Good luck to those that get out tomorrow.
SF
SF
Lings
- Thread starter Stonedfish
- Start date
surf12foot
Smolt
surf12foot
Smolt
Sorry about that Cat rolled over on the laptop. Southern Oregon coast 2022 34 inches / 24 pounds
How deep were you fishing?
surf12foot
Smolt
A little over 40 feet.
Jim in Anacortes
Life of the Party
IMHO one of the best tasting fish on the planet. In California , I would catch them by simply dropping a very elongated swim bait (on a lead head) to the bottom, and leave it motionless. I don't know why but it worked. Some fish had a flesh color that was disturbingly green, but the flavor of bbq Lingcod is unmatched (IMHO) and I have never once, in my life, ever released one.
I went out on @Steve_S's boat and we fished a secret lingcod spot with a hundred of our closest strangers in MA9.
I managed to land my biggest Lingcod on a fly at 29 inches. We're still learning a lot about this fishery, so it was great to catch one.
It was caught on a drift in 40+ feet of water.
The fly used was a glow in the dark flashabou accent Clouser.
Looking forward to getting back out there again soon.
I managed to land my biggest Lingcod on a fly at 29 inches. We're still learning a lot about this fishery, so it was great to catch one.
It was caught on a drift in 40+ feet of water.
The fly used was a glow in the dark flashabou accent Clouser.
Looking forward to getting back out there again soon.
Lings eat crustaceans which eat plants containing chlorophyll = green hued lings whose meat turns white when cooked.
SSPey
loco alto!
Blueness comes from biliverdin in bile and serum. Blueness is far more prevalent in females. Blueness is related to poor dietary condition. However, only in males also expressed as higher parasite loads (males have weaker immune systems than females).
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/08/24/news/why-so-blue-little-ling-cod
link.springer.com
journals.plos.org
Interesting tidbit, one of the papers above notes a rare, bright pink variant as well
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/08/24/news/why-so-blue-little-ling-cod
Assessing prevalence and correlates of blue-colored flesh in lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) across their geographic range - Marine Biology
Intraspecific variation in external and internal pigmentation is common among fishes and explained by a variety of biological and ecological factors. Blue-colored flesh in fishes is relatively rare but has been documented in some species of the sculpin, greenling, and perch families. Diet...
link.springer.com
The weaker sex: Male lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) with blue color polymorphism are more burdened by parasites than are other sex–color combinations
The unusual blue color polymorphism of lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) is the subject of much speculation but little empirical research; ~20% of lingcod individuals exhibit this striking blue color morph, which is discrete from and found within the same populations as the more common brown morph...
journals.plos.org
Interesting tidbit, one of the papers above notes a rare, bright pink variant as well
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Blue lings have always interested me. Everything I've read seems to indicate that nobody truly knows why certain fish get it.
I have noticed that I've never seen a great big blue one, and IME I encounter far more blue ones in shallower Inshore water vs. when we target them deep.
I hear lots of folks claim that the blue ones taste better, but I strongly believe that's a placebo. I've eaten more lingcod than most, and I can say with certainly that I absolutely cannot tell the difference on the plate.
They are such a cool looking fish!
I have noticed that I've never seen a great big blue one, and IME I encounter far more blue ones in shallower Inshore water vs. when we target them deep.
I hear lots of folks claim that the blue ones taste better, but I strongly believe that's a placebo. I've eaten more lingcod than most, and I can say with certainly that I absolutely cannot tell the difference on the plate.
They are such a cool looking fish!
Badass
The fish cooked up nicely as some tacos.
Man! That looks good. Ling cod is my favorite fish to eat (second is walleye).
THREAD DRIFT: Before I retired, I went to Neah Bay with coworkers for the ling opener. We used spinning rods to catch kelp greenling which were then used as live bait. We managed to catch lings. One of the guys in the group suggested I try his cowboy recipe: Slice the filet (or fillet if you please) no thicker than 3/8", pat dry, dredge in seasoned flour, dip in egg wash and then: coat with instant mashed potatoes*. Try it. Fantastic. Meanwhile, back to your fish tacos; what time is dinner?
* Instant mashed potatoes can burn in 375F oil if you leave the filets in too long, thin filets cook quickly preventing the potato flakes from scorching.
They taste the same. If there is any difference it's because the blue ones are so rarely big. The blue ones that I have seen are usually 32" and smaller. The flesh is always firm with those sized fish. Of course once cooked, they taste a whole lot like 37 inch lings.
Thanks, @Buzzy!
It was a tasty fish. Great Mother's Day dinner.
I'll let you know when the next dinner is, haha.
I will need to try your recipe.
Jim in Anacortes
Life of the Party
IMHO, Lingcod makes for a good fish taco. A "white sauce" with a quality tortilla, combined with finely chopped cabbage and my favorite hot sauce. Grilled on a smokey BBQ ..... But this fish is quite unique from what I have observed. When diving, I have seen them, motionless, just observing. After looking away they are gone, only to be seen in another location, also being motionless. Almost like a cougar. They see you long before you see them.
when running 'Ling Cod Wednesday' back in the day I'd stop on the sand flats on our way out to the Deep Reef, so the passengers (usually the older guys) who wouldn't be jigging chrome hex bars could load up on sanddabs, a ling fave...my personal outfit for jigging bars was a Fenwick PT 809 with a Penn red 4/0 with a Newell drag kit installed, 60# mono, use large bronze treble hooks..snag the reef, wrap the line around the reel a couple of times, point it down and don't let go until the drift straightened the hook and it let go.
Used to limit passengers to 20 due to the chaos. Back then the limit was 10 lings, average deep reef toother went around 15# to 20# with the occasional 30# bruiser...those gunny sacks getting dragged down the pier in the afternoon got pretty damn heavy.
Miss fresh rock cod..few things taste better
Used to limit passengers to 20 due to the chaos. Back then the limit was 10 lings, average deep reef toother went around 15# to 20# with the occasional 30# bruiser...those gunny sacks getting dragged down the pier in the afternoon got pretty damn heavy.
Miss fresh rock cod..few things taste better
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Out here we fish live flounder for pretty much all of our lingcod fishing. We stop to catch flounder every morning on our way out. It's a great way to get the blood flowing, get people used to the gear, and for catching lings it just can't be beat. Plus catching flounder is just fun as hell
Inshore, flounder out fishes everything bar none. We didn't used to do it as much when fishing deep water but over the years that has changed. We get em on herring and other bait when fishing Halibut, and pipe jigs will definitely get em as well. The problem with jigs is that it is so physically demanding. Most people run out of steam pretty quickly when jigging that deep. Anymore I don't run jigs on my boat hardly at all, but it does work and there is a time and place. Flounder also greatly minimizes bi catch such as yellowe eye, skate, and dog fish. Lings will eat damn near anything, including each other, but I'll put live flounder against anything out there for day in, day out lingcod fishing.
In the event of an apocalypse I'm taking a boat and some flounder gear. Won't have any trouble feeding myself, and I dunno if I could ever get sick of eating lingcod
Inshore, flounder out fishes everything bar none. We didn't used to do it as much when fishing deep water but over the years that has changed. We get em on herring and other bait when fishing Halibut, and pipe jigs will definitely get em as well. The problem with jigs is that it is so physically demanding. Most people run out of steam pretty quickly when jigging that deep. Anymore I don't run jigs on my boat hardly at all, but it does work and there is a time and place. Flounder also greatly minimizes bi catch such as yellowe eye, skate, and dog fish. Lings will eat damn near anything, including each other, but I'll put live flounder against anything out there for day in, day out lingcod fishing.
In the event of an apocalypse I'm taking a boat and some flounder gear. Won't have any trouble feeding myself, and I dunno if I could ever get sick of eating lingcod
flounder taste so damn good! Corrected my post, limited my trips to 20 on the 65'..wanted plenty of elbow room for all those hooks teeth and gaffs.Out here we fish live flounder for pretty much all of our lingcod fishing. We stop to catch flounder every morning on our way out. It's a great way to get the blood flowing, get people used to the gear, and for catching lings it just can't be beat. Plus catching flounder is just fun as hell
Inshore, flounder out fishes everything bar none. We didn't used to do it as much when fishing deep water but over the years that has changed. We get em on herring and other bait when fishing Halibut, and pipe jigs will definitely get em as well. The problem with jigs is that it is so physically demanding. Most people run out of steam pretty quickly when jigging that deep. Anymore I don't run jigs on my boat hardly at all, but it does work and there is a time and place. Flounder also greatly minimizes bi catch such as yellowe eye, skate, and dog fish. Lings will eat damn near anything, including each other, but I'll put live flounder against anything out there for day in, day out lingcod fishing.
In the event of an apocalypse I'm taking a boat and some flounder gear. Won't have any trouble feeding myself, and I dunno if I could ever get sick of eating lingcod
Yea, flinging bars for hours is a workout...my hard rule was no OH casting with bars, under hand from over the side only...only took 1x of having a guy with a treble fully impaled in his leg to make that a sit-down rule if not followed.
They really are tasty little buggers. I haven't kept one to eat in quite a while but used to keep a large one off the beach every now and then while Salmon fishing. Kinda miss the occasional flounder sandwich for lunch.
I do not allow any casting whatsoever with jigs on my boat. Those trembles are dangerous enough sitting in a bucket, let alone flying through the air. My biggest reason though is that if we're fishing hardware for lings we are in 450' or deeper, and casting does absolutely nothing except cause tangles and make it more difficult for me to assess the scope on the lines for maintaining boat position. That shit drives me nuts lol
