The edge · 600 ft · shelf break and canyons

Shortfin Mako

Isurus oxyrinchus. Prime water reaches Cape Cod Bay in New England right now (74°F at the surface). Fish it 33–209 ft down — that is where 73–63°F water sits off Cape Cod Bay.

Shortfin Mako identification illustration
LaneThe edge · 100 fa (600 ft)
Depth it holds131–1641 ft
Prime water63–72°F (workable 63–77°F)
Holds in the column33–492 ft down below the surface, over 131–1641 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structurenone

The water column off Cape Cod Bay

0 ft300 ft600 ft168 ft of workable water33–201 ft · 73–64°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 Shortfin Mako's temperature band (63–77°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.

In 3D

Drag to rotate, pinch or scroll to zoom. 3D model traced from a Raver Duane, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain reference — source.

How it's fished

Chum slick on temperature breaks near bait concentrations.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
New England in season reaches Cape Cod Bay 74°F 33–209 ft
J
F
M
A
M
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Montauk 75°F 33–250 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
California in season reaches San Francisco 63°F —
J
F
M
A
M
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
Jeffreys Ledge
Monterey Submarine Canyon