My dad, brother, and I went to the jetty this Saturday to fish our favorite ling cod spot. The fishing was rather slow, but I had what was easily a 20#+ ling on. My dad caught a 10# ling and I caught another 5# 4oz ling and released, it was just barely 22". My brother didn't get anything but a few medium sized bait fish. The weather was decent except for the winf blowing at about 25mph.

For those of you who are interested in ling cod, but not loosing $20 of tackle in less than an hour, I have a few tips for you. The best way to fish Westport is with sand shrimp about 2-3 feet off the bottom less than 20 feet out from the rocks in 10-20 feet of water. This is acchieved by simply tying two swivels at 1 foot apart with a leader of at least 2lbs lighter than your main line hanging down from the last swivel (2 feet of leader). Over the years we have gone from losing every single weight we bought to just using rocks as weight. Just tie on a rock about the size of your fist to the leader using a simple clinch knot and you're set. The reason this works so well is that you WILL get hung up, but with lighter leader and a rock, it doesn't matter. You loose the rock, tie on another leader and attach a new rock, no loss, and it takes 20 seconds and you're fishing again. NOTE: this is how you will be catching bait.

Once you catch a decent baitfish, anything will do really, but greenling seem to work best, tie on a nice foot long steel leader with a huge hook, 14-16/o, and hook the bait in the back just in front of the dorsal fin. (ling cod have huge teeth, and they're sharp. It took us loosing more than 100 fish over 2 years to switch to steel leaders!) Drop the bait in the same water you were fishing for bait and just keep it out of the rocks. Within an hour or so you should have something which feels like a giant rock pulling at your line. Wait it out till the fish finally runs, if you try to bring it up early chances are the ling will just hold on to the bait then spit it out once it sees the surface. Set your drag tight, but not too tight and the fish will essentially hook itself, or become too attatched to its meal to let go. Be ready with a net in an ideal possition, and you got yourself at least three meals of delicious ling cod for dinner.

NOTE: Westport does not sell sandshrip, the best way is to get them yourself with a clam gun, or you can buy them inland at any bait store which carries steelhead gear. Also, i'm not sure what experience there is on the west coast with live bait fishing, but circle hooks are the way to go. The reason they work so well is that the fish, when it makes that run, will hook itself... if your drag is not too loose. Once the fish is turned, it is hooked and be prepared for a NICE fight!

Fish-or-man?

6/15/2010 8:06:00 PM

thanks! I'll give this a try the next time I'm out on the jetty!

natetreat

6/16/2010 2:33:00 AM

It's well worth it. I don't know how many times I've been out there and there's been fifty guys out there, bouncing jig, pulling spinners and mooching herring and whatever else, but we're the only ones walking back home with a limit. Bring sunscreen! (I wore shorts for the first time in years, and ended up with a red stripe round my ankles to my knees.)

knotabassturd

7/2/2010 8:26:00 PM

Not sure if U still read this thread. I have gone out to Westport and the jetty but end up losing gear in the rocks and give up immediately or else cast too far out and on the sand bottom away from the rocks. Uusally end up just wading out in the surf and catching an occassional surf perch. So if you use a rock, do you tie it to the leader off the first swivel and the hook is off the leader on the 2nd swivel? I take it the 2 pound lighter test is so when the rock gets caught in with the other rocks you pull unitl you break the line? Not sure if that is right. Seems if it is, the rock weight would get hung up in the rocks every cast and have to retie leaders constantly plus put some strain on the main line over time. I may be conceptually missing things. Thanx if you can clarify. Sounds like you have it dialed in.
Any sea bass with any size out there? I have never been successful fishing the jetty and have lost gear but don't know what I'm doing.

knotabassturd

7/2/2010 8:28:00 PM

I also wonder how to successfully net a fish with the waves rolling up onto the rocks constantly.

knotabassturd

7/2/2010 8:35:00 PM

OOps, my mistake I just realized I fish the Ocean Shores jetty. Same questions apply though I guess. And I wade in the surf well away from the jetty when going for surf perch :-) Never have had much luck.

natetreat

7/2/2010 10:56:00 PM

Yea that's right. The Ocean Shore Jetty is actually deeper further in shore, I've only fished it once or twice and caught perch and sea bass. The rock goes at the bottom, like a drop shot rig, only on really light line so it just breaks off if it gets snagged. As long as your mainline is super strong it doesn't matter, because the only thing breaking is the leader. You want to be right in close to the rocks, right on top of them. That's one of the reasons why people always get skunked is because they're casting right over the fish, and reeling up into them and then reeling in too fast when they get in close because they don't wanna get snagged. But that's where the fish live, right where you're going to get snagged. The trick to fishing the current is having a rig that can handle lobbing a rock (or weight) big enough to keep on the bottom regardless of the waves pushing your line around. When you weight moves around on the bottom from the current it falls right between the crags and cracks and gets snagged up. But if you use your rocks and aren't afraid to be snagged, you'll still catch a fish, and often times when he's on he'll break your rock free from the snag. Netting a fish is fun with the waves, you just have to be carefull. I've gotten wet up to my waist before. We have a ten foot net that we use, with an extension, so that it can be maneuvered better in the waves. Leave it in the water when you're playing the big ones, because if they see something coming at them they will make a beeline for the bottom, even if you've been playing them for 20 minutes. You gotta surprise them. I know there are fish on the ocean shores side, I don't know if it's as productive as Westport, but I'm certain that you'd have much better luck if you fished it like this. If you're not getting snagged up though, you're not putting your bait where the fish are. Hehehe.

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