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New obsession: Ophiodon elongatus

2K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  Alex MacDonald 
#1 ·
Following Nick Claytons adventures to land a Lingcod has kept me psyched, and learning to tie big hair flies has been a hoot. I am just glad my work has been validated. :)
Good day hitting some rocky outcroppings in MA 11, the weather was calm and the tides...well not optimal, especially fishing from a Kayak, but I used the current to my advantage and it was surprisingly manageable.
I lost 4 flies, then as I was getting ready to call it, I got another snag, but then the rod started throbbing!
Bulldog is how I would describe the fight, some powerful runs mixed with periods of nothing as it just went on lock down mode. Good times, got him/her up, lipped it ( so glad I bought one) and admired the wild beauty before releasing it back to the crazy snag fest depths.
I am now psyched to get out again, the heck with those damn sea runs giving me a complex :)
Thanks again to all on the boards that shared tips and patterns!





 
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#4 ·
Thanks! Good stuff, I just hate losing so many flies, but I guess that's part of the deal. Definitely a solid, positive change from my norm, I am hoping this year many new aspects of the sport will become a reality.

Alexander, if you have a kayak, lets connect over PM's and make it happen. You are going to need a bunch of Yak Hair :)

CLO did you get out today and find something? Stories please! :)
 
#8 ·
Thanks! Good stuff, I just hate losing so many flies, but I guess that's part of the deal. Definitely a solid, positive change from my norm, I am hoping this year many new aspects of the sport will become a reality.

Alexander, if you have a kayak, lets connect over PM's and make it happen. You are going to need a bunch of Yak Hair :)

CLO did you get out today and find something? Stories please! :)
Sweet! I have yak hair and access to a kayak!

Btw what rod/line set up you got going there?
 
#11 ·
Just a friendly warning - tossing flies for lings can be very addictive!

Unfortunately it seems to be me that current abundances of sub-legal and legal size lings in central sound are at 20 year lows (the result of a series of low recruitment years). Can you imagine how addict the fishing would be if your catch rates were "trout like" rather than "steelhead like"?

Curt
 
#13 ·
Totally Dipnet! Fun in a thuggish sort of way, I really love the ties too, funny as the first time I sat down at the vice, one fly took me nearly and hour, now about 15 min per fly and that cause I am too detail oriented :)

Smalma: How common are Lings overall? You post makes them seem moderately uncommon, I cannot see catching many, I have avoided the Steelhead realm so I can only speculate :)

CLO: Sorry about the currents. Where I was the current was present and for a tiny bit was boiling and pretty ruckus, but it calmed down and I was able to paddle up current, lob the fly and slowly drift back stripping and jigging.
 
#15 ·
Eyejuggler -
Here in Central & South Puget Sound in the proper habitat ling cod are fairly common. That however is also part of the issue; such habitat is not all that common; there maybe 3,000 acres of that habitat and nearly 20% of the habitat is closed to angling.

For years the fly angler's catch in the Sound has included many sub-legal fish, a decent number of "legal" size fish and just enough over size fish to keep one on their toes. That means that the fishing is strongly influenced by having frequent year classes of fish entering the population. Over the last 25 years it is my sense that about 2 out of 5 years there would be a strong class of young lings. However again it is my observation that there has not been a strong year class for approximately 5 years -fewer smaller fish.

In the last decade the interest in fishing for ling cod (by fly anglers, gear guys and live baiters) has exploded. This means that the number of biters are both being shared by more anglers and the number fish of legal size fish are being reduced by increased harvest. This has an effect on the over all catch rates. One thing I have noticed is that in the face of even moderate fishing pressure the lings react to that pressure by becoming less aggressive. Often a change up in presentation will trigger a take from those less aggressive fish; flies (especially unweighted ones) is one of those presentations that many lings have not seen.

I fish lings with both jigs and flies and in the last few years I have noticed a significant drop-off in my catch rates. Until recently if I were throwing flies double fish days during a tide would be the "norm" and the good days might be 20 or more lings - "trout numbers". Now it is more like 1 to 4 fish -"steelhead numbers".

I hope that answers your question.

curt
 
#16 ·
Yep, thanks! I am pretty darn new to FlyFishing and resource awareness, I am learning quick though and as I gain knowledge I become sad to see how these have changed. I am part of the problem but whats a guy/gal to do?
C&R is my go to style and I think that helps, but with so many changes in environment, increased users, and more bonking its easy to understand the limited season.
Curious information, thanks for your time and data!
Dave
 
#20 ·
YES, I got out yesterday morning as the tide change was pretty small. Some good lessons learned for sure and I am still kicking myself. First I got fewer snags and was able to refine my "unsticking" technique to mitigate losses...thought I still lost 4 flies :(
Second, I had 2 hits with the second one being something big but, both fish were on for one minute but managed to find their way BACK in to the rocks and ended up being just snags.
Bad habit...trying to break myself of getting them on the reel as I should have just stripped and bullied them right away.
But it was a beautiful day...really beautiful! I passed a Bald Eagle sitting on a rock 30 feet away, lots of lounging seals, and bazillions of bait schools.

I am going out again tomorrow (Thursday) armed with fresh ties and a little more saavy :)

How bout you SF? Any new stories or thoughts?
I really am enjoying the break from SRC and after the season is up I think I might try my hand at some Musky, I am kind of enamored with these big predator types :)
 
#21 ·
Dave,
No new stories or thoughts at this time, although I've been thinking a lot about the lings Jay and I caught.
Having fished the sound for over 50 years, I found catching a new species out of it on a fly to be extremely gratifying. I never got that excited about the ones I landed on gear, though they were fun in their own right.
I wanted to get my fish on the reel, but never got a chance. I ended up stripping it in as you mentioned.

Good luck tomorrow. Tiger Muskies are on my agenda for this summer as well.
I've got a four day weekend coming so I'll have plenty of water time starting Friday.
SF
 
#22 ·
Hit my same spot at the 12 pm high slack. Was excited for at least a burly hit but spent 5 hours working the area with nothing at all. On a cheery note I only lost one fly and was able to release 16 other snags :/ I had my best luck, last two weeks, with a dark colored fly, light ( Chartreuse and White) saw no love. Sooo, tying up some more and I will hit it when I know my next day off :)
 
#23 ·
Ira and I spent the day on the water chasing lings, but we struck out. I did manage 3 rockfish that were a fun surprise. One of the best things about this fishery is anytime you get a grab, its always exciting to see just what will be on the other end!

I wish there was a longer PS season. I am completely obssessed with these fish.
 
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