Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Dude]

Me and couple buddies are going out this weekend FINALLY i might say get some time on the water!!
Gonna drop some crab traps and try our luck bottom fishing for lingcods etc.
Has anyone got any preferable choice on what lures or jigs that seem to work better then others because
they are bloody expensive and i rather get the the ones that work then not  ...gonna cross the straight
and try near the islands near the shore.

[NFM]

i would highly suggest going with a T bar set up and using frozen herring or anchovy, works 10 X better than jigs.  give it a shot , let your buddy use jigs and tell me what works best . good luck hope the weathers is nice for ya

[ynot]

bait is far better than jigs,live bait is even better, small rock cod are great,low tide is good ,they like kelp beds.thrasher rock is a good spot,

[dboy]

I agree with the previous comment about using rockfish as bait. Anyone know if this is legal? Know your only allowed something like 8 rockfish per day so assume it would at least count towards that.

I've also had good luck with buzz bombs, the large silver colour is my favorite. They're pretty cheap and good if your not fishing strong tides or deep water (>75') where you'll probably want something heavier.

[therise]

Buzz bombs are my go-to. I have never found lings to be very picky. Use the larger sizes to avoid alot of smaller fish.

[scouterjames]

Buzz bombs are my go-to. I have never found lings to be very picky. Use the larger sizes to avoid alot of smaller fish.

X2 - pretty much any color, it's the movement that they go for.  You'll also get Rockfish and Flatfish with them, no problem.

Make sure you check if you're going for rockfish for the conservation area closures!   http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/tidal-maree/a-s28-eng.htm 

All Finfish, Including Salmon Closures and Special Measures
For other finfish limits, please visit the species and limits table.

Those waters of Mannion Bay (Deep Bay) on Bowen Island lying westerly of a line between two boundary signs near the entrance to Mannion Bay, are closed to fishing for all finfish, September 1 to December 31.

Those waters of Howe Sound easterly of a line between a boundary sign 300 m north of the mouth of Britannia Creek and the southern tip of Minaty Bay, are closed to fishing for all finfish, May 30 to September 30.
Map

Rockfish Conservation Areas
 
Domett Point Woolridge Island
Pam Rock Mariners Rest
West Bay Upper Centre Bay
Lions Bay Bowyer Island
Pasley Island Passage Island
West Vancouver Eastern Burrard Inlet
Indian Arm – Twin Islands
  Croker Island

[Gooey]

Lings are big, dumb, aggressive fish.  I can't not see any justification in using rock fish as bait when so many other baits work well.  Rock cod grow slowly, are aggressive and easy to over fish too so in terms of being conservation minded, using rock cod as bait for lings is makes no sense.

I have made pipe jigs - copper pipe filled with lead and a hook hanging off it...they bite them so they bite just about anything.  We were fishing a ling hole and twister tails worked better than the jigslike buzz bombs and stingers.  Get some lead head - 2oz to 12 oz depending on the currents and depths you fish and then an assortment of tails.  I like the berkley power tails, they worked very well for us.

[cutthroat22]

X2 leadhead jigs with twister tails.

[NiceFish]

Everything here works well however I have found live bait works the best, but if they are there they will bite

[Dude]

Hey guys thanks for all the advice and heads up!! we go out today and fished the morning tide!!
Like few of you guys suggested live bait worked much much better then lures!!  We caught couple
RockCods and used them and boy do the big lings love just swallowing the entire thing.  It was great out today
hope this weather continues! Cheers

[ShaunO]

As its already been said many times in the thread, live bait is best.  Rockfish are easily caught and used for bait but with all of the conservation measures (Rockfish Conservation Area's) all throughout the Gulf Islands and throughout the coast, I'm avoiding using them as bait.

Many, many times we have had a tough time getting a rockfish to use as bait for lingcod fishing.  We'd move to the kelp beds from the rocky reefs and, using the same jigs, and would land ourselves kelp greenlings, cabezons and tommy cods.  The tommy cod proved the most plentiful and easily caught and having no quills made them way easier to hookup in a live bait setup.  I think the lingcod prefered the tommy cods to rockfish too.  Way more aggressive bites and if your in the right spot, they take the bait right away.  Sometimes when you're still 20 feet off the bottom.

[bigblue]

I like to use long thin jigs that are about 8" long and weigh about 8 oz.
They get down to target area fast and also keeps away smaller rock fish.
Tipping the hook with a piece of squid works well as the added scent combined with jigging motion really excites lingcod.

[NiceFish]

I used to just keep a number of shiners or perch or whatever I can catch and legally keep off the dock and then head out for the ling cod.

[troutbreath]

I used to just keep a number of shiners or perch or whatever I can catch and legally keep off the dock and then head out for the ling cod.

That's a far better fish to use for bait. Using rockfish when there is problems with there numbers is pretty low on the ethics side. I hope not too many people read about using rockfish for bait and pick up a bad habit. Buzz Bombs can work just as good as bait too.

[therise]

Save the Rock Cods, use hotdogs!