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Want to
catch more fish?
Learn ALL ABOUT
SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE,
RIPS, Eddy's, and Fingers. |
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Hey everyone,
Hope you find this helpful in understanding Surface Temperature,
rips, eddy's and fingers for best fishing results.
Try it, you will
find more fish! Guaranteed!!!
Good Luck.
Webmaster Sam... |
Wahoo was caught in 75-77
degrees. |
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How To Use Sea Surface Temperature Information for
Blue Water Fishing
The location of game fish is affected by two things: Comfort, and the
availability of food. Water temperature can be the determining factor for
both.
Each species of offshore game fish has a water temperature range they
prefer, and a wider range outside of which they will seldom be found. The
following is a list of these temperatures for game fish species found off
of the southeastern US coast.
| SPECIES |
LOW |
HIGH |
OPTIMAL |
| Blackfin Tuna |
70 |
82 |
74-76 |
| Bluefin Tuna |
50 |
78 |
60-68 |
| Blue Marlin |
70 |
88 |
75-78 |
| Bonita Tuna |
60 |
80 |
64 |
| Dolphin Fish |
70 |
82 |
75-78 |
| King Mackerel |
70 |
88 |
75 |
| Sailfish |
70 |
82 |
75-78 |
| Spanish Mackerel |
68 |
88 |
72-82 |
| Yellowfin Tuna |
64 |
80 |
72-73 |
| Wahoo |
70 |
86 |
72-77 |
Rips - Finding Sea Surface "Structures"
How Can Finding Rips Help Your Fishing?
Game fish tend to gather along rips for several reasons:
- Plankton gathers along temperature boundaries, setting up a food
chain that draws bait to the area. NOTE: Plankton tends to concentrate
on the cool side of a rip. This is because coastal water has a higher
nutrient content and lower salinity level than Gulf Stream core water.
The higher nutrient content in coastal water provides plankton with a
food source, and the higher salinity level in Gulf Stream water makes
this water denser than coastal water, in effect creating a barrier
that the floating plankton cannot cross. Because plankton (and the
nutrients on which it feeds) clouds the water, sight
oriented hunters like marlin and tuna will tend to stay on the warm
side of rips.
- Floating weeds and debris will collect in the calm area of rips.
Floating debris attracts bait, which attract game fish. The shade from
floating debris also attracts some game fish, especially dolphin.
- Temperature boundaries, especially hard edges, can act as a "wall"
when the temperature on one side falls within a game fish's comfort
range and that on the other side does not. Game fish will tend to move along
the these edges when they encounter them instead of crossing them.
Using rips:
- The most productive rips are those over good bottom structure. These
should be explored first.
- When you encounter rips along the edge of the Gulf Stream or one of
its edge features (see below), it is often most productive to continue
running perpendicular to those first rips, watching subsequent rips
for better formed weed lines and/or signs of actively feeding fish,
such as feeding birds.
- Concentrate on rips containing floating debris and/or bait. If there
have been reports of weed lines in an area, remember that things are moving out
there. The western edge of the Gulf Stream has its fastest current,
which is
north at between 2 and 4 knots.
- Weed lines that are not holding bait seldom hold gamefish. Always
pull up to a weed line and check for bait before beginning to fish it.
- Lures should be trolled along the edge of rips. Because the Gulf
Stream flows north, and fish tend to swim with the current, trolling
from south to north along rips gives lures a more natural presentation
when that rip is along the edge of the Gulf Stream. Rips along the
western edges of fingers or warm eddies, however, should be trolled
from north to south because the currents in these features move in a
circular counterclockwise direction.
How To Use Sea Surface Temperature Information
Fingers, Backflows and Eddies - Finding Warm Water
What is a finger?
- Fingers are pockets of warm water that move west from the edge of the Gulf Stream.
- Fingers are connected to the Gulf Stream at their northern end. This
connection continuously feeds warm water into fingers.
- Fingers move north with the Gulf Stream. The rate at which a finger moves depends on the size of
the finger and how far it is from the edge of the Stream, but is roughly ˝
degree latitude in 24 hours.
- The currents in fingers move counterclockwise around the edge of the finger, which means the
current at the western edge of a finger is moving south.
 What is a backflow?
- Backflows are fingers that have gotten “stuck” and have stopped moving north. This happens at points
where they Stream is diverted to the east, like at the Charleston Bump.
- Backflows can stay in place for several days, and sometimes grow, stretching farther to the south.
- The currents in backflows move counterclockwise around the edge of the backflow, which means
the current at the western edge of a backflow is moving south.
What is an Eddy?
Warm Eddies:
- Warm eddies are pockets of warm water surrounded by colder water.
- Warm eddies form when a portion of a finger becomes separated from the Gulf
Stream.
- Warm eddies tend to be rounded, and the warm water in them
circulates counterclockwise at 1 to 2 knots.
- Warm eddies are deepest and warmest at their
edges.
Cold Eddies:
- Cold eddies are pockets of cold water surrounded by warmer water.
- Cold eddies are deepest and coldest at their
centers.
How Can Finding Fingers and Eddies Help Your Fishing?
- Fingers, backflows and warm eddies bring warm water west of the Gulf Stream, sometimes west of the
30 fathom contour. This is especially significant in the spring and fall, when
water temperatures west of the Gulf Stream are relatively low.
- Game fish and bait that have been following the western edge of the Gulf Stream can
often be found in fingers, backflows and warm eddies, having moved west with
the warm water, avoiding the colder water that gets pulled up between fingers
and the Gulf Stream.
- Rips usually form along the edges of fingers, backflows and eddies.
- Areas with good bottom structure will tend to be most productive
when warmer water is moving through them.
- Areas covered by cold eddies should be avoided.
How Should Fingers and Eddies Be Fished?
- The western edge of fingers, backflows and warm eddies tend to hold productive rips. Start near the
northwestern edge of a finger, backflow or warm eddy and search for these rips
by moving toward the center of the feature. When a promising rip is found, mark
its location and continue toward the feature’s center. Once you have identified
the best rip, return to its location and begin fishing.
- Troll along the rip toward the south, following the counterclockwise current inside
the feature. This is a more natural presentation, since baitfish tend to move
with currents. It will also move your toward the tip of a finger or backflow,
which may prove to be a productive area.
- If the rips along the edge do not prove productive, try moving into the center of the feature. As mentioned
above, troll with the internal currents, moving south when west of the
center, north when east of the center.
How To Use Sea Surface Temperature Information for
Green Water Fishing
The location of game fish is affected by two things: Comfort, and the
availability of food. Water temperature can be the determining factor for
both.
Comfort: Finding Areas With The "Right" Temperatures
Each species of offshore game fish has a water temperature range they
prefer, and a wider range outside of which they will seldom be found. The
following is a list of these temperatures for species in the Georgia
coastal area.
| SPECIES |
LOW |
HIGH |
OPTIMAL |
| King Mackerel |
70 |
88 |
75-78 |
| Spanish Mackerel |
68 |
88 |
72-82 |
| Cobia |
68 |
80 |
70-78 |
Bottom Structure
Green water fishing off the Georgia coast means fishing in
significantly shallower water than blue water fishing. Bottom structure
like live bottom, ledges, rock piles or other man-made "reefs"
tend to hold bait schools in this shallower water, when water
temperatures over these areas are right.
The "right" water temperature for these areas is relative and
varies throughout the season. In general, a good temperature for bait and
game fish over near shore bottom structure is a degree or two cooler than
the immediate coastal water (which can be a warm as the gulf stream's core
from May through September), but is a degree or two warmer than the
coldest water that usually sits between the coast and the edge of the gulf
stream. Watch out for pockets of colder water that move across bottom
structure. These can push bait and game fish off of the structure.
In hotter months, sound entrances also tend to hold Spanish and cobia,
and in some cases kings. Spanish and cobia can often be found around
the buoys marking these entrances. Kings can be found around the
offshore ends of deeper entrances, such as the Savannah River and
Charleston Harbor entrances, which have been dredged to accommodate large
ships. These game fish will only be present in these sound entrances
when schools of bait are present, so watch for diving birds and check your
depth finder for these schools. Troll around these schools of bait,
wherever they happen to be in the entrances.
Info provided by.
sstcharts.com
General Offshore
Blue Water Fishing Tips
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