Inshore · 60 ft · beaches, bays, inlets and rips

Black Sea Bass

Centropristis striata. Prime water reaches Penobscot Bay in New England right now (53°F on the bottom). Fish it 33–71 ft down — that is where 54–52°F water sits off Penobscot Bay.

Black Sea Bass identification illustration
LaneInshore · 10 fa (60 ft)
Depth it holds33–148 ft
Prime water46–72°F (workable 46–79°F)
Holds in the column33–148 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structurerequires

The water column off Penobscot Bay

0 ft35 ft71 ft38 ft of workable water33–71 ft · 54–52°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 71 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Black Sea Bass's temperature band (46–79°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

Squid or clam on hi-lo rigs directly over wrecks, reefs and rockpiles.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
New England in season reaches Penobscot Bay 53°F 33–71 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Montauk 60°F ~60 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
Southeast Atlantic off-season reaches Cape Hatteras 79°F ~60 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
"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 10-fathom lane whose seabed temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.
Charted grounds on the 10-fathom lane
Cape Cod Canal (East End)
The Mud Hole
Chesapeake Light Tower
Frying Pan Shoals
The Point — Cape Hatteras