Lingcod -- often considered one of the ugliest fish in the ocean but also one of the tastiest -- are a popular saltwater sportfish usually found in water 30 to 300 feet deep and sometimes 3,000 feet deep.
Description
The lingcod -- actually a type of greenling -- can live 25 years and grow to well over 70 pounds. They're voracious eaters, sporting a large mouth and 18 sharp teeth.
That aggressive streak makes them fun and easy to catch, an attraction that has at times depleted the slow-to-mature stock in areas such as Alaska's Resurrection Bay and Washington's Puget Sound.
Lingcod are common throughout Southeast Alaska, the outer Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island and Prince William Sound.
Alaska record
The state record fish, caught near Valdez, weighed 76 pounds, 10 ounces.
Tips for fishing
Lingcod are often caught by halibut fishermen using chunks of salmon or herring on the ocean bottom.
Best time to fish
Southcentral Alaska
- Kenai Peninsula / Cook Inlet -- July, August
- Prince William Sound -- July, August
Inside Passage
- Inside Passage offshore, north of Stikine River -- Available all year.
- Inside Passage offshore, south of Stikine River -- Available all year.
Western, Interior and Northern Alaska
- Bristol Bay and Kodiak offshore -- June, July
Sources of information include the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
