The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks
Lingcod
Ophiodon elongatus. Prime water reaches San Francisco in California right now (51°F on the bottom). Fish it 66–187 ft down — that is where 55–53°F water sits off San Francisco.
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds66–361 ft
Prime water43–55°F (workable 43–61°F)
Holds in the column66–361 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structurerequires
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 Lingcod's temperature band (43–61°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
Large jigs or swimbaits pounded on rockpiles and pinnacles.
Region by region — right now
| Region | Season | Prime water | Temp | Fish it at | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | in season | reaches San Francisco | 51°F | 66–187 ft | J F M A M J J A S O N D |
| Pacific Northwest | in season | reaches Neah Bay | 46°F | 66–177 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 seabed temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.