    • ✓SA gear: carrying or using ANY fish spear, speargun included, while on scuba or hookah is prohibited. Taking or attempting to take rock lobster with a speargun or any pointed instrument is an offence. A may be carried for protection only: it must not be used for fishing or attached to a spear (PIRSA; Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017, reg. 15).
    • ✓SA places: a hand fish spear or spear gun may not even be carried in the River Murray and the state's other fresh water streams (or on land within 100 m of them), in West Lakes, within 100 m of any jetty, landing or wharf, within 200 m of the Hindmarsh and Inman river outlets, in Boat Harbor at Second Valley, and along the Adelaide coast within 600 m of high water from Outer Harbor to Kingston Park and from Hallett Cove (Balboa Drive) to Witton Bluff (Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017, reg. 14 and Schedule 10).
    • ✓SA sizes and bags are set BY ZONE, and Spencer Gulf is more generous than Gulf St Vincent and Kangaroo Island: King George whiting 32 cm (10 / 5), snook 45 cm (20 / 10), silver trevally 24 cm (20 / 10), blue morwong 38 cm (5 / 3), kingfish 60 cm (1). Snapper is shut until 30 June 2027 everywhere but the South East zone; western blue groper is closed at all times in the gulfs (PIRSA; Fisheries Management Act 2007).
    • •SA weather: the BOM marine wind warning summary for the state — bom.gov.au/marine/lite/warning/IDS20201.shtml. Rules change: check PIRSA before every trip.
    • ⛔ 🚫 South Australia: snapper is shut in the West Coast, Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent / Kangaroo Island zones until 30 June 2027 (open in the South East zone only). Western blue groper is closed at all times in Spencer Gulf, Gulf St Vincent, Investigator Strait and Backstairs Passage. Southern calamari carries a bag of 0 in both gulf tables, and Murray cod is catch-and-release only.
    • ⛔ 🚫 South Australia: the take of any abalone is prohibited from the River Murray mouth to the Victorian border (abalone viral ganglioneuritis and depleted stocks) — that is the whole South East coast, Robe included.
    • ⛔ 🚫 Fully protected in South Australia: basking shark, green sawfish, greeneye spurdog, grey nurse shark, oceanic whitetip, Dipturus and Dentiraja skates, southern dogfish, all Urolophus stingarees, seahorses and seadragons, plus whales, dolphins and seals.
    • ⛔ 🚫 Spears are banned in ALL South Australian aquatic reserves, in the River Murray and the state's other fresh waters, in the West Lakes system, in Second Valley Bay and in the Port Noarlunga ; along the Adelaide metropolitan coast — 600 m from the high-water mark, 100 m from jetties and 200 m from the Hindmarsh and Inman river mouths (PIRSA).

    Rules change and vary BY STATE. Before heading out, check with your state's fisheries (NSW DPI, Fisheries QLD, VFA, DPIRD WA, PIRSA, NRE Tas, NT Fisheries) and the marine-park zoning map.

    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 Whyalla

    Where can I spearfish in Whyalla?

    Whyalla has rock entry points such as Black Point / Stony Point, Point Lowly / Fitzgerald Bay and Cap Moliere. Upper Spencer Gulf steel town with rocky shore reef: Black Point holds snapper, whiting and squid in 2–6 m. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

    When is the best season in Whyalla?

    Summer–autumn — warm, clear gulfs; mind the dodge tides and sharks.

    How cold is the water in Whyalla?

    16–22 °C — 5 mm suit; warm gulfs but more sharks.

    Is Whyalla good for a beginner?

    Moderate: warm, clear water, but dodge tides and sharks.

    Do I need a licence in Whyalla?

    Whyalla is in SA. No licence in South Australia — but the Adelaide-metro spearfishing closures apply (Port Noarlunga) and you may not spear within 200 m of certain river mouths. Spearfishing on scuba is banned everywhere, rock lobster may never be speared, and marine-park sanctuary/green zones are no-take. See the guide for the state-by-state detail.

    Full guide: spearfishing in Australia →
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