I'm just back from a trip to Seward, Ak.

I was targeting big lingcod and caught one that will, if certified, become the new IGFA 16 pound test line record. The current record is 55 lbs. This hog was 62.7 lbs.

Six of us landed more than 100 lings between 30 and 50 pounds. Most were released. Seward has IMHO the best lingcod fishing in the world!

Wow, that thing is huge. I don't think I would get my face that close to that mouth. Must have some sore arms after that trip. Sounds like a lot of fun.

WOW! 100 hog lings for 6 of ya! You guys really put a hurting on that deepwater fishery.

Aren't you the Outdoor writer that is always preaching to save the gene pool and stuff? That fish won't eat well and it sure looks like a fat female.

Wow!
Who's holding who?
There's one to tell the grandkids about.

Pissingman:

Yes I do advocate the release of most big lingcod, as the ones over 25 pounds are all females. I have practiced what I preach for many years. I wonder how many have been saved by my efforts to let folks know about the value of releasing the big ones? We DID release almost all the fish we caught. That was in the original post. Did you choose that or just not bother to read the entire post?

The fish in the photo will absolutely be eaten. I had some for dinner tonight. It was excellent

Do you think that a fishery where six anglers hook up instantly every time they drop a line is in trouble, or are you perhaps a tiny bit jealous?

I knew when I posted this that someone would want to attack. Congratulations for being first.

Congratulations on the big fish. I am curious to know how long it took to bring this behemoth to the net or gaff on 16 # line?

Hopefully, the balance of the 100 that were released were caught on gear more "sporty" for the sake of the released fish.

Since this fish is obviously now dead, I hope you get your name in the record books.

Wow that sucker had to put up one heck of a fight. My biggest ling is 30lbs and it was a battle roy al. Yours dwarfs it. Congrats Dave.

Kris

Santiago: The fish took about ten minutes to bring to the net. (With slow steady preassure they come in fairly readliy, perhaps less stressfull than a huge yankfest on Spectra.)

Most of the guys on the boat were using 80 lb Spectra. I honestly do not believe that any of the fish we released were harmed in any way. Lingcod are extreamly tough fish, and unlike rockfish can be released even when caught in deep water. We got ours in water ranging from 145 to 190 feet deep. We uses Scampi Jigs.

One did lose its lunch however. My friend hooked what I beleive was the largest fish of the day. After about 30 seconds he came off, but there was still some weigh on the line. My friend reeled in a rockfsih that was partially digested. He apparently snatched it right out of the lingcods mouth.

Probably the most amazing thing we saw was a longcod that must have weighed 80 pounds, follwing a 40 pounder we had hooked.

Many of the fish we landed had fresh scars. Lingcod will often attmpt to eat fish larger than themselves. I would love to see what goes on down there.

Judging from how many we werer able to hook there must be an awful lot of them down there.

nice fish, mr vedder. i always wanted to catch a fish with a bigger beer belly than me

Mr. Vedder,

I have read many of your articles and have always respected your opinions and thoughts on fishing.

I am sorry to say but you have lost much credibility with your post and response to Phishingman. He posts a legitimate question to you and you respond (defensively) with an insult and your justification for killing the magnificent breeder Lingcod.

We all live by the decisions we make and suffer/reap the results karmically. I am an avid diver and have seen many Lings over 40 lbs. that I could have shot. I choose to not shoot these fish because I know there importance to the gene pool. I make it my practice to only shoot fish 15 lbs and under and only from the coast. I also preach this to fellow divers and fisherman.

I am sorry to make more of an issue of this then really needs be but it is not right to call someone else out and insult them, but not take the heat you deserve. Out of 100 Lings you could have chosen to harvest a smaller one. As a former flyfishing flyout guide in Alaska I also know about the many fine taxidermists that can make mounts of these fish without the need to harvest them.

We need all wild breeders period. Alaska, Idaho, Washington or Florida... Don't make a difference where they are or how "healthy" the fishery is, we need them all!

Again, I realize you have done much for spreading the word about C & R but the kettle is still black.

Ling

Dave, nice feeesh! Are you wearing chain mail on that arm?

And what is the deal with all the dogging on posts by people that haven't been here a week yet? Does anyone ever actually lurk on a forum to get a feel before posting anymore?

I have been lurking on this board for three years an read it avidly.

Ling

As one who has been dumped on before for catching bigger than other folks ever do, screw all the naysayers. Yeah, we should just stop fishing, caught fish feel pain, ya know. PETA says so, so it MUST BE TRUE. Nice fish.

Dave, I do think that fish has a bigger gut than you.

Dave, I was having my usual conversation with my boss after my "fishing weekend", I had mentioned that a friend of mine had done well on Ling's and had trouble getting at other bottom fish because they were so aggressive that day.....and he proceeded to tell me a story of a Ling he had caught way back when that pushed 70lbs. Now...he seems to be a very truthful person to me but i'm afraid to show him this picture and call him on his story....he told me that there were pictures of his fish and it took three guys to hoist it up on a hook. Wow...what a fish..... How is the quality of a fish that big??

Louis F.

Anyone care for some popcorn? Looks like we might be here awhile.

PS. Dave, I'd certainly understand if you don't have room after your ample ling cod dinner.

And not to digress from our genteel discussion at hand, but was the beast grilled with a burre butter sauce and lemon or poached in paper with bay shrimp and a lovely pouilly fuisse?

Signed,
Ling Envy

Well Vedder I certainly didn't attack you as you claim and your response says a lot about you.

I just happen to believe that you should pratice what you preach.

Are you having wild steelhead for dinner tomorrow?

Lots of butter, a little salt.

Oh yeah DV, nice fish too.

Ling Diver:

You have a point, but not a very strong one. I may have been a bit too defensive, but that was the direct result of an attack, which I felt was unwarranted.

The fact is that this fishery is extraordinarily healthy. One more fish would make absolutely zero difference. Almost every fish we hooked was a big female. We all wondered where the heck are the all the small males. Maybe these behemoths mamas ate them?

One time we drifted more than a mile and were still catching huge lings with every drop. There must be a staggering p[opulation of lingcod there.

Yes I could have released that fish and thus not had a chance at a record I have been chasing for more than 20 years.

I am proud of the catch and feel absolutely no guilt over killing her. I have voluntarily released many fish like her over the years. I would never kill a fish like that unless I was certain there were abundant numbers to replace her. I feel its okay to take one from a really healthy population. If you feel otherwise you should not kill one. It’s a choice we all need to make for ourselves.

The only way to assure no adverse effect would be a total closure, which to me makes no sense especially when the population is huge and a commercial season is allowed, as it is in Seward.

Dogfish beat me to it!

I was gonna say, "Who has the bigger belly?" :p

Congratulations on your tremendous catch Dave.
I think i'm smelling a bit of jealousy, but that popcorn sure does smell a whole lot better, can I have some popcorn too KingSalmon?

(on soapbox)
"Yes I could have released that fish and thus not had a chance at a record I have been chasing for more than 20 years."

This is BS. By this reasoning, it is fine to take a Wild Steelhead if may be a record, and it is legal to keep.
(off soapbox)

Any way, nice fish!

Jim: Add one more qualifier and I would agree with you. If they were so abundant that six of you you could catch one every time your lines hit the water for two solid days, over a ten mile area

I think the amazing abundance of the fish in that area is a factor that is valid to consider.

Mr. Vedder,

I appreciate your response and your honest candor on the topic.

You are right about just one fish. I think we have all made this decision at one time or another. I am just as guilty as the next guy.

I know the tremendous bounty Alaska has to offer, I have spent 11 years in the many different fisheries up there and find myself wondering why I don't live there. I can't help but wonder if way back Washington wasn't as good (hence the ardor behind the post.) You can't deny that keeping the big ones is how Washington got where it is today...

I guess I was put off by the two facets I have observed and I felt the need to express it. I know you are a sportsman and have the best interests of fish in mind. But we all have to make those decisions and as a writer you are held under closer scrutiny then your average bubba (slight underhanded jab at those who feel the need to disavow other peoples opinions.)

Congratulations on your catch, it truly is one for the memories. We can disgree, we are humans after all. If we don't have emotions on this matter then we will never succeed in preserving what we have left.

The internet will never take the place of decent conversation anyway.

Ling

PissingRookie- You can't compare keeping a huge lingasaurus to bonking a wild steelhead. The lings are in season. and the steelies you have to release, no choice about it. Dip-A$$!!

Anyways, Great fish Dave, congrats! These rookies must suffer from small worm syndrome!

Later

Elkman

How far out were you? We went a few weeks ago for hali but the seas kept the captain in the bay....not very many ling in the bay - none caught, no rockfish, only baby butts and lots of razor flounder, skate, and dogfish.

Last year we caught some mongo cod in Valdez...they sure tasted good, we ate 3 fish over 50 pounds, couldn't tell them from the halibut.

Any one of those fish he caught could have someday reproduced. What's the difference. This fish has put a lot back into the system already. You people are something else. Why do you even come out of your shell? Doesn't the bright light bother you?

The regulations allowed him to keep the fish. I think you all would have done the same exact thing. Especially if the skipper is telling you that you have a new record fish. You're nose is growing if you say otherwise.

Kris

Dave
Good job on the big ling. We went out to Afognak Island last year and got into some
monsters also we got 2 over 60lbs and 1 at 70
we were only in 80 ft of water what a blast!!
We went to the same spot the next day and we couldn't get through the big halibut to get the lings!! My friend got 3 back to back 150,137and 175 and they all out weighed him!! If you want any info on this trip let me know!! All I can say is Blue fox Bay is GREAT!!!

FTR, my post was not directed at you, Ling. It was another poster's two bit sarcasm that galled me. Sorry for the confusion.

Ling Diver is making it sound like every fish that he catches is thrown back. I bet he is one of the guys that goes to the indian res to by wild steelhead

Ling Diver:

Thanks for your polite and well reasoned response.

I think we are in general agreement, but I do want to get in my .02 regarding your belief that Washington's lingcod were wiped out, at least in part by folks taking one tropny.

While I suspect the sportsman has had some effect, I am dead certain the commercial lingcod fishermen were the primary cause of the decline. The numbers they took were so much bigger than the few we got there is no comparison.

When I was a kid, waaaay too many years ago, sport fishermen seldom tarjeted lingcod and seldom kept them. They were considered scrapfish and there was no glory in keeping one. My mom worked in a butcher shop where they sold it for .29 a pound.

Like so many other things, there is no one answer, but I beleive the commercials can take the vast bulk of blame for our lingcod collapse. Both for the ones they killed and because of the collapse of the rockfish which lings love to munch on.

The good news is they can come back fairly quickly if we give them a chance.

I completely agree on the commercial comments.

There is a picture from the Peninsula Gateway a few years back that shows what the Gig Harbor commercial rowers used to catch off Pt. Defiance/Salmon Beach.

They were BIG Lings and furthermore the article talks about their secret bait which was "trout." They used blackmouth and caught them first as bait.

As a former commercial fisherman I can attest to the gross misuse of the resources, thats why I don't head to Alaska anymore to work.

Whats up with the attacks with the stupid accusations? If your gonna slam someone do it intelligently, not by showing your ignorance.

And no I wouldn't let a captain talk me into keeping that Ling so don't speak for me.

Ling Diver

Check out the following link to the Alaska Fish and Game website on Lings.

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/fish/lingcod.php

Some interesting info here, does state that that lings mature at a 2-5 years (realtively fast compared to some rockfish and especially dogfish), and that fecundity does increase with size and age.

Also under management, it says "Management: Lingcod are highly susceptible to overfishing. In some areas along the Pacific Northwest coast (including Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and near Resurrection Bay) lingcod have been overharvested. Once overharvested, lingcod require long periods to recover."

I haven't been in Seward in a couple years, but it use to be a pretty good haul to get out of Resurrection Bay to the decent ling grounds.

Hey Dave V, did AF&G come down and check out the ling also? They'll do this on pigs over 60#...they take a tooth and a official length and weight and send you an Alaskan Cetrificate of Trophy fish. My wife has a couple of lings over 60#'s from Kodiak, and like a prior post said not far from Afognak in really shallow water. A blast catching them big bad girls, especially when they're "hitch hiking" on a 10#+ black bass!!!!

NIce fishey Dave If I still have some energy left by next Sunday (mandated day off), we'll be making one of our trips over to chase some of the toothy critters.

Corey's favorite place to fish ... never know for sure what you might find on the other end!

I think a few should take a chill pill ... either you do, or I'll make you

Gahooba! I've seen a few of those sized toads while scuba diving. I swear they look at you as "food" as you swim by!

Nice fish, Big D!

Nice fish Dave

We should go do one of them upper Sky trips soon here!!!

Woo Hoo!~

Nice fishy Dave! Must have been fun too, on 16 lb. mono..Yikes!

As far as the CnR stuff...open fishery, legal fish, you CnR'd dozens that day..no reason NOT to keep one for camp meat..

Mike

I'm going to have to support Dave on this one. Nice fish!

Thats a nice ling. Its just really sad it will never get a chance to reproduce. Record or no record I would have released it.

Nice fish Dave. Damn thing looks like it could swallow your head in one bite.
For all those giving him crap you need to follow Bob's advice and take a chill pill. I could see some of the feelings if that ling was caught by Dave out in the Sound and kept, but not where he was fishing. What's wrong with keeping a trophy fish from time to time if the resource will allow it. In this case it sounds like the resource is in fine shape.

I wonder if Bob is talking about some of the people with an opinion, or some of the people bashing the people with an opinion. Can't we all just get along.

Beautiful Ling Dave!!

And as usual PP shows it's support of it's members.....

What a dissapointment that some indiviuals can't..no let me rephrase that..WON"T be civil.

Dave, I hope your record turns out for you, way to go!!
Paul

Congratz Dave!! i don't knopw which is more impressive, the hog of a ling or 2 pages of replies in less than 24 hours! Everybody can say what they want about what they would have done in the same position, but it is fairly apparent that you were trying for a record (unless you have some sponsorship deal where you must use 16lb mono for all your fishing). If you were meat hooking chances are you would not be using 16lb mono.
All I can really say is next time, take me with you and I will be more than happy to help you catch fish and I will even tell people to Ki$$ my @#$ if they give you grief about keeping one little fishy.

This C&R thing really surprises me. Here's a guy that C&R's dozens of huge lings and then keeps one world record. You can be pretty sure there are more down there. I think most of us would do the same. For those that wouldn't, I sure you can appreciate some diversity of opinion and action.

I also support Dave taking that fish. It sounds like an extremly healthy population of lings. They released the majority of the larger lings and Dave chose to keep a record sized ling. I would have kept it also. If it was going to damage the population why is it legal to keep a fish of that size? I think there are a few people who have strong views and like to stir the pot. Why else would someone lurk that long and one of their first post is a criticism?

Comments like that make this such a special place.

Okay, there's one pill passed out. The permanent variety too