4/1 Lingcod opener (dive report)

With marginal weather/swell conditions forecasted, I decided to bypass the ab opener and stay in for the weekend.  Saturday morning, a friend called me up to say they were headed to Monterey for an afternoon ling dive... so I got off my butt, started collecting dive gear from all over, and tossed the yak on the car.

Conditions were really surgy on the bottom, but despite all the rain, visibility was decent enough to hunt in.  Checked out new grounds and found several lings - some tucked deep into cracks, others foraging.  Saw the normal cabezon, perch, & rockfish, but left them untouched.  Depths ranged from 10ft to 50's.

Ended with a couple lings - nothing spectacular, but nice to start the season with some fish 'n chips

Bigger one was 15#.  Nice size, but a post-spawn fish & had an empty tummy.   

Nice job fuzz.

I forgot what ling cod tastes like.

Stuart

nice fish!!!

i'll be out tomorrow looking around in holes.

hope the weather stays decent!!!

john

According to that video you posted, John, and based on our experience last weekend, there seem to be lots of lings just hanging out in the open..............

According to that video you posted, John, and based on our experience last weekend, there seem to be lots of lings just hanging out in the open..............

hi pat, that video was taken up in alaska. however, at about this time last year in carmel i was on one reef that had 5 lings within 30 ft radius that were all on top of the reefs hanging out. the largest was fishndive's 35". these guys were just out. there was a bit of a surge but i guess given the right conditions they would be hanging out. i have also seen this just outside of hopkins in about 70 feet on rocks. they just sit and look pretty. larger ones prefer a hole with an entry and exit and like a view up and down and left and right. if it has a bad view or is not facing the right way lings wont like it. the same holes will get populated not long after one has been taken from it.

weird how that works too. i have seen different lings in same holes and often with a cabezon or a greenling paling around with it in the same hole.

larger lings seem to prefer hanging out more, maybe they feel more secure about themselves.

i wish they would open lings to fishing because my wife loves to catch them on her kayak. we'll be out tomorrow am. i'll be diving and she'll be looking for the elusive flatfish

If we get blown out of Moss I look forward to meeting her..........