The edge · 600 ft · shelf break and canyons

Blue Marlin

Makaira nigricans. Prime water reaches Tampa in Gulf of Mexico right now (86°F at the surface). Fish it 33–183 ft down — that is where 84–77°F water sits off Tampa.

LaneThe edge · 100 fa (600 ft)

Depth it holds656–9843 ft

Prime water77–86°F (workable 77–90°F)

Holds in the column33–328 ft down below the surface, over 656–9843 ft of water

Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)

Structurenone

The water column off Tampa

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 Blue Marlin's temperature band (77–90°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.

In 3D

Drag to rotate, pinch or scroll to zoom. 3D model traced from a Raver Duane, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain reference — source.

How it's fished

Large trolled lures over canyons, seamounts and the continental shelf edge.

Region by region — right now

Region	Season	Prime water	Temp	Fish it at	Months
Southeast Atlantic	off-season	reaches Cape Hatteras	82°F	33–235 ft	J F M A M
Florida Keys	off-season	reaches Islamorada	86°F	33–328 ft	J F M A M J
Gulf of Mexico	in season	reaches Tampa	86°F	33–183 ft	J F M A M 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 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

The Charleston Bump

Marathon (West) Hump