The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

Mutton Snapper

Lutjanus analis. Prime water reaches Islamorada in Florida Keys right now (83°F on the bottom). Fish it 33–176 ft down — that is where 86–83°F water sits off Islamorada.

Mutton Snapper identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds33–230 ft
Prime water70–84°F (workable 70–88°F)
Holds in the column33–230 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structurerequires

The water column off Islamorada

0 ft88 ft176 ft143 ft of workable water33–176 ft · 86–83°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 176 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Mutton Snapper's temperature band (70–88°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

Live pinfish or a whole ballyhoo on the edge of the structure, best on the spawning full moons.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
Florida Keys in season reaches Islamorada 83°F 33–176 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Southeast Atlantic in season reaches Cape Hatteras 79°F 33–179 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
Gulf of Mexico in season reaches Tampa 77°F 33–181 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
"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.
Charted grounds on the 30-fathom lane
Flower Garden Banks