The edge · 600 ft · shelf break and canyons

Bigeye Tuna

Thunnus obesus. Prime water reaches Penobscot Bay in New England right now (66°F at the surface). Fish it 164–321 ft down — that is where 74–66°F water sits off Tampa.

Bigeye Tuna identification illustration
LaneThe edge · 100 fa (600 ft)
Depth it holds656–9843 ft
Prime water66–81°F (workable 66–86°F)
Holds in the column164–820 ft down below the surface, over 656–9843 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structurenone

The water column off Tampa

0 ft300 ft599 ft152 ft of workable water164–316 ft · 74–66°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 599 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Bigeye Tuna's temperature band (66–86°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

Troll the canyon edges at first and last light, or chunk overnight on the drop-off.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
New England in season reaches Penobscot Bay 66°F —
J
F
M
A
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Montauk 72°F —
J
F
M
A
M
J
Gulf of Mexico in season reaches Tampa 85°F 164–321 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
"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 100-fathom lane whose surface temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.
Charted grounds on the 100-fathom lane
Jeffreys Ledge