Swordfish
Xiphias gladius. Prime water reaches Cape Hatteras in Southeast Atlantic right now (84°F at the surface). Fish it 164–554 ft down — that is where 81–64°F water sits off Cape Hatteras.
The water column off Cape Hatteras
The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 598 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Swordfish's temperature band (64–84°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. RTOFS stops at 300 m, so anything deeper than that is not assessed. One model cycle, not a weekly archive — this holds still while the surface map scrubs.
How it's fished
Deep-drop a rigged bait 350-500 m by day along canyon walls.
Region by region — right now
| Region | Season | Prime water | Temp | Fish it at | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Atlantic | in season | reaches Cape Hatteras | 84°F | 164–554 ft* | J F M A M J J A S O N D |
| Florida Keys | in season | — | — | — | J F M A M J J A S O N D |
| Gulf of Mexico | in season | reaches Tampa | 84°F | 164–367 ft* | J F M A M J J A S O N D |
| New England | in season | reaches Penobscot Bay | 66°F | — | J F M |
| California | in season | reaches Channel Islands | 65°F | — | J F M A M J J |