The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

Chub Mackerel

Scomber colias. Prime water reaches Montauk in Mid-Atlantic right now (69°F at the surface). Fish it 0–59 ft down — that is where 73–63°F water sits off Montauk.

Chub Mackerel identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds49–656 ft
Prime water63–75°F (workable 63–82°F)
Holds in the column0–66 ft down below the surface, over 49–656 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structurenone

The water column off Montauk

0 ft90 ft181 ft56 ft of workable water0–56 ft · 73–64°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 Chub Mackerel's temperature band (63–82°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

Small metals or sabikis around bait balls on the edge — a late-summer arrival that draws everything bigger.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
New England off-season reaches Casco Bay 63°F —
J
F
M
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Montauk 69°F 0–59 ft
J
F
M
A
M
Southeast Atlantic off-season — — —
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 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