The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

California Yellowtail

Seriola dorsalis. Prime water reaches Monterey in California right now (64°F at the surface). Fish it around 39 ft down — that is where 66°F water sits off Monterey.

California Yellowtail identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds49–295 ft
Prime water64–73°F (workable 64–79°F)
Holds in the column7–164 ft down below the surface, over 49–295 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structureprefers kelp paddies offshore, high spots and island ridges

The water column off Monterey

0 ft92 ft184 ft33 ft of workable water7–39 ft · 66–64°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 184 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where California Yellowtail's temperature band (64–79°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.

In 3D

Drag to rotate, pinch or scroll to zoom. 3D model traced from a (c) zr217, some rights reserved (CC BY), Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) reference — source.

How it's fished

Surface iron or live sardines at kelp paddies and high spots.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
California in season reaches Monterey 64°F ~39 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
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.