5/14's outing

Ok so I headed out to des moines today and got on the water at 7am and fished till 12 and I am seriously confused and had a problem today... my problem is that I couldn't get through the rockfish to get down to the lings (never thought id have that problem) and Im confused how they say the "rockfish stocks are low" when I ended up c&r about 4dzn of them and the smallest one I had on was 6in with the biggest bein about 14in... also hooked 6 flatfish of them one was about 16in but im not a fan of em so they all went back down... it was a fun day though don't get me wrong I had a blast!

The rockfish are stocks are not low if you ask me. When I get into them they are thick. I don't know who's doing the counting but my guess it's someone who wants to make sure they have a job counting them fish for a lifetime.

There are TONS of rockfish in the Puget sound. But if you are fishing for lingcod, and you are only catching tiny rockfish, your bait/lure is way to small...

One thing you could do, redfish, next time to target lingcod, is to use live sole/sanddabs/flounder as bait. You mentioned you caught some flounder so you could use em and be a lot less likely to catch rockfish as well.

From salmon university:

Sand dabs the size of your hand are perfect! I'll rig a 1/0 hook through the upper jaw with a 7/0 hook through the skin near the bottom of the tail. I'll use 25lb mono as a leader, the most abrasion resistant as you can find (many prefer steel leaders, but I've found mono gives the bait more freedom to swim and looks more natural to a curious Ling).. From my main line I'll put on a sliding weight holder then tied to a swivel. A 4 oz cannon ball lead is perfect for most water, but if the current is really pushing and your in over 100ft of water you may have to add more. I generally use a 4 - 6ft leader.

There are TONS of rockfish in the Puget sound. But if you are fishing for lingcod, and you are only catching tiny rockfish, your bait/lure is way to small...

I was usin a 2.25oz dart... I've caught lings with it before but maybe your right ill try a bigger one next time for sure

One thing you could do, redfish, next time to target lingcod, is to use live sole/sanddabs/flounder as bait. You mentioned you caught some flounder so you could use em and be a lot less likely to catch rockfish as well.

From salmon university:

Sand dabs the size of your hand are perfect! I'll rig a 1/0 hook through the upper jaw with a 7/0 hook through the skin near the bottom of the tail. I'll use 25lb mono as a leader, the most abrasion resistant as you can find (many prefer steel leaders, but I've found mono gives the bait more freedom to swim and looks more natural to a curious Ling).. From my main line I'll put on a sliding weight holder then tied to a swivel. A 4 oz cannon ball lead is perfect for most water, but if the current is really pushing and your in over 100ft of water you may have to add more. I generally use a 4 - 6ft leader.

ok see I tried that but I think the sand dab I had on was to big cause I had one on for about an hour with no hits... ill try a smaller one though and hopefully get into something big and toothy

No such thing as too big for lings! I've seen a 30" lingcod hit a 16" greenling.
Go big or go home for lingcod!

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I have luck with 4 or 6 Oz jig heads (current and depth may require different setups) and a 5-8 inch swimbaits. Never used bait for lings or rockfish.

My go to ling bait is a 6 oz leadhead and an 8" grub.  The last ling I caught puked up a 12" sand dab.

I forgot to mention I have also caught the rockfish and lings on homemade pipe jigs (internet search it). I know people also use them for halibut too.

No such thing as too big for lings! I've seen a 30" lingcod hit a 16" greenling.
Go big or go home for lingcod!

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well that's what im doin in the morning since I got the day off... got a bunch of big plastics (curltails, twin tails, scampi, swimbaits, toras) gonna try live bait again and hopefully ill catch one!

My go to ling bait is a 6 oz leadhead and an 8" grub.  The last ling I caught puked up a 12" sand dab.

a buddy of mine had something like that happen to except the sand dab was folded in half in its stomach!

a buddy of mine had something like that happen to except the sand dab was folded in half in its stomach!

It's a defensive ploy hold over from their lingy youth. They puke up their stomach contents in the hope you will find it more appealing and easier to consume than they.

Rockfish go all stiff and extended, making themselves as big and spiny as they can.