So a plug cut sablefish at about 1000' on a downrigger oughta get you into the big one's. How fast is the troll speed?

So, what do you use for gear? 2000 lb Power Pro?

I have heard stories of Neah Bay longliners having halibut eat the Blackcod (sablefish) off the hooks. And occasionally catching BIG halis on the circle hook with the blackcod still affixed to it.
Maybe this is just another fishing story, but who knows what you could get to bite with a whole sablefish for bait out there at those depths.
Hmmm.........?

Many years ago (ran a CG 40 footer off Smith Island) we'd be 'putting around in circles doing your basic 'nothing ....' except waiting for someone to do something (usually quite) stupid.

Anyway, just south of Cattle Point (Orcas/San Juan Island?) there's a sea mount that came up. In the fall this is where the MONSTOR ling cod would come to spawn.

So down would go the herring and a couple oz. of lead ... dangle, dangle PuLL and you'd have about a 4-5# rock fish of some kind on the hook .....

NOW you had 'bait for the big boys.' Rod would just bend double like you'd hooked the bottom .... except it was moving off in another direction.

When you got the fish to the top you had to be very quick with a huge landing net as you had NO hook in the big guy. Ling would clamp down on the smaller (thrashing about) rock fish thinking 'easy lunch.' When you got them to the top ... the 'easy lunch' would be released ... but it you were ready with the net ..tooooo late buster!

We'd take enough fld. meat to fill a colman cooler in under an hour.

Cool Story Fred. Thanks for sharing that!

Fred; I am NOT trying to flame you. I once would have done what you did and what you did was very likely 100% legal. But. . Those big spawning females should be released. Their egg production is what keeps the species going. Where you were fishing was once a super lingcod fishery. Not so anymore, and I believe this is one instance where the sport fishers wiped out the resource.

Its a darn good thing this isn't happening in washington waters... the WDFW would have the ESA impact to the whales raised to allow maximum commercial harvest...

Hmmm, I always wanted to fish that mount but never took the time to try it. Will have to chew on that one come the opener. Course the long liners probably already got it cleaned out anyways.