Named spots
| Spot | Type | Depth | From nearest port |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Bragg / Noyo | port | – | 115 nm |
| Golden Gate | port | 37 fm | 115 nm |
| Ascension Canyon | canyon | 48 fm | 53 nm |
| Año Nuevo | headland | 3 fm | 43 nm |
| Bodega Canyon | canyon | 467 fm | 58 nm |
| Bodega Head | headland | 4 fm | 40 nm |
| Davidson Seamount | bank | 980 fm | 127 nm |
| Duxbury Reef | bank | 3 fm | 11 nm |
| Guide Seamount | bank | 1014 fm | 64 nm |
| Monterey Canyon | canyon | 941 fm | 72 nm |
| Monterey Canyon head | canyon | 126 fm | 68 nm |
| Monterey Fan | canyon | 1970 fm | 120 nm |
| North Farallones | bank | 18 fm | 30 nm |
| Pigeon Point | headland | – | 38 nm |
| Pioneer Canyon | canyon | 299 fm | 36 nm |
| Pioneer Seamount | bank | 504 fm | 53 nm |
Nearby buoys
2026-10-19 12:10 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46011
2026-10-19 12:00 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46012
2026-10-19 12:10 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46014
2026-10-19 11:50 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46026
2026-10-19 12:10 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46028
2026-10-19 12:10 UTC · NOAA NDBC 46042
Latest NOAA NDBC observations. Satellite and in water readings may differ.
Fishing Bay Area / Monterey
The Bay Area and Monterey grounds are a classic West Coast upwelling fishery, and the water here can change character over just a few miles. Northwest wind drives cold, nutrient rich water up from depth along the coast, and that cold green water pushes out to meet the warmer, cleaner blue water offshore. The seam where the two meet is the edge you are hunting. On a good push that temperature break can set up anywhere from a few miles outside the Golden Gate to well out past the shelf, and it moves with the wind and the swell.
Structure does a lot of the work for you here. The continental shelf drops off and is cut by real canyons, and the Monterey Canyon is one of the deepest and most dramatic on the entire coast, swinging close to shore and funneling cold water and bait. The sea mounts and banks offshore, places like Pioneer and the Guide Seamount, stack bait when the current hits them. A temperature break sitting on or near that kind of structure is far more productive than the same break over flat, deep water, which is exactly what the chart is built to show you.
Seasonally, the summer and fall upwelling season is when most crews run offshore. Albacore tuna show in the warmer blue water offshore when it pushes in, and in warmer years bluefin tuna have become a serious target closer to home. Salmon, rockfish, halibut and white seabass fill out the nearshore and shelf fishing. Dungeness crab opens into the colder months. None of this is a guarantee, conditions and seasons shift every year, but the pattern of cold green meeting warm blue over structure is the constant.
The move is simple. Before you leave the dock, read where the break is sitting, line it up against the canyon and the shelf edge and the color change, and plan your run so you are fishing the edge instead of looking for it on expensive fuel.
What you get with ReelTemps
- Sea surface temperatureFind the temperature break
- Chlorophyll-aSpot the green-to-blue color seam
- Composite & single passBlended picture or the freshest overpass
- CompareTemperature and color side by side
- Depth readoutFathoms and feet on hover, tap or mark
- Currents & buoysSee the water move and ground-truth it
- Route, ruler & waypointsPlan the run and save your spots
From the water
I've tried every temp map out there and they all feel like they were built ten years ago. I'm not exactly a tech guy, but this one actually makes sense the second you open it. First time using it, I marked a break in about 30 seconds the night before and boated bluefin right on it the next morning.
Used to burn half a tank driving around looking for color change or a solid temp break. Now I check ReelTemps before I leave the dock and I know exactly where I'm going. Less time driving around guessing, more time with lines in the water.
Albacore season used to mean a couple hours of homework the night before and just hoping it held up. Now I do most of my research that morning and pull it up on my phone if things change once we're out there. Makes calling an audible a lot easier.