The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

Pacific Sanddab

Citharichthys sordidus. Prime water reaches San Francisco in California right now (51°F on the bottom). Fish it 131–187 ft down — that is where 53–53°F water sits off San Francisco.

Pacific Sanddab identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds131–492 ft
Prime water48–59°F (workable 48–64°F)
Holds in the column131–492 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structurenone

The water column off San Francisco

0 ft94 ft187 ft56 ft of workable water131–187 ft · 53–53°F

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 Pacific Sanddab's temperature band (48–64°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

Multi-hook rigs with squid strips dragged on soft bottom; they come up several at a time.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
California in season reaches San Francisco 51°F 131–187 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pacific Northwest in season reaches Westport 48°F —
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 30-fathom lane whose seabed temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.