4/5 Bottom Grabber

[Spyder]

Nice linger! I still think that ling is some of the best eating fish out there.

[dsafety]

Thanks Larry,

I enjoyed your seminar at Fastlane last weekend. I think you are right about one thing. Some of us spend a to much time focusing on the trophy fish and forget about some of the great eating meat fish that are readily available. I usually C & R but I suspect that if I landed a nice ling or sheepshead, I might have to take it home for dinner.

The problem with fishing for ling or other rock fish is that you basically are sit fishing... waiting for something tasty to find you. Surface fishing is more like hunting where you are stalking your prey. The latter is more intersting but the former will probably produce more catches.

Next trip, just for fun, I will see what I can find on the bottom. I will bring a few beers just in case.

Bob

[blackcloud9]

Glad that you enjoyed the seminar, and glad I got one thing right.

It's true, too many people see all these trophy pictures and expect to
paddle out and catch a trophy seabass or yellowtail because they are in
La Jolla. While pictures don't lie, they can easily lead people astray,
because there are a whole lot of excited optimists out there. I know the
truth, and just try to help people understand that realistically
it could take months (or years) of trying - and that's why they are called
trophies!

It's very rare for me to sit in one spot, *especially* when lingcod /
rockfishing the way I usually do. That is definitely not a hope-they
-find-me kind of fishing, as I am always moving, actively hunting them
with my fishfinder. Eliminate the time spent fishing "dead" areas. I don't
stop pedaling except to drift with the current occasionally around my
spots. In this case the edge of the kelp was loaded solid with baitfish, so I
tied up and fished. Released a few other fish, smaller lings too. Didn't get
what I'd mildly hoped for though .... se la vie.

That being said, note that the master of sit/wait/observe fishing has
caught almost a dozen big WSBs this year and many more yellows. I'll
freely admit that I personally do not have the patience (or maybe its
confidence) for that when fishing on my own, nor do most people.

But I do catch a lot of "other stuff" Everyone has their own style. Keep
those lines in the water, have fun, and you will get bit!




(P.S. Ignore my avatar, it's misleading! Maybe I'll change it.)

[THE DARKHORSE]

I would love a pair of Lingcod boots .

My favorite technique for targeting Lingcod is dropping large swimbaits to the base of bull-kelp stringers. Loads of fun when fishing in the right spots on proper gear, tasty too .

[Afran]

Nice ling!