The edge · 600 ft · shelf break and canyons

Pacific Bluefin Tuna

Thunnus orientalis. Prime water reaches San Francisco in California right now (61°F at the surface). Fish it 33–69 ft down — that is where 62–61°F water sits off San Francisco.

Pacific Bluefin Tuna identification illustration
LaneThe edge · 100 fa (600 ft)
Depth it holds328–6562 ft
Prime water61–70°F (workable 61–75°F)
Holds in the column33–656 ft down below the surface, over 328–6562 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structurenone

The water column off San Francisco

0 ft292 ft584 ft28 ft of workable water33–60 ft · 62–61°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 584 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Pacific Bluefin Tuna's temperature band (61–75°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

Glide the boat to foamers and sonar marks; flat-falls at night.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
California in season reaches San Francisco 61°F 33–69 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
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 100-fathom lane whose surface temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.
Charted grounds on the 100-fathom lane
Monterey Submarine Canyon