puget sound lingcod

[lokidog]

It is actually from decatur Is.  We are 6 miles from Skyline Marina on the west side of Anacortes, 8 miles if I am on the mooring buoy on the westside of the island.  depending on the wind/wave height, it takes 20  to 45 minutes.  The boat is an Alumaweld Stryker, 19'.  I have put 8000+ miles on it since buying it in July 2008.   

Oh yeah, got another keeper on Friday, 8 1/2 pounds     and a bunch of shrimp.

[blacktailcrzy]

i was wondering if anyone on here knows of a good way to make bait (herring or sand dabs) because as of now it takes along time to get enough live bait for a nights worth or fishing and i just want to here how you guys do it.

[Sneaky]

getting bait fast is all about location location location. I always used to catch my dabs in 180ft of water. We could get 6 or 7 in about a half hour at most, enough for two guys for a night. Well, the 120 restriction puts a damper on that. I had a heck of a time catching bait in shallow water this opener.

The best bait I have ever used is just an old salmon leader with small pieces of herring on it. I use large hooks because they are less likely to swallow the hook.

Lingcod need a lively bait. they aren't like a halibut or lakers that will hit a big stagnant gob of bait. This is the key.

[blacktailcrzy]

would you just bounce it off bottom or drag it along or just leave it sit ? and ya i dont really know of any spots close to where i fish so its a pain in the ass.

[Sneaky]

I just find bottom, reel up a few feet and drift. find bottom once in a while. You want to fish a sandy/gravelly area that's where sole hang out. They are just like mini halibut and can be caught similarly. main thing is stay tight to the bottom and find a spot that holds fish.

[lokidog]

I seem to do fine on the lings without using bait at all.  Just use lures.  If you want a little flavor, tip your jig with a herring. 

The regs are pretty stupid to allow halibut fishing in any depth but group sand dabs and flounder with lings and rockfish.   

[blacktailcrzy]

ya i do tip my jig with herring but that worked for the first two weeks of fishing but tonight i sat and watched a guy out fish me three to zero on live bait in a quarter of the time i was there so i dont know where your fishing lokidog but some of my holes are getting fished out and it looks like you need live bait to do well and its not the first time this year i watched a guy slam them on live.

[lokidog]

If the catching is that quick with live bait, then you can afford the time to fish for it.   

Good luck and enjoy this nice weather, we're having summer this week, winter's coming.... 

[longknife]

I think the dark grubtails are knocking the lings dead!

I didnt think you were allowed to use live bait for fishing the sound...I see it in freshwater rules, but dont see it in saltwater rules. can anyone help me out? (not trying to be the officer no, know, just curious)
Hell, anything in their face(like a spawning bass), they are going to nail it.

[Sneaky]

I think the dark grubtails are knocking the lings dead!

I didnt think you were allowed to use live bait for fishing the sound...I see it in freshwater rules, but dont see it in saltwater rules. can anyone help me out? (not trying to be the officer no, know, just curious)
Hell, anything in their face(like a spawning bass), they are going to nail it.

common misconception. The rules for using live bait are different for different classes of fish. You aren't supposed to use live bait to fish for game fish like salmon, while live bait for food fish like lingcod and most other bottomfish is ok.

This is my understanding. I will find it in the regs and re-post.


You can catch lings on jigs if you have the right spot, but live bait is always the best option for bigger, badder fish.

Here is a 40"+ ling from the coast during on a halibut day caught with one of my home-made jigs. it can be done but not as easily. This one was caught on the UV glow herring model.

[longknife]

Yes, i love the coastline, and the home made jigs(i do the same thing)!! Nice ling, heres one of mine off LaPush.  Thanks for the info SNEAKY. I have always used plastics, even the 57"ling on here i posted from AK.

[Sneaky]

Last year K-mart in  puyallup was closing out their lake-size soft plastic 1 inch walleye grubs. I bought every pack they had, 25 packs for a dollar. I had good luck on lings by taking a good-sized jig head (heavy enough to get to bottom) and filling it with the 1 inch grubs, one tail sticking out left, the next right, alternating. It had awesome action and caught several nice lings for me. Also, when I snagged them up it was a lot less frustrating than tossing 7 dollar darts to the bottom or losing one of my lures I worked so hard on 

[lokidog]

Quit showing off those non-sound fish....    

[longknife]

Didnt mean to litter your thread,,,

[lokidog]

Didnt mean to litter your thread,,,

You were just making me jealous....