Any Seasoned Lingcod Fisherman On Here?

[highside74]

I want to try Ling fishing and have some questions about tides. With big changes in tides what is to big to bother going and if it is say plus 11 to minus 3 can you just just pick one tide and hit the last 2 and first 2 hours around the tide and be productive?

[EnglishSetter]

Can't say as I'm a seasoned WA ling cod guy, but have done a lot of shallow cod fishing elsewhere.  Fish don't really care about tide, they care about current.  A change in current (tide) is generally a good thing.

[fishngamereaper]

Unless you have a "hole" big tides are fine. Drifting for lings is really productive, just keep your gear off bottom. We catch lings all the time trolling for salmon so speed over bottom isn't an issue.
Tidal flow isn't always a given direction, depending on location. If you go to an area with other boats watch them for a minute before dropping in. To many people roll into a new spot and more often than not drop in front of someone's drift..

[trophyhunt]

Lings are my favorite fish to eat and catch, so fun.  My cousin and I used to fish for them every year at neah, like other said, just keep it off the bottom but hit the bottom consistently to know you are close. If you hook a bass and it feels like it went to a snag, ling on!  IF you have a ling on your bass, don't lift him out of the water, get the net under him!

[Bullkllr]

I think a lot depends on where you are fishing. Open water reefs and banks might fish better one direction or the other but are generally less affected by larger swings. It may be tougher to stay down deep when you have a big tide and esp. adding wind. High current area like the Narrows are very tough when the tide is ripping; except on the low exchanges you basically have to fish around the slacks.

[pickardjw]

I'm in the same boat (figuratively of course ). Was thinking about trying for them for the first time on Saturday in 13 or 11. Planning to catch some sand dabs in the morning, then fish through slack.

Would be nice to pick up a cabezon too. Make washing the boat a little more worth it!

[salmosalar]

Use the deep zoom app. It will show you current direction and speed. You can plan your spots based on those 2 things.

Try to fish so that you are dropping off of a ledge, reef etc. If you are going up it, you will lose gear. Dropping off of it is where I catch most fish.

Fish hit on the drop. It's always OK to reel up and redrop, especially if you have lotst touch with your gear.

[Fidelk]

Fished Northern California in 200-400 foot water over a rocky bottom. You lose a lot of jigs, etc. on those rocks.

Fished out of La Push in 600-700 foot water, over what must be a sandy or gravel bottom.......lots of lings and halibut and never lost any gear. Mostly only used a 28oz. jig.

Both places, 30 miles out......not aware of any current/tides issues.

[Fidelk]

Go to about the 4 minute point.......and check out how lingcod like to concentrate. If you hit one of these "holes/nests", you will remember it for a long time.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=pacific+halibut+in+the+ocean+series&&view=detail&mid=79C1394C1EAC33671FE779C1394C1EAC33671FE7&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dpacific%2520halibut%2520in%2520the%2520ocean%2520series%26form%3DSWAUA2

[EnglishSetter]

Lings are my favorite fish to eat and catch, so fun.  My cousin and I used to fish for them every year at neah, like other said, just keep it off the bottom but hit the bottom consistently to know you are close. If you hook a bass and it feels like it went to a snag, ling on!  IF you have a ling on your bass, don't lift him out of the water, get the net under him!

Hitchhikers are always fun.

But I'm a gaff guy.

[Fidelk]

Lings are my favorite fish to eat and catch, so fun.  My cousin and I used to fish for them every year at neah, like other said, just keep it off the bottom but hit the bottom consistently to know you are close. If you hook a bass and it feels like it went to a snag, ling on!  IF you have a ling on your bass, don't lift him out of the water, get the net under him!

Hitchhikers are always fun.

But I'm a gaff guy.

And always keep a lings head under water until you get it gaffed.......gaff the hitchhiker first.

[EnglishSetter]

Lings are my favorite fish to eat and catch, so fun.  My cousin and I used to fish for them every year at neah, like other said, just keep it off the bottom but hit the bottom consistently to know you are close. If you hook a bass and it feels like it went to a snag, ling on!  IF you have a ling on your bass, don't lift him out of the water, get the net under him!

Hitchhikers are always fun.

But I'm a gaff guy.

And always keep a lings head under water until you get it gaffed.......gaff the hitchhiker first.

True. 

I have had them let go and come right back to their lunch.  Ferocious *censored*s at times.

[highside74]

Go to about the 4 minute point.......and check out how lingcod like to concentrate. If you hit one of these "holes/nests", you will remember it for a long time.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=pacific+halibut+in+the+ocean+series&&view=detail&mid=79C1394C1EAC33671FE779C1394C1EAC33671FE7&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dpacific%2520halibut%2520in%2520the%2520ocean%2520series%26form%3DSWAUA2

Wow that is a lot of Lings!

[Fidelk]

The largest ling I ever caught was a hitchhiker that had chomped down on a 5 lb. rockfish......got it on deck with the rockfish still in it's mouth.......after awhile the ling had swallowed the rockfish, which was found later in it's stomach with all of the skin and scales dissolved......dead but still digesting. Hitchhikers will usually spit out the fish when they either see the boat or hit the surface.......I think the one I caught had partially swallowed the rockfish which flared it's dorsal spines, effectively "hooking" the fish and it was unable to spit it out. Interesting world out there.

[Crunchy]

Pipe jigs fellas.  Lings on pipe jigs is some fun.  Watch out for the 12/0 treble hooks though.

[Fidelk]

Go to about the 4 minute point.......and check out how lingcod like to concentrate. If you hit one of these "holes/nests", you will remember it for a long time.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=pacific+halibut+in+the+ocean+series&&view=detail&mid=79C1394C1EAC33671FE779C1394C1EAC33671FE7&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dpacific%2520halibut%2520in%2520the%2520ocean%2520series%26form%3DSWAUA2

Wow that is a lot of Lings!

I went on a "lingcod special" (20 people max) out of Bodega Bay, CA on a boat called the Merry Jane (google it if you want to read about a cursed vessel). It was a 65' party boat and the captain called me and told me to be on board because he had found the lingcod motherload. Off to Cordell Bank we went.......once on the spot, I dropped my diamond jig with a teaser shrimp fly tied on about 2 feet above the jig. Maybe 200-250 feet of water......hit bottom, pulled it up a few feet and felt weight. Reeled up a pair of 20 lb. lings......dropped again and same result for me and a buddy. Just kept fishing and filling other people limits. The boat limited out in about 30 minutes.

I would have loved to have seen video of what this "lingcod hole" looked like.......but it must have been something like in the above video. The odd thing was that no rockfish were caught that day.......the hole must have been so full of lings that rockfish didn't dare get near the hole.

[snarkybull]

Where are you looking to fish?

[Fidelk]

Where are you looking to fish?

Possibly the most relevant question.......world of difference in close to shore in less than 120' of water and outside in 600'. I've been out of La Push in Area 2 (?) for halibut/lingcod and party boats had motored up (4 hours?) from Westport.

[highside74]

Where are you looking to fish?

In the Sound. Most likely in 13 to start.

[snarkybull]

Where are you looking to fish?

In the Sound. Most likely in 13 to start.

Gotcha.  That is outside my knowledge base.

[Fidelk]

Where are you looking to fish?

In the Sound. Most likely in 13 to start.

Tides and currents may have just reentered the calculation. No knowledge of fishing inland waters.

[TeacherMan]

First off, 90% of my experience is from Alaska. With that said, a lot of it with ling depends more on the depth you’re fishing and the feed available than the tides.

One of my favorite ways to fish for ling is in 60–90 feet of water, bump trolling with big 16–24 oz grubs. Find the black bass, and you’ve got a good place to start. We did this by varying our trolling speed from 1 to 2 mph. At the slower speeds, the jigs would often “bump” the bottom.

When we hooked a fish, we’d drop the boat into neutral, then even reverse for a second, and everyone would drop to the bottom trying to catch the mate. Big ling often run in pairs.

Now, when fishing for halibut, usually anchored in 180–340 feet of water, typically a pinical, we always did best 1–2 hours before high tide. We’d catch ling doing this as well.

Basically, we were fishing with a 20 oz cannonball and a herring, sometimes octopus or even salmon bellies.

[Fidelk]

Nice fish.....nice cheeks.

[Alchase]

Yowza, that is a beautiful Ling? 

[MADMAX]

Lapush

[Bullkllr]

Where are you looking to fish?

In the Sound. Most likely in 13 to start.

Tides and currents may have just reentered the calculation.

Basically it's fishing a saltwater river. Tides are the biggest factor. Slack tide periods are by far the most fishable.

[Crunchy]

Where are you looking to fish?

In the Sound. Most likely in 13 to start.

Tides and currents may have just reentered the calculation. No knowledge of fishing inland waters.

13 is tide dependent for lings.  Also is using live bait.  Sometimes herring sometimes sandabs

[highside74]

Where are you looking to fish?

In the Sound. Most likely in 13 to start.

Tides and currents may have just reentered the calculation. No knowledge of fishing inland waters.

13 is tide dependent for lings.  Also is using live bait.  Sometimes herring sometimes sandabs

Definitely plan on having Perch and or Herring with some Sand Dabs in the live well if and when I get out there.

[hiway_99]

Lapush

That boat looks pretty familiar

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

[MADMAX]

Lapush

That boat looks pretty familiar

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

 was a great time, looking forward to next year
appreciate you

[highside74]

How far offshore are you targeting Lings in the LaPush area?

[Fidelk]

How far offshore are you targeting Lings in the LaPush area?

I've fished once in shallower water just outside of La Push......the lings were pretty small. There is an area called the Rockpile.....maybe 10-15 miles out, which wasn't productive but that was in windy rough seas.......on that trip we gave up and went further out. Been out 30 miles four times and that's where they go for bigger lings.....two of those trips were lings only.......and two other times was halibut and lings. Caught and released several halibut on one of the ling only trips. I think that we fished Areas 2 and 3 on halibut days......all about 30 miles out and a 90 minute run from La Push and in 600-700' of water. There are a lot of decent sized fish in that area.

[Skillet]

I've caught a few over the years.

Lings are mostly structure-oriented, and structure means altered water flows during tides and currents.  There is no such thing as completely still water for extended periods in the salt, if you're on the continental shelf or shallower - there is water flow. I've drug my leads down to 100 fathoms on the Nitinat Canyon side of the Prairie and was actually going backwards on the chart to keep my lines at the right angle. So always, always be thinking about how the water is flowing over and around structure. 

The general consensus is that a shift in tide will concentrate bait "behind" structure.  If you look at the laminar flow of water around a rock, you'll see a pocket of turbulence behind it.  Right before a tide change, the bait is pretty spread out around a structure due to the low velocity of the surrounding water. When the change happens, the bait in the area gets swept into and held by that turbulence behind the structure.  The predators know this, and will typically bite well in those specific areas for the first few hours after a change.  This is also the time that you have the best chance to get your jigs/baits down into the sweet spot, as when the tidal flow increases it becomes increasingly difficult to get in the zone.  You can pound and area for the last few hours of a tide during the low-slack current times as well, but it will never be as productive as the beginning of a new tide.

Some structure in the Sound fishes really well on a flood, and not on the ebb, and vice-versa.  These pockets of turbulence and also happen on the leading side of a piece of structure, along side it, well behind it, etc.  There's a learning curve.

But always, always be thinking about water flow around and over structure, and how the bait moves in relation.  The predators will be there if the bait is.