Copper Rockfish
Sebastes caurinus. Prime water reaches San Francisco in California right now (51°F on the bottom). Fish it 49–187 ft down — that is where 56–53°F water sits off San Francisco.
The water column off San Francisco
The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 187 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Copper Rockfish's temperature band (46–63°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
Bait or jigs right in the rock — a homebody that holds tight to one piece of structure.
Region by region — right now
| Region | Season | Prime water | Temp | Fish it at | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | in season | reaches San Francisco | 51°F | 49–187 ft | J F M A M J J A S O N D |
| Pacific Northwest | in season | reaches Neah Bay | 46°F | 49–177 ft | J F M A M J J A S |