Recommended lures to target Lings

If this should be in a different forum, please let me know. I'm still learning the lay of the land here.

I've had a few trips out now to rockfish/ling territory, and have had no problems at all getting rockfish (shrimp flies and squid, the usual)... but I'm wondering how to best target ling in particular. Obviously live bait works great, but I'm wondering if people had particular favorite lures that they've found effective?

I'm assuming large plastic swimbaits would work, but don't even know where to start... there are so many options. All my fishing background is from freshwater/smaller fish so my experience is pretty much useless hunting such a large, aggressive fish in the ocean lol.

(The more specific the better too, I looked online and saw some articles talking about the p-line diamond bar jig and other stuff, but I'd love to hear more from experienced kayakers)

Ling is not picky and will eat anything but "real" baits give you a slight edge over "artificial ".

my most successful ling baits, in order:

1. large dead herring
2. Berkley Gulp Grup 6" white
3. 4 - 6 oz P-Line Lazer minnows

All that said, if you get one they frequently burp up an octopus. Throw that back down; it's gold. Small black/blue rockfish work very well also.

+1 on the regurgitated Octopus
Also remember that "Elephants Eat Peanuts"
Some of the best lings I've taken have been on live anchovies

#1

Live Sand Dabs

It’ll depend on depth you’re fishing of course, but I like big swim baits as long as I have heavy enough heads for the drift speed.
For water over 100 I might then go the “iron” route and try pline or whatever bar jig feels right. Probably 95% of lings I catch are on swim baits or while using bait for halibut.
For colors there are only two: dark and light. All of the colors available fall into one of these 😎 when to use each one...that’s an OG secret 😂

Ling is not picky and will eat anything ...

True. I caught one once on a torpedo sinker--no hook, just a big hunk of dull colored lead, and it wouldn't let go.

Among actual lures, bomber plugs (complete with rattle) are very effective. It's a bit tricky to keep them moving thru the strike zone without snagging in rocky areas, though.

Thanks for the responses folks, some good info in here.

* Corey - I appreciate the spsecifics!
* Regurgitated octopus.... bruh, that is wild (and a bit gnarly). I'll keep it in mind. Man I feel bad for the octopus though, one of my favorite critters due to their intelligence lol
* Live anchovies - that's a bit surprising to me. I guess I keep seeing these videos of lings attacking 7 inch rockfish and such, and I semi-assumed you really needed large live bait to catch them. But of course you're right... they'll eat anything, just the bigger stuff is less likely to get hit by smaller fish.
* Caught on a torpedo sinker - haha crazy stuff. This older guy I was talking to said he used to make lures out of friggin rebar back in the day because he was cheap lol

Trap rig or dbl hook...

January spawn herring, big sardines, live bait fish jack smelt, king fish, small rockfish


If you wanna target with artificial..big  swimbaits or diamond jigs.

Live bait or dead bait is the sure thing.

I’m of the lings will eat anything school of thought. Important thing remember  is to stay in the zone when drifting for them. I’ve caught them all over the water column, including at the surface, but more often then not you gotta be right on the bottom to draw them in.  The tapping of a sinker or jig will generate noise.  An erratic flashy iron jig will grab their attention.    A trap rigged bait that is struggling around the zone will get em in a frenzy. 

My personal preference is for the iron jig, they get down fast and no fussing with bait. Break one off and you can tie one right back on and get back down.  They’re just more efficient and get bit by larger model
Rockies as well.  Not a fan of swimbaits. 

Use big stuff - whether it's bait or tackle.  You've got to become somewhat committed to trying to avoid rockfish bites if you want to increase your odds of getting a ling to bite.  The best ways to do that are to use big and go deep.  It can get discouraging if you do shut your own rockfish bite down, but keep your eyes on the prize.   

Alot of good experience right here and advise!
I seem to have caught bigger Lings on Live bait…
ie-  Blacks or Blues(12-14”)Hook em thru the nose with a 6 oz jig, drop it down and wait  for the knock on the door. That usually results  in a hitchhiker or them swallowing the whole thing!
Big swimbaits tipped with squid are also a go-too!!!

Scotty

I was out at the Farallons two weeks ago. I used a Ahi USA Assalt Diamond Jig 14oz Blue. Model # DJ-14-BL. It was money for the big Lings! Way out fished live or frozen bait that most were using. Limited with a 18 and 26 pounder. Switched to shrimp flies and the deckhand asked what the hell I was doing. Told me to put the jig back on and fish for the boat. I did so and landed 4 more to 19lbs in less than an hour. Best trip I've been on in a long time.

Kevin.

Note: I swapped the treble with a siwash attached with a swivel to the bottom and added a assist hook the top eye.

Trap rig or dbl hook...

January spawn herring, big sardines, live bait fish jack smelt, king fish, small rockfish


If you wanna target with artificial..big  swimbaits or diamond jigs.

Live bait or dead bait is the sure thing.

This 100%  Especially live, anything it seems!  Remember RF used for bait count towards your daily limit.

Use big stuff - whether it's bait or tackle.  You've got to become somewhat committed to trying to avoid rockfish bites if you want to increase your odds of getting a ling to bite.  The best ways to do that are to use big and go deep.  It can get discouraging if you do shut your own rockfish bite down, but keep your eyes on the prize.   

One way to ease the discouraging part is to fish the big stuff on the bottom but tie a dropper loop above (I usually do 18-24") and put a shrimp fly on that.  Shrimp fly gets rockfish and the big swimbait gets the lings.