The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

Atlantic Cod

Gadus morhua. Prime water reaches Penobscot Bay in New England right now (53°F on the bottom). Fish it 82–210 ft down — that is where 51–43°F water sits off Penobscot Bay.

Atlantic Cod identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds82–492 ft
Prime water36–50°F (workable 36–55°F)
Holds in the column82–492 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structureprefers

The water column off Penobscot Bay

0 ft105 ft210 ft128 ft of workable water82–210 ft · 51–43°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 210 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Atlantic Cod's temperature band (36–55°F) and the depth it holds actually overlap. That thickness is the number that matters: it is how much water you can work, not just whether the spot is warm enough somewhere. One model cycle, not a weekly archive — this holds still while the surface map scrubs.

How it's fished

Jigs or clam baits over gravel and broken bottom; deep and cold.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
New England in season reaches Penobscot Bay 53°F 82–210 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Mid-Atlantic off-season reaches Montauk 43°F 82–181 ft
J
F
M
A
M
"Fish it at" is where this species' temperature band and its holding depth overlap in the water column, from the RTOFS profile (13 levels, 0–300 m) — the depth to actually put a bait, not just the place. "Prime water" is the furthest sampled station on the 30-fathom lane whose seabed temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.
Charted grounds on the 30-fathom lane
Wilmington Canyon