what is your choice for leader material to use fishing for lingcod? do you go with mono? braid? wire? heavy or light pound test? ive got the spot and have the jigs, im wondering what would be the best choice to use for a leader.

I just tie my Ling Cod jigs(darts) on to my mainline...30 to 65 pound braid depending on where I'm fishing.

I use six feet of 40# Ultragreen with a small swivel to my braid. The mono is more abrasion resistant and stiffer than braids; prevents wrapping over the main line. When you are fishing deep you want to stay down as long as possible.
Good luck!

25 to 30lb test mono. 50lb Lingcod IGFA record was on 10lb test!
Spreader bar with a 5 to 6 foot 20lb test dropper to your lead. Use GOOD swivels!
4/0-5/0 hooks (lazer sharp's) on a slip leader, using 10 inch frozen herring and.... HOLD ON!!!!!

Oh yea, I use 60lb Tuff Line on my Penn 320 and 330 GTI reels mounted on a 5ft, Kunan "Hot Rail" tuna stick!

G-Man, I see you use a spreader bar, maybe you can educate me? what is its purpose? I as well as over 100 guides I know in Alaska don't use them, come to think of it, I don't ever remember ever seeing them being sold in tackle shops up there. I have only seen these things here in Wa. but have never known anyone here to use them either, please fill me in, enquiring minds want to know. Thanks.

hey stifler 15 lb test is adequete line for sport for lingcod, I use 10 with a shock tippet connect to a ball bearing swivel then a heavy leader. I have got them to 40 lbs in puget sound on 15 lb test. live piling perch are a good bait for them or a treble hook in the tail of a flounder can really intice them.I dont use greenling because I like to catch them by themselves. Rockfish are real spiny never had much luck compared to perch and flounder for trophy lings. Ben

Hey Stifler -

Need a partner to man the net?

If you're using jigs straight 15# will suffice and is plenty sporting. With bait, I'll use minimum 20# ultragreen leaders, 30# is even better.

AK, I use spreader bars for both lings and halibut, make them myself out of galvenized high tensile fence wire left over from fencing projects here on the ranch, so they are basically free. What this does for me is allow me to spool the line to the bottom at high speed, keeping the bait away from dogfish and small rockfish, without tangling the leader on the mainline. Speeds up the fishing and ensures that you are always fishing effectively. Can't imagine fishing a big bait in deep water without them - I'd go nuts worrying about whether I tangled the gear up on the way down. Guess the fishing is so good up in Alaska that the edge this setup gives you must not be necessary, but down here you want to be damn sure your bait is fishig effectively all the time.

Oh yeah, a tippet of 40 pound Berkley big game for the big toothy fish, with a chunk of 20 pound between the tippet and the spreader for when I hang things up. 20 on my lead line too. 50 pound Power Pro on my mainline - love that small diameter (12 pound) - cuts about a pound off my lead in deep water

I went up up british columbia for 2 weeks in 97 and went on a guided trip for the first 2 days and they had no idea what it was but I showed them how to make them and they said there gonna start using them for halibut. Ben