Noob needs to know how to catch lingcod

I'm new to this board, new to kayak fishing, and new to lingcod. I'm a burden and generally worthless at this point as it relates to this sport. Please educate me on how to catch lingcod and I promise to do the same for future noobs.

You are in the Sonoma county lots of good folks in there. Catching a lingcod is pretty straight forward, right place at right time will get you one. My lucky setup is big hammer swimbait 6.5" halloween color in a 4oz jig heads tip with strip of squid. Good luck!

big swimbaits, like 7". The bigger the bait, the fewer shorties will take it.
White, dark, rootbeer, green metallic.

Or go live bait with sandadbs or smaller rockfish

find lumpy structure or pinnacles, drop the bottom & hang on

Have a boga or gaff ready for the keepers. Net is a last resort as they will generally roll it up & tangle.
Be prepared for them to barf something on you & keep your fingers out of their mouth.

+1 and also tied shrimp fly about 18 inches above it for teaser .. Good luck ..

It may seem like a mystery to catch them at first, I know it was few and far between for me my first year.  But they are actually fairly easy, not very picky, and will take pretty much anything from a shrimp fly to a giant diamond bar.  Large swimbaits are the best way to single out lingcod, unless you want to use whole rockfish for bait.  Will help you to keep the other fish off your line by using bigger baits.  Find rocky structure and bounce it on the rocks a few times then drift or jig it.  When you have a hit, you will know it!

Welcome to NCKA blakhlsn07 

All great info about the targeting and all, please remember you're dealing with the wild ocean.

Check this:
By Ling A Ding in October, 2013
"When I bought my kayak from Mooch back in February, he gave me some advice - Be a kayaker first before becoming a fisherman."
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=50240.msg559327#msg559327

And this from Krusty:
http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=15380.0

I'll be at timber cove this Sunday if you want to go

lings are ambush predators so movement really helps

4oz swimbait of your choice.
Drop down. Hit bottom. Reel up ling.

keep your fingers out of their mouth.

+1

Also avoid the gills as there is a lot of sharp stuff in and around there too...

keep your fingers out of their mouth.

+1

Also avoid the gills as there is a lot of sharp stuff in and around there too...

On the other hand, if you aren't sure whether what you caught is a ling or a cabezon, you could stick your finger in its mouth. If your finger comes back intact, it was a cabezon.

4oz swimbait of your choice.
Drop down. Hit bottom. Reel up ling.

In a nutshell that really does cover it! I recently wrote an article for my blog on catching lingcod, nothing really earth shattering for veteran ling hunters but I feel it covers some good areas for beginners and those who have never really targeted this aggressive and tasty fish. You can find it here if you would like to give it read:

http://esterobaykayakfishing.blogspot.com/2015/04/chasing-lingcod-from-kayak.html

I usually start out drifting near the edges of kelp beds using a 4oz diamond jig, try different color schemes don't get set on one color. Don't be afraid to get in and fish holes on the kelp or go way out past the kelp. Jig slowly and usually they just slam into it. Sometimes you'll feel a sudden weight but the ling doesn't really hit it hard, when this happens reel up slowly he'll stay on and you maybe able to net him. Hope this helps!