The edge · 600 ft · shelf break and canyons

Yellowfin Tuna

Thunnus albacares. Prime water reaches Montauk in Mid-Atlantic right now (72°F at the surface). Fish it around 51 ft down — that is where 74°F water sits off Montauk.

Yellowfin Tuna identification illustration
LaneThe edge · 100 fa (600 ft)
Depth it holds197–4922 ft
Prime water72–84°F (workable 72–90°F)
Holds in the column33–492 ft down below the surface, over 197–4922 ft of water
Judged onsurface temperature (NASA MUR satellite)
Structurenone

The water column off Montauk

0 ft294 ft589 ft15 ft of workable water33–48 ft · 74–72°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 589 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Yellowfin Tuna's temperature band (72–90°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

Troll skirted lures on blue-water edges, rips and canyon walls; chunk at night.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Montauk 72°F ~51 ft
J
F
M
A
M
Southeast Atlantic in season reaches Cape Hatteras 84°F 33–362 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
Gulf of Mexico in season reaches Tampa 85°F 33–205 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
California in season reaches Channel Islands 72°F —
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
The Charleston Bump
Monterey Submarine Canyon