The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

Bluefin Tuna

Thunnus thynnus. Prime water reaches Penobscot Bay in New England right now (59°F at the surface). Fish it 33–69 ft down — that is where 71–59°F water sits off Montauk.

Bluefin Tuna identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds82–656 ft
Prime water59–72°F (workable 59–81°F)
Holds in the column33–656 ft down below the surface, over 82–656 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structurenone

The water column off Montauk

0 ft90 ft181 ft36 ft of workable water33–69 ft · 71–59°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 181 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Bluefin Tuna's temperature band (59–81°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, chunk or jig where bait stacks on temperature breaks and ledges.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
New England in season reaches Penobscot Bay 59°F —
J
F
M
A
M
J
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Montauk 69°F 33–69 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 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
Wilmington Canyon