Finding Temperature Breaks

Pin a point on a suspected break, step through recent passes with the arrow keys, and watch the break build, hold, or dissolve. It combines three features you already know (the click readout, the timeline, and the color legend) into the single most useful workflow the map supports.

What to look for on the SST layer

Look for sharp color transitions rather than a slow gradient: a tight line where the color changes fast over a short distance is a real edge, not just general warming across a wide stretch. Where warm and cool water meet, bait concentrates and game fish feed. Even a 1-2°F difference matters offshore. See reading the legend for why that same color transition can mean a different actual temperature difference depending on the current stretch.

The pin-then-scrub workflow

Click or tap directly on the break to pin a readout there, then use the left/right arrow keys to step backward and forward through recent passes without losing your spot. Watching the same point across several passes tells you whether a break is a stable, repeating feature worth planning a trip around, or a one-off that already moved on. See using the timeline for exactly how the arrow-key stepping and pass ordering work.

Chlorophyll edges work the same way

The boundary between green, nutrient-rich water and blue, clear water is where the food chain starts, and it's worth the same pin-and-scrub treatment as an SST break. Tuna, marlin, and dorado patrol these edges. Tapping the chlorophyll layer at any point also shows an estimated water visibility, useful for planning trolling patterns and lure selection near an edge.

Why freshness matters more here than anywhere else on the map

Breaks move: current and wind push them, and a break that sat in one spot yesterday can be miles away today. A composite is a reliable daily picture but can be a day or two old by the time it's published; a raw satellite pass can be just a few hours old. See passes vs. composites for the full tradeoff, and our temperature breaks page for more on why finding today's edge, not yesterday's, is the whole point. Raw passes, along with buoy confirmation and alerts, require a Pro plan for the region you're working, such as the Gulf Stream.