Guess this is more of a west coast question, but when fishing on the 3/4 and full day boats, when is the best time to target ling cod? Most boats start out deep (300') and gradually fish shallow water (100') so should I target them in deeper water or wait until we get into shallow water? I've seen a big variety of techniques, pipe jigs, large curly tail jigs, whole squid on a Carolina rig, fresh sand dab.....what are your thoughts? Bill
Fresh sand dab on carolina rig or just on a dropper loop with a treble hook.
Hard to beat the meat, but that being said up here I catch lots on jigs: pipe, octo, Norwegian and swim baits. My biggest, 55 lb, tried to eat a 12 lb ling that was hooked so you cant really go too big either.
Cheers:
Todd
My favorite if you can get it is a nose-hooked (so it doesn't spin) live mackerel with a treble trap hook rubber banded around the tail.
Have a sabiki outfit ready to go and if you see anyone catch a mackerel, go to work. They like to hang out under the boat, especially on long drifts.
Cool beans....so should I target deep or shallow water? Bill
I think that you have a better shot at big fish deep, but what's more important to improve your chances is to go on the longer trips that will hit areas that get the least pressure
I would agree with Randy, less pressured is best. I have had good ling fishing from as shallow as 60 feet to as deep as 500 feet and everything in between .................. just depends where they are at on the habitat.
Cheers:
Todd
My preference would probably be a live mackerel.
But just a reminder. I saw the mention of using a sabiki rig to catch bait in a previous post.
At least in California, if there are any rockfish on board, no sabiki rig or anything with more than 2 hooks.
2-hook Sabiki rig is legal with rockfish on board in California.
Hey Bill,
This may surprise you, but I take the scientific approach :) I believe in a seasonal strategy.
Lingcod generally nest inshore during the winter to early spring. After hatching and passing through a pelagic larval stage, juveniles will settle in grassy shallows and will mostly work their way deeper as they grow over several seasons. The adults will start the inshore move in the fall in preparation for spawning, so you will tend to find the them more frequently in 30-120 foot toward the end of the CA season, starting late Sept/early Oct in Nor Cal. The males come first to claim a nesting spot, and stay after the eggs are laid to protect them. Females just show up to drop off the eggs and don't hang around as long.
There will always be some big lingcod in shallower water year round. If your particular fishery is heavily pressured, the size ratios will be working much more against against you in the summer in the shallower water. You will find that the majority are one and two year olds that are well below to just barely minimum legal size.
Fall was always my favorite time for lingcod, as we could target the adults without having to fish deep. And since lingcod seem to feed more aggressively when there is some current, shallower water makes it easier to work jigs and swimbaits during the part of the tide when they want to eat. At least for me, one on the jig or swimbait was worth 10 on bait.
-J
Thank you for the replies and connecting the dots.....to recap:
* summer months fish tend to be deep
* fall winter fish tend to be shallow
* migration to shallow water fall
* shorter males stay on the nests to guard the eggs, while the females move back deep water
I have a game plan.....just need to go fishing now 😉. Bill
The season is closed during the time the males are guarding the nests.
I don"t know what it is like in Central and SoCal, but there are big lings to be caught in the shallows year round farther north. In addition to fishing pressure, water temps might be an issue in the summer in the southern half of their range.
The shallows are easier to fish, plus you get more bottom time per drift. The problem sometimes is the ratio of small fish to big fish. You can do some rigging to improve the odds of bypassing the smaller fish, but then you will have to be OK being the guy not catching much.
You can always hedge your bets and fish a combo rig. If you want to maximize your odds of getting a big ling, I think you need to rig to minimize hooking small fish, and also not use a combo rig. IMHO, riders/hitchikers are a low percentage game, so you don't want to give a lingcod a choice between your jig or the small rock cod hooked on the shrimp fly above it. But I think most folks disagree with this logic.
-J
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on September 17, 2021, 02:33:00 AM
2-hook Sabiki rig is legal with rockfish on board in California.
And 3 hook is legal in Oregon.
Quote from: jurelometer on September 17, 2021, 08:18:51 PM
The season is closed during the time the males are guarding the nests.
I wish they would do this here.
Sorry Randy, you are absolutely correct. Most sabiki rigs come with more than 2 hooks but if you make your own or cut them down to 2 hooks you are perfectly legal in California. As long as you do not have more than 2 hooks on the line you are ok.
Quote from: Bill B (Tarfu) on September 17, 2021, 05:13:26 PM
* summer months fish tend to be deep
* fall winter fish tend to be shallow
* migration to shallow water fall
This has been the rule of thumb I still go by, but I have to admit that this year has been different. I've caught more Lings this year than ever B4, mostly in shallower depths, and also from shore, maybe it's an odd year.
What I've found from some research I've done over that past couple months is that the full moon cycle and stronger currents that come with it may have an even greater effect on your Lingcod catches. It's been confirmed to me thru my own catches and the fish count data available to me that the Ling catches go way up during these times.YMMV
Livebait always works for them, sanddabs, sardines, or small rockfish will get you the bigger fish. Large swimbaits and long glow striped slow pitch jigs are my preferred methods.
Good luck
I have a bunch of shallow water spots that I will normally hit all through the season. This year we all noticed that the lingcod had moved in shallow starting early summer. It's been a weird year.
Quote from: alantani on September 20, 2021, 04:06:19 PM
I have a bunch of shallow water spots that I will normally hit all through the season. This year we all noticed that the lingcod had moved in shallow starting early summer. It's been a weird year.
\
This .
I have caught Ling deep and shallow but the big ones have all come towards the end of the season in water 100 ' or less .
My 2cts...
Quote from: alantani on September 20, 2021, 04:06:19 PM
I have a bunch of shallow water spots that I will normally hit all through the season. This year we all noticed that the lingcod had moved in shallow starting early summer. It's been a weird year.
About 10 miles north of Randy's new home is a bunch of wash rocks, when you can fish around them large lings are caught 20-30 feet deep. Most of the time it is not safe to fish there.