PAGE B2, KEIZERTIMES, NOVEMBER 2, 201d
Fall is for eating Lings
by G.I. Wilson
“Hurry and get healed up
from that surgery. Found a
new hotspot.” You could feel
the excitement in Donald’s
voice.
“We have landed 10 le-
gal-size lingcod in an hour.
Not another boat in sight.”
October is prime time.
Outdoor enthusiasts are in
overload mode; deer, elk, up-
land bird and water fowl sea-
sons open, and estuaries are
packed with salmon anglers
and crabbers.
On top of this: football
season and the World Series.
One needs a spreadsheet
to make it through the
months of October and No-
vember. Great time to head
for the lingcod reefs.
Donald Koskela, of Pas-
time Fishing Adventures, and
Charlie Foster, of North-
west Sturgeon Adventures,
have decided to take a “fi sh-
ing guide’s holiday” and hit
the ocean for lingcod. Rick
Gardner, of Salem, is invited
to join them.
Most people that eat fi sh
frequently say lingcod is the
fi nest eating white fi sh in the
ocean.
Lingcod fi shing is typ-
ically open year-round. It
has closed at times when
ODF&W feels the rock fi sh-
ery has been over harvested.
Lings can be found on
most reefs along the Pacifi c
MAN CODE
Northwest coast. They patrol
the rocky ledges of reefs.
“There are more lings on
the inshore reefs than there
have ever been,” Longtime
commercial fi sherman, and
Oregon State Fisheries gurus
explain, as he is cleaning two
coolers of rod and reel-land-
ed lings.
“They should increase the
limits. Let sports anglers har-
vest them.”
Winter months are pop-
ular with lingcod anglers.
Boaters work the rocky reefs
along the coast, fi shing wa-
ters 50-100 feet deep.
Main challenges can be
winter storms and a rough
ocean.
Dockside Charters, of
Depoe Bay, offers trips that
fi sh reefs as deep as 600 feet.
They catch huge lings. Don
Lebold, owner of Town and
Country Lanes, has shared
photos of some of the mon-
sters.
Bank anglers hook lings
from rocky shores. Anglers
catch them along the steep
rocks in Depoe Bay.
For this October trip
Koskela has decided to try
deeper waters away from the
inshore fi shery. He has used
charts to locate reefs at 200
feet, surrounded by much
deeper water.
As soon as two jigs hit
bottom, two hookups.
Ten landed in the next
hour.
It is a matter of not set-
tling for a “legal size” fi sh, but
choosing the ones you want
to keep.
Lings are voracious pred-
ators. They will strike any-
thing that enters their space.
“It’s a matter of using
something with fl ash and
color,” Koskela explains.
“Sound is extremely import-
ant. You want something to
bang off the bottom to get
their attention.”
“Lings are vicious pred-
ators. We will often hook a
small fi sh, and a big ling will
grab onto that fi sh.” Koskela
adds,
“They are like a bull dog.
Once they sink those razor
sharp teeth in, they hang on.
We have hooked good, le-
gal size lings, and have larger
lings latch on, and land both
of them.”
“Key is, don’t lift the head
out of the water. Net them
both below the surface. Lift
the head out of the water,
he’s gone.”
Basically, it is a matter of
locating the reef, make a slow
drift across it, bouncing your
offering off the bottom.
Can’t fi nd them on that
reef, hit the next one until
you locate fi sh. Koskela will
catch fi sh on a reef, if the
bite slows or stops, move to a
nearby reef for a while, then
return to the previous reef
and catch ling.
Obviously, good electron-
ics-and knowing how to use
them-is crucial.
Dependable gear is essen-
tial. Koskela uses 65# braid-
ed line. You will hang up on
rocks and have to break line.
It is crucial you learn how to
do a fast wrap, around some-
thing like your fi sh club, and
break the line or hook, or
you will lose all your line,
possibly destroy a reel.
You will need an assort-
ment of jigs and colorful
plastic worms. You will lose
gear. Some days, a lot.
Serious ling fi shermen
learn to make their own.
Tons of “how to” informa-
tion is readily available.
Newport is one of the
more popular boater des-
tinations because there are
so many reefs within a few
miles.
Depoe Bay is popular.
Not as many reefs. Dockside
Charters runs half day char-
ters.
They seem to focus more
on rock fi sh than lings.
Several dory boat charters
operate out of Pacifi c City.
Good news there, is you will
be fi shing close-in reefs, and
very few boats. Plus, thrilling
launches on the beach.
An Oregon fi shing license
is required. Your catch does
not have to be recorded like
salmon, halibut and sturgeon.
Bag limit is two fi sh per
day. Size limit is minimum
22 inches. There is no upper
size limit.
Koskela will sometimes
dump out crab pots in the
ocean while fi shing for lings.
Talk about a gourmet meal–
fresh lingcod and Dungeness
crab.
Soon as the doctor releases
Submitted
Lings can be found on most reefs along the Pacifi c Northwest
coast, patrolling the rocky ledges.
me, going to be out there.
A Wilson house favorite:
Cut 8 ounce skinless lingcod
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