How to catch more ling on a party boat.

[Leif]

How to catch more ling on a party boat.

This is a post I did a while back. I modified it a bit and posted it again here after fishing on the Paramount for ling this past week. Since the ling fishing has been good, I thought it might be helpful. Good luck linging....

Many of the sponsors on this site like the Paramount, Gambler and Norma K III target ling and they are good at it. Let’s support them.

I am not an expert and open to any comments. If you have comments or questions feel free to ask.

Ling otherwise known as Red Hake have been on the comeback the past few years. I see more and more interest in the species with the decline or restrictions on other species such as Winter Flounder, Mackerel, Blackfish, and Cod. I have also noticed that many people have an interest in these tasty fish but are confused about the best way to catch, store, and cook them.
To that end I would like to provide some basic tips on the slightly underrated red hake. There are many sponsor boats that sail for them throughout the year. I have fished on most of the Party Boats that target them but my favorite are the 3-9 magic hour trips or the night ling trips 7-1am. While ling can be caught both day and night they seem to “come alive” after dark.

Tackle (rods reels)
Nothing fancy is required. I like to use or bring the following:

7ft med action rod rated for 25lb test and Penn 140 or 146 squidder or equal. I load it with 30-50lb braid.
30lb snap at end of braid or 10ft or so of 30-50lb mono.

7ft med action rod for 30-50lb test and Penn Jigmaster 500 or equal. I load it with 50-65lb braid.
30lb snap at end of braid or 10ft or so of 30-50lb mono.

Rigs
Single or double snelled 1/0-4/0 circle hooks or “J” hooks on 12-20in of 50lb leader material. (Circle hooks hook the fish and they don’t fall off the hook)
You can loop on the leader above the sinker loop or use a three way swivel and large snap for the sinker. (Keep it simple)

Weight
5-12oz bank sinkers. (8-10 Average) Generally you can go lighter with the braid but be respectful to others and use enough weight to stay on the bottom straight up and down.

Bait
Clams, squid, mackerel, bergal strips, gulp bait.
(SMALL BAIT IS BEST) You may not catch the big one but you will catch more of them. Especially with the circle hooks.
Try Bergal (Cunner) strips when the bergals are thick and stealing your bait and even when they are not.

Try smaller pieces of clams, you may get more hook-ups. The one inch gulp crabs works well. Give them a try....

Helpful hints….

Check your bait often when getting hits and no fish.

Keep the bait small and hook exposed.

Watch others and change your strategy if needed. Especially the Mates!! Some things work at different times.

Move the bait. A little bounce here and there can do the trick. Some guys constantly bounce the sinker.

If your rig keeps getting tangled change it!!

Keep your hooks small, sharp, bait not too big. Keep the bait on the bottom as much as possible and you will out fish.

Move around the boat if possible. Be respectful of others.

Finally…..

Keep those ling cold and fresh. I bring ice on even the coldest day. You spend money to go. Why not take care of your fish??

Let the mates fillet them and tip them well. They will take care of you and do a good job Especially with ling.

Ling are tasty and can be fried steamed w/butter and made into fish cakes.


Contrary to popular belief Ling may be frozen and last months in the freezer if frozen properly.
Not in a ball in a bag.
After rinsing in salt water and drying vacuum seal or freeze flat in plastic wrap then put in a zip lock bag.

CATCH SOME LING

Leif

[snapperbluefish101]

Once again another good post Leif. We got to get out for those Ling-a-Dings again.

Snapperhead.

[Leif]

Once again another good post Leif. We got to get out for those Ling-a-Dings again.

Snapperhead.
Thanks Snapper. You aint got a thing if you aint got that ling...

Leif

[lunkertaker]

expert advice!
two followups.. keep the bait small (have seen too many folks with a giant bait of clam swing multiple times while w/a smaller bait resulted in a hookup.)

om magic hours fishing in the dark, use a glow stick (similar to blue fishing) to turn on the bite.

We had fried ling tonight and the kids ate every bite...gotta love these fish!

[Ryan W]

I think that some of these tips are very good! I do disagree with some of them though, and I'll put what I think instead down here. I'll go item by item for easy reading.

Boats: All of the boats mentioned are good. My personal favorite boat is a non-sponsor, so I won't name him (PM me if you really want to know). All of these boats mentioned are good (I've never fished the NK 3). I don't like the night trips ( I have never caught well on them. I just go with the day- it's fine. I never did use lights though)

1) rods and reels: I think that a two setup thing might work, but I only have one. I have a shimano TLD star 15/30 that WAS spooled with 50 lb braid (until today, when some jerk tangled me and it was so bad that the mate had to cut off a good bit of my braid- not too happy about it, especially when the other guy calls me a jerk for "Tangling him"). I like red because it's easier to see. I pair it with a fiberglass "barefoot" rod that has held up very well (other people have claimed problems with the guides, but I've never had any, and I fish my equipment hard). I tie on a topshot of 40 lb mono followed by a snap swivel and then a rig.

2) Rigs: I don't use circle hooks, I use J hooks. I have tried circles, all they do is tangle and I can't get the hook in the fish (I've tried no hookset, late hookset, immediate hookset, it doesn't seem to make a difference- I still can't hook them). I use mustad 2/0 baitholders ( I buy them en masse from a tackle shop in point). I have tried all types of rigs, and find that rigs with dropper loops work the best. I tie a surgeon's loop for the sinker, than just make 2 droppers for the hooks, one right above the surgeons loop, and then another about a foot up from that. I think that the two hook setup works well on wrecks where there's a lot of contour, where you can be in a hole and have fish swimming along the main wreck on top and fish in the hole as well. The hook on the top catches the fish on the wreck, the bottom catches fish in the hole. It works pretty well and rarely tangles.

Weight: I agree with leif here. I use sinkers from Sam the sinkerman, and buy the flat banks for this type of fishing because they snag less. I've seen some people wrap their sinkers in medical tape to avoid snags, but it doesn't seem to work to me and I've never done it myself. Sam is the ONLY option for purchase of sinkers!

Bait: Here is my major disagreement. I don't use any "glamorous" bait, and I will only use bergall strips and clams. If you or someone near you gets a bergall, take it and cut it into strips 2 inches by 1/2 inch by filleting it and cutting the fillets. This is harder to pull off the hook and not as attractive to the bergalls. Otherwise, I only use clams (fresh or frozen- fresh is better, but frozen is usually fine as long as they are defrosted properly). It's important to not have the clams sit in the sun for too long. I actually try to pack a lot of clam onto my hook instead of small bits. I do this for a few reasons:

a) It lasts longer, so that it doesn't get picked off by bergalls as fast.
b) I think that ling, even smaller ones, like a larger meal. I catch ling of all sizes on my "lots of bait" setups (I am up there in the fish count more often than not). I have had better luck this way.


5) Tips in general:

A) TIP THE MATES BEFORE THE TRIP STARTS! I myself worked for tips for a few years, and know that this would make me want to work very hard for you. The best thing to do is to give them half of the tip first and say "I'll get you again at the end of the trip" All but the most unscrupulous of mates will take very good care of you if this is the case (but some won't, and I have encountered these people). I usually tip at least 25% of the fare for good, hardworking mates. For me, Bad mates make zero. I will start with the half tip, and then if they are bad, I will give them a nickel at the end of the trip to let them know they did a very poor job. On my usual boat, I will tip over 50% of the fare sometimes because the mates are very good. I always receive good service for a reason.

B) keep the hook exposed to be able to get a hookset, no matter how much bait is there. If the point is exposed, you'll get a set on them.

C) I usually keep the bait still, but with a quick bounce occasionally. I think that the constant bouncers don't do as well.

D) MAKE SURE you don't tangle. Make sure you have a good rig with a low hook on there!

E) Don't piss anybody off by skating around. A good rule of thumb is that if there is only 1 rod holder between two people, you shouldn't go there. If you do, you will only tangle and catch less than you would have where you were before.

F) Ling can be made almost any way. I like tomato sauce personally, but any other way is fine too. I've never tried the fish cakes.

G) Ling freeze fine. I rinse with fresh water and make sure the bag has no water in it prior to freezing, and they do fine.


Best of luck. Try to get out there now- they are hitting! Don't sit around and wait. A lot of these boats never post reports, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the fishing stinks! Trust me, it's good now. Get out while you can!

Catch 'em up!

Ryan

[Gerry Zagorski]

Great post Leif!

[italianfisherman]

I think that some of these tips are very good! I do disagree with some of them though, and I'll put what I think instead down here. I'll go item by item for easy reading.

Boats: All of the boats mentioned are good. My personal favorite boat is a non-sponsor, so I won't name him (PM me if you really want to know). All of these boats mentioned are good (I've never fished the NK 3). I don't like the night trips ( I have never caught well on them. I just go with the day- it's fine. I never did use lights though)

1) rods and reels: I think that a two setup thing might work, but I only have one. I have a shimano TLD star 15/30 that WAS spooled with 50 lb braid (until today, when some jerk tangled me and it was so bad that the mate had to cut off a good bit of my braid- not too happy about it, especially when the other guy calls me a jerk for "Tangling him"). I like red because it's easier to see. I pair it with a fiberglass "barefoot" rod that has held up very well (other people have claimed problems with the guides, but I've never had any, and I fish my equipment hard). I tie on a topshot of 40 lb mono followed by a snap swivel and then a rig.

2) Rigs: I don't use circle hooks, I use J hooks. I have tried circles, all they do is tangle and I can't get the hook in the fish (I've tried no hookset, late hookset, immediate hookset, it doesn't seem to make a difference- I still can't hook them). I use mustad 2/0 baitholders ( I buy them en masse from a tackle shop in point). I have tried all types of rigs, and find that rigs with dropper loops work the best. I tie a surgeon's loop for the sinker, than just make 2 droppers for the hooks, one right above the surgeons loop, and then another about a foot up from that. I think that the two hook setup works well on wrecks where there's a lot of contour, where you can be in a hole and have fish swimming along the main wreck on top and fish in the hole as well. The hook on the top catches the fish on the wreck, the bottom catches fish in the hole. It works pretty well and rarely tangles.

Weight: I agree with leif here. I use sinkers from Sam the sinkerman, and buy the flat banks for this type of fishing because they snag less. I've seen some people wrap their sinkers in medical tape to avoid snags, but it doesn't seem to work to me and I've never done it myself. Sam is the ONLY option for purchase of sinkers!

Bait: Here is my major disagreement. I don't use any "glamorous" bait, and I will only use bergall strips and clams. If you or someone near you gets a bergall, take it and cut it into strips 2 inches by 1/2 inch by filleting it and cutting the fillets. This is harder to pull off the hook and not as attractive to the bergalls. Otherwise, I only use clams (fresh or frozen- fresh is better, but frozen is usually fine as long as they are defrosted properly). It's important to not have the clams sit in the sun for too long. I actually try to pack a lot of clam onto my hook instead of small bits. I do this for a few reasons:

a) It lasts longer, so that it doesn't get picked off by bergalls as fast.
b) I think that ling, even smaller ones, like a larger meal. I catch ling of all sizes on my "lots of bait" setups (I am up there in the fish count more often than not). I have had better luck this way.


5) Tips in general:

A) TIP THE MATES BEFORE THE TRIP STARTS! I myself worked for tips for a few years, and know that this would make me want to work very hard for you. The best thing to do is to give them half of the tip first and say "I'll get you again at the end of the trip" All but the most unscrupulous of mates will take very good care of you if this is the case (but some won't, and I have encountered these people). I usually tip at least 25% of the fare for good, hardworking mates. For me, Bad mates make zero. I will start with the half tip, and then if they are bad, I will give them a nickel at the end of the trip to let them know they did a very poor job. On my usual boat, I will tip over 50% of the fare sometimes because the mates are very good. I always receive good service for a reason.

B) keep the hook exposed to be able to get a hookset, no matter how much bait is there. If the point is exposed, you'll get a set on them.

C) I usually keep the bait still, but with a quick bounce occasionally. I think that the constant bouncers don't do as well.

D) MAKE SURE you don't tangle. Make sure you have a good rig with a low hook on there!

E) Don't piss anybody off by skating around. A good rule of thumb is that if there is only 1 rod holder between two people, you shouldn't go there. If you do, you will only tangle and catch less than you would have where you were before.

F) Ling can be made almost any way. I like tomato sauce personally, but any other way is fine too. I've never tried the fish cakes.

G) Ling freeze fine. I rinse with fresh water and make sure the bag has no water in it prior to freezing, and they do fine.


Best of luck. Try to get out there now- they are hitting! Don't sit around and wait. A lot of these boats never post reports, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the fishing stinks! Trust me, it's good now. Get out while you can!

Catch 'em up!

Ryan
i agree.. i use 1/0-2/0 j hooks only + clam belly with that soft guwee belly & just weave the hook thru 2x & let it hang...

[jmurr711]

not bad Leify but how about a pout post!:p

[Ryan W]

I think that the best part of the clam is the strings. I like that on my favorite boat I can cut my own clam on the way out so I can choose which parts are the best for me. I choose the toughest parts of the clam (throw the stomach overboard) because they stay on the hook better and the ling like them more. I think that the hanging of the strings entices them as they wave in the current, and more meat on the hook keeps them there long enough to get a hookset. I never used the 1/0's because they were too hard to get on the droppers, and I refuse to use less than 40 lb because of abrasion issues. 2/0's always worked fine, and are good for all bottom fish, except porgies, because they sometimes have problems getting it in their mouths, but I've had large porgies inhale a 4/0 before. If porgies are around, I have snelled 2/0 gammie octos that I put on droppers that they will eat no problem.

Let's get out there and get them now!

Ryan

[Leif]

Thanks Gerry!!!:D

Leif

[frugalfisherman]

Biggest mistake I see people make is they get stuck, loose a rig and then they are 10-15 minutes rumaging through their tackle box trying to put a new one together while everyone else is catching fish. If you ling fish you will loose rigs so be ready. 1.0 hooks with small baits don't cut it. Are you looking to to catch 6 inch ling and bergals? What if a 15 pound cod decides to bite. 4.0 - 5.0 with the bait woven on tight. Make it tough for the bergals to steal bait before a ling grabs it.

[JMM727]

Another good choice for bait is ling belly cut into strips. Stays on the hook and at times will out fish any other bait day or night.

Cut off the belly of one or two of your first caught ling and cut into approximately 1/2 inch by 2 or 3 inch strips or ask a mate to show you how. You'll have enough bait forthe rest of your trip. Hook the strip through the tough skin once or twice. Give it a try!

[Ryan W]

I've never tried that one before- I might give it a go next time! Usually, i only go to another bait when bergalls are around, and then it's usually bergall strips. I think that clams are more than fine for most of the time. It does sound good if you need a tougher bait though- something harder for the bergalls to take off!

Thanks for the tip!

Frugal- 2/0's have always worked fine for me, but I have used 3/0's on occasion. I think that a 4/0 or 5/0 might be a bit big for ling (but I have had them inhale my 7/0 cod hook during the wintertime), but to each his own. I've never had problems with cod with my 2/0, but have also never tried pulling in a 15 lber.

[Leif]

Thanks to everyone for all the additional tips and information. Good comments and observations.

With regard to hook choice.....I have found you will catch more fish with 1/0 to 2/0 hooks overall. I think this is especially true when the ling are not that big, and when they are not as agressive in the winter.

I am not opposed to larger hooks and only used 4/0 hooks on our last trip on the Paramount. The ling were large and there were several cod caught, so in this case larger hooks were better.

I think the important thing is....as in any type of fishing is to be willing and able to adapt to the current situation be prepared to do so.

Not having the correct rigs, hooks, weight and equipment does not bode well for any type of fishing. Fumbling around for a rig during a hot bite as mentioned in one of the replys can only limit your catch.

Be prepared, adapt and most of all have fun!

Leif

[tropics]

Another good choice for bait is ling belly cut into strips. Stays on the hook and at times will out fish any other bait day or night.

Cut off the belly of one or two of your first caught ling and cut into approximately 1/2 inch by 2 or 3 inch strips or ask a mate to show you how. You'll have enough bait forthe rest of your trip. Hook the strip through the tough skin once or twice. Give it a try!

This is my bait of choice get a small ling an strip the belly.

[Ryan W]

I agree that the best thing to do is be ready to adapt. I have almost all of my rigs pre-tied, but if I run out, I can tie a new one right onto my topshot very quickly with just the supplies I keep in my pockets. Just tie up a surgeon's loop and two droppers, and you'll be good to go pretty fast :).

Last trip I was on, we had more of the "fun size" models, so 2/0's were better. If you had a 4/0, you wouldn't have had such a nice catch by the end of the day. Even the cod there were fine of the 2/0's (at least mine was- I had a 21 incher). I think that the 2/0 is a nice size for almost all bottom fish, even porgies. They have always been fine with me for almost all of my fishing.

Have those rigs ready!

Ryan

[Leif]

Proof is in da puddin. Let's see those ling pictures.

Leif

[Ryan W]

Here's one of mine. First one, fish are for my dad and I. My last trip I only had my cell phone and the guy i got to take the photos missed the whole pile of fish :(. There's also an old pic from the Jamaica II (I can post because he's a sponsor now :D ). The last pic is of a cod (yes, It's not a ling) that the old man caught on the Jamaica on a seabass trip (yes, not a ling trip per se, but we did get ling). It won the pool, so I deemed it worthy of posting. Enjoy!

[Ling Slinger]

A lot of great advice on here already. I always fish with a Belmar rig with an added dropper loop up high when fishing for ling and cod. I find it crucial to have a leadered hook below the sinker (Belmar rig--just like a single hook tog rig) for ling. About 10-12 inches long on 50# leader material and secured by a double overhand knot with the sinker. I then tie a dropper about 18" above the sinker primarily for cod and pollack (mostly in winter), but ling do come up that high to grab a bait. Cod also hit the bottom hooks a lot.

I like to use 4/0 and 5/0 gami baitholder hooks for several reasons. The biggest reason is if there are cod around. You need a sharp hook that will stay buttoned up in the rubber lips of a cod. You will roll a 10-15 lb. cod or pollack on an improper hook and it is not a good feeling, believe me. Also, the barbs on the shank keep the clam woven onto the hook much easier than a non-baitholder. Also these hooks are extremely sharp and definitely help in getting a good hookset. Another tip--Stay away from the 1/0-3/0 gami baitholders. They are very fragile and the points bend and break pretty easily on a good sized fish or on structure. Use at least a 4/0--these are good.
Me and my dad have fished for ling and cod a lot on his boat and we've been having a very good year. One trip at the end of June we had 8 keeper cod to 10# and a bunch of ling, short cod, and seabass just at the SR reef.

One of my favorite baits other than clam is small pieces of pout. The trick is to fillet the pout AND skin it too. The meat is tough enough to stay on the hook w/o the skin. This bait works extremely well when there are a lot of trash fish around (mostly in winter). Sometimes the ling don't even have a chance to hit a clam before a dog, pout, silver eel, or sea raven is on it already. You can avoid these fish by using a small strip of pout--maybe 2 inches long. Bergall strips also work too.

Hopefully these tips can help you put some more ling in the box.

Erik

[Ryan W]

Great tips there erik- I like the idea of a pout strip when the trash fish are thick. This weekend we had so many bergall strips that we didn't need the pout strips, but they look like they might work.

I did have a couple of 3/0 gami baitholders break on me over the weekend when using pliers to get them out of the pout (I even broke one with my bare hands). I do have some 4/0's that I'll try when larger ling are around, but if they are just smaller models, then I'll stick with my 2/0's to try to grab them too. I do think that the hooks on droppers work OK for me, but I'd love to try your rig. Can you explain further how to do the overhand knot with the sinker loop? I'm a little confused about that one.

As far as the higher dropper, I do find that ling do hit it. Sometimes wrecks have contour, and so the ling swim along the top shelf and then see the bait on the top hook as the sinker rests on the bottom, so they grab the top hook. I have also heard of where the ling were swimming like 5 feet off the bottom in schools and if you were on the bottom you weren't catching.


Great tips there to help put more ling in the box!

[Ling Slinger]

Great tips there erik- I like the idea of a pout strip when the trash fish are thick. This weekend we had so many bergall strips that we didn't need the pout strips, but they look like they might work.

I did have a couple of 3/0 gami baitholders break on me over the weekend when using pliers to get them out of the pout (I even broke one with my bare hands). I do have some 4/0's that I'll try when larger ling are around, but if they are just smaller models, then I'll stick with my 2/0's to try to grab them too. I do think that the hooks on droppers work OK for me, but I'd love to try your rig. Can you explain further how to do the overhand knot with the sinker loop? I'm a little confused about that one.

As far as the higher dropper, I do find that ling do hit it. Sometimes wrecks have contour, and so the ling swim along the top shelf and then see the bait on the top hook as the sinker rests on the bottom, so they grab the top hook. I have also heard of where the ling were swimming like 5 feet off the bottom in schools and if you were on the bottom you weren't catching.


Great tips there to help put more ling in the box!


Once you learn it, this rig is very easy to tie in a pinch. The first thing you need to do is to snell some hooks on 8-12 inch leaders with a perfection loop tied on the other end opposite from the snelled hook. Do this ahead of the trip--make however many you think you will need for the trip.

Once you have your leadered hooks, you are ready to tie the rig. Attach mono leader to braided line via swivel or topshot with uni to uni knot just like you would do with any other rig. This is your choice.
On the other end of the leader, tie a double overhand knot to create a loop for the sinker. Now put the sinker on the loop. Next, make a loop with your fingers in the doubled line just above the sinker. Now put the perfection loop of the snelled hook through the loop in your fingers followed by threading the hook through the perfection loop and pull tight. This will attach the hook to the main line. Now adjust the height of the perfection loop (sliding) and secure it by tying another double overhand knot with the sinker (over the top). This will keep the perfection loop secured to the main line. That's all. This is known as the Belmar rig. Now that your bottom hook is ready, you can now tie a dropper loop about 18" above the sinker and add your top hook. I know this is difficult to put into words, but hopefully this is clear.

Another rig I like to use is a double hook tandem rig. This is when there are 2 hooks on the bottom. I like to use this rig when there are only ling in a spot without any cod or seabass. It gives you a better chance by putting 2 baits in the strike zone. Everything is the same as far as rigging goes, except that you put 2 hooks on your leader material by snelling the first one (like normal) and then tying a dropper loop about 5 inches above the snell. You can now attach another hook onto that and then just tie the perfection loop on the other end and you will be good to go. Attach it to the main line in the same way you do with a Belmar rig.

I'm sure that your rig setup is fine as long as the dropper loop is very close to the sinker. I like the Belmar rig because I can tie it in about 30 seconds and it is strong. This is the rig I use for blackfishing too. You want to make sure that you have a hook that is on or near the bottom because that is where the majority of the ling are found.
Good luck.
Erik

[Ryan W]

I tied up a couple of those rigs. The directions were very good. I already knew the knots, so it was a pretty simple process to make them up. I've fished this rig before (It was tied for me by John chev of the voyager when I got stuck so many times I ran out of rigs), and it really doesn't tangle much at all, particularly when tied on stiff leader. That being said, I will give it a try, but plan on sticking with my droppers for now. I tie one RIGHT above the sinker (so that the hook hangs at sinker length or lower). I found that this setup tangles less and results in more fishing time. Plus, I can tie it in advance, so I can just snap on/snap off when I have to bust out of the bottom.

This rig might be the best option when blackfishing (I've never blackfished, so I don't know), but I still think that droppers work best for ling. I will give this a try if it seems to be out- catching my droppers though. I will put some snells in my tackle box though (I put them in pool noodle, which holds them quite well.)


I've cought many ling on my setup (usually high hook on most trips, so I actually like it better than the belmar rig). Mine routinely outfishes the belmar rig, but I think that there may be days where it will work better. It's still better to be able to tie different types of rigs so that you can adjust when conditions get nasty. Plus, I know a blackfish setup for when it's tog time :).

Thanks for the tips!

Ryan

[jmurr711]

using pout and ravens for bait wtf has this world come too:mad:

[Ling Slinger]

I tied up a couple of those rigs. The directions were very good. I already knew the knots, so it was a pretty simple process to make them up. I've fished this rig before (It was tied for me by John chev of the voyager when I got stuck so many times I ran out of rigs), and it really doesn't tangle much at all, particularly when tied on stiff leader. That being said, I will give it a try, but plan on sticking with my droppers for now. I tie one RIGHT above the sinker (so that the hook hangs at sinker length or lower). I found that this setup tangles less and results in more fishing time. Plus, I can tie it in advance, so I can just snap on/snap off when I have to bust out of the bottom.

This rig might be the best option when blackfishing (I've never blackfished, so I don't know), but I still think that droppers work best for ling. I will give this a try if it seems to be out- catching my droppers though. I will put some snells in my tackle box though (I put them in pool noodle, which holds them quite well.)


I've cought many ling on my setup (usually high hook on most trips, so I actually like it better than the belmar rig). Mine routinely outfishes the belmar rig, but I think that there may be days where it will work better. It's still better to be able to tie different types of rigs so that you can adjust when conditions get nasty. Plus, I know a blackfish setup for when it's tog time :).

Thanks for the tips!

Ryan


To each his own I guess. It is definitely good to know a variety of rigs for different situations though. I would strongly suggest using a belmar rig when there are lots of dogs around though, as they will hit any elevated bait off of the bottom, and a low hook resting on the bottom will give you the best chance of avoiding them and getting to the ling. Other than that, it probably doesn't make much of a difference.

However for blackfish, you would definitely want to use a rig where the hook is below the sinker lying on the bottom. The objective is to make your crab look as natural as possible resting on the bottom in the rocks/wreck. If your crab is elevated off the bottom, it will look unnatural and the tog won't hit it, unless they're suicidal. lol
Erik

[Ryan W]

I agree with the dogs. I have caught with the other (the hook does hang below the sinker with the droppers). I mean, we're not talking rocket science here- it's ling fishing. That being said, I have added the belmar rig to my arsenal and I have hooks now pre-snelled in my tackle box so that If I have to use it I can. Thanks for the directions on how to tie this thing up!

Catch 'em up!

Ryan

[Ling Slinger]

I agree with the dogs. I have caught with the other (the hook does hang below the sinker with the droppers). I mean, we're not talking rocket science here- it's ling fishing. That being said, I have added the belmar rig to my arsenal and I have hooks now pre-snelled in my tackle box so that If I have to use it I can. Thanks for the directions on how to tie this thing up!

Catch 'em up!

Ryan

No problem man. I'm glad I could help. Thanks for sharing your advice too and good luck the next time you go.

[tautog]

I tend to use 2/0 baitholders on a high-lo until the bite tapers off. Then if the spot isn't ultra-sticky, I use my flounder rig with #2 hooks on light line. I seem to catch some nice fish on this after the main bite has stopped, maybe the fish get spooky. As for hook size and cod, I just haven't seen enough large cod to worry about hook size. Biggest one I've seen since the winter was 8lbs and most are within 3" of the size limit. I have caught a few keepers on my #2 hooks and 15lb line with no problems.

[Detour66]

ling is a excellent bait for ling...catch a small one...cut it in strips and use it for bait...it works well!