BROOKINGS, Ore. - Lingcod fishing on the Southern Oregon Coast improved the last couple of weeks, as anglers began finding the toothy predators atop high spots offshore from Brookings.
Fishing for rockfish has been excellent.
"We've started to find some nice lings," says Capt. Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing in Brookings. "Usually you find mainly the smaller males this time of year, but we've been getting some big fish in as shallow as 30 feet."
Lingcod fishing is open year round on the Oregon Coast, but rough weather kept anglers in port until mid-March. At first anglers had to travel 8 to 15 miles north of Brookings to find the lings, but now they are in close.
"We've been finding lings right off of Chetco Point and also along the high spots just off the big motel near the port," Martin said. "They are in close spawning and guarding the nests."
Fishing for rockfish has been good, with most boats getting their seven-fish-per-person limits. Some boats are also coming back with limits of lings, but most are reporting one or two fish.
"I like to use live bait," Martin says. "We use either kelp greenling, when we can catch them, or small rockfish. I just use a 4- to 6-ounce leadhead and hook the bait through the top of the mouth."
Anglers are marking large amounts of bait off of Brookings, and Martin has noticed shrimp flies and smaller grubs are working better than lead jigs.
"I tie a couple of large Eagle Claw snelled hooks onto a leader and then use white, red or blue grubs," Martin said. "The Fourth of July color also has worked well."
Most of the lings are coming from 40 to 60 feet of water, Martin says, while the bigger rockfish are staging in 110 to 120 feet of water.
The best tides for the first week of April will likely be in the mid to late afternoon.
To book a trip, visit http://www.wildriversfishing.com/
