The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

Blacktip Shark

Carcharhinus limbatus. Prime water reaches Islamorada in Florida Keys right now (87°F at the surface). Fish it 0–98 ft down — that is where 88–84°F water sits off Islamorada.

Blacktip Shark identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds10–197 ft
Prime water72–86°F (workable 72–90°F)
Holds in the column0–98 ft down below the surface, over 10–197 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structurenone

The water column off Islamorada

0 ft88 ft176 ft98 ft of workable water0–98 ft · 88–84°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 176 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Blacktip Shark's temperature band (72–90°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

Cut bait in a slick off the beach or the bar — the one that jumps and spins when it eats.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
Florida Keys in season reaches Islamorada 87°F 0–98 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Southeast Atlantic in season reaches Cape Hatteras 83°F 0–98 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
Gulf of Mexico in season reaches Tampa 86°F 0–98 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Montauk 73°F ~18 ft
J
F
M
A
"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 surface temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.
Charted grounds on the 30-fathom lane
Flower Garden Banks
Wilmington Canyon