The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

Vermilion Rockfish

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

Vermilion Rockfish identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds164–492 ft
Prime water46–57°F (workable 46–63°F)
Holds in the column164–492 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structurerequires deep rock and pinnacles

The water column off San Francisco

0 ft94 ft187 ft23 ft of workable water164–187 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 Vermilion Rockfish's temperature band (46–63°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

Heavy jigs or bait on deep rock structure; the red one everyone hopes for on a deep drop.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
California in season reaches San Francisco 51°F ~187 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pacific Northwest in season reaches Neah Bay 46°F ~177 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 30-fathom lane whose seabed temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.