The edge · 600 ft · shelf break and canyons

Golden Tilefish

Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps. Prime water reaches Cape Cod Bay in New England right now (55°F on the bottom). Fish it 394–600 ft down — that is where 54–50°F water sits off Cape Cod Bay.

Golden Tilefish identification illustration
LaneThe edge · 100 fa (600 ft)
Depth it holds394–984 ft
Prime water48–57°F (workable 48–63°F)
Holds in the column394–984 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structureprefers the clay-burrow slope

The water column off Cape Cod Bay

0 ft300 ft600 ft206 ft of workable water394–599 ft · 54–50°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 600 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Golden Tilefish's temperature band (48–63°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

Deep-drop gear on the mud-and-clay slope in 500-900 ft; they live in burrows and hold to a narrow band.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
New England in season reaches Cape Cod Bay 55°F 394–600 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Montauk 50°F 394–589 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 100-fathom lane whose seabed temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.
Charted grounds on the 100-fathom lane
Jeffreys Ledge