Well after a week of bad weather, and having to work a ton of overtime i was finally able to get out on the water. My buddy and I launched at what use to be snow creek resort about a mile before Neah Bay. We launch at about 9am, and what a beautiful morning. under 2 foot swells with sub 5mph wind made the straight look like a lake. Unfortunately i had fish finder difficulties as my lowrance would not power on to save my life, even tried my back up battery to no avail. That was not to discourage use as we were determined to get some fish. We got out on the water and instantly got on fish. We ended up leaving with 3 lings 11 bass 2 grenlings. All in all a good day, and as a bonus a pod of orcas put on a Ariel show about 50 yards in front of us. The go pro footage should be nice when i get time to edit and upload.

@Trident 13

I actually cant tell the difference between most bottom fish. Halibut, Ling cod, Bass, Grenling all the same taste to me, but maybe i'm odd lol. I do smoke a lot of bottom fish though and if you haven't tried you definitely should. It is mighty tasty. I use a mix of alder/apple with a simple brown sugar overnight brine.

I've tried cooking greenling several times and haven't gotten it down and end up with something more like white pate.  I tried soaking fillets in milk to try to firm them up.

Try to cook them less. In my experience they are delicate and cook fast. I like the meat - like a mix between crab and bay shrimp.

Hmmm... I've heard that from several people so either my wife knows something I don't or I've just gotten lucky. Maybe cook them more?   

A friend of mine told me that for some reason you have to bleed and keep the greenling on ice, the other bottom fish doesn't matter, just something about the greenling. Ive noticed their flesh is a bit softer and easier to damage than other bottom species.

Here's the only good greenling recipe i've had so far:

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and onion with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Let stand for 10 minutes, then whisk in the honey, cilantro, mustard, garlic and 1/4 cup of the olive oil.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over high heat until just smoking. Add the jalapeno and cook, turning, until charred and blistered on all sides, about 2 minutes; let cool slightly. Slip off the charred skin. Discard the stem and cut the jalapeno in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and finely chop the jalapeno. Stir the jjalapeno into the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil over moderately high heat. Season the greenling fillets with salt and pepper and cook, turning once, until they are opaque throughout, about 8 minutes. Transfer the greenling to a platter. Whisk the vinaigrette, spoon it over the fish and serve with avocado wedges or watercress.

Throw the greenling in the trash, sear some lingcod and add to remaining ingredients.

 

Awesome catch!