The edge · 600 ft · shelf break and canyons

Striped Marlin

Kajikia audax. Prime water reaches Channel Islands in California right now (70°F at the surface). Fish it around 39 ft down — that is where 72°F water sits off Channel Islands.

Striped Marlin identification illustration
LaneThe edge · 100 fa (600 ft)
Depth it holds328–6562 ft
Prime water70–81°F (workable 70–84°F)
Holds in the column16–262 ft down below the surface, over 328–6562 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structurenone

The water column off Channel Islands

0 ft298 ft597 ft21 ft of workable water16–37 ft · 72–70°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 597 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Striped Marlin's temperature band (70–84°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 NOAA Fisheries / Jack Hornady, United States government work; public domain reference — source.

How it's fished

Look for tailers and sleepers on a warm blue break, then bait-and-switch with a live mackerel.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
California in season reaches Channel Islands 70°F ~39 ft
J
F
M
A
M
"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