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]

Originally Posted by snapperbluefish101

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

[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!

[Leif]

Thanks Gerry!!!

Leif

[italianfisherman]

Originally Posted by 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

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!

[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

[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!