Lingcod fishing remains good out of Brookings, big rockfish also biting (May 6, 2015)

This year's lingcod fishing has been the best in recent memory out of the Port of Brookings Harbor. I've been fishing out of here since I was a little kid, and in over 30 years I haven't seen it this good. We have been getting limits almost daily since early March. It used to be you would go out and get a limit of rockfish and be happy with two to four lingcod brought to the boat. Now we are limiting out the whole boat (the Oregon limit is two lingcod per person per day at least 22 inches long) and releasing some small ones as well.
We normally get a few weeks of wide open lingcod fishing during the spawn each spring, but the hot fishing has continued for three months, and even in January and February we were getting them when the ocean was flat enough to fish. It doesn't show any sign of slowing down either.
Unlike some of the other charters out of Brookings, we specifically target lingcod, and it has been paying off. We use baits and lures with the sole intent of catching lings, and are fishing reefs where they are likely to be holding. Lingcod are extremely aggressive fish, and very territorial, and we take advantage of that to trick them into biting.
The quality of the rockfish (black rockfish, blue rockfish, canary rockfish and vermilion rockfish) also has improved in recent weeks. We are finding bigger fish and coming back with limits of them as well. Sometimes rockfish are referred to as black bass, sea bass, rock cod, snapper or black bombers. For them, we use light spinning rods, which makes the fight much more enjoyable.
The last week we've dealt with some extremely strong northwest winds, but we have still managed to find the lingcod close to the harbor and get limits. It looks like the ocean will be laying down beginning Thursday and with lighter winds in the morning we are hopeful of pushing north a little to fish some reefs that haven't been hit in a while.
Salmon season is open out of Brookings now, but the winds have kept us in close. Typically the kings are in deeper water early in the season, and it's been too rough to get that far out. They will move closer to shore as the baitfish push toward the beach. That will happen soon as the krill already is thick just outside of the harbor. The rockfish we are catching are stuffed with krill.
We have open seats throughout the month for both lingcod/rockfish trips, and salmon/bottom fishing combos.
Please call or email if you want to get in on the action. Visit www.brookingsfishing.com, (541) 813-1082 or (206) 388-8988 (my cell), or email wildriversfishing@yahoo.com.
- Capt. Andy Martin
Brookings Fishing and Wild Rivers Fishing
www.brookingsfishing.comn
www.wildriversfishing.com
(541) 813-1082
(206) 388-8988 cell

Here are a few photos from our last trip.

Mike with a nice lingcod caught just outside of the jetties at the Port of Brookings Harbor on May 4.

Terry with a beautiful green-colored lingcod.

A nice tote full of lingcod and rockfish makes for some great Fish and Chips!

Mike, Mike, Don and Terry with some of the lingcod we caught May 4. We also released several smaller ones. The limit in Oregon is two lingcod a day at least 22 inches long.

We have been finding a very nice grade of black rockfish, also known as sea bass, black snapper, rock cod or black bombers. These fish have a nice firm, white fillet that is excellent for deep frying or for fish tacos.

A very nice catch of lingcod.

Limits of lingcod, rockfish out of Brookings (4-28-2015)

The lingcod and rockfish action out of the Port of Brookings Harbor on the Southern Oregon Coast remains very good. We took advantage of the very calm seas on Sunday and Monday to take customers offshore, and returned to the docks with full limits of lingcod and rockfish. Along with the usual assortment of black and blue rockfish (which are also known as sea bass, black snapper, rock cod or black bass) we got into some nice canary and vermilion  rockfish (which many refer to as red snapper). The lingcod fishing has been especially good, with quick limits of quality fish. Yesterday, we kept 10 lings and released at least half a dozen after limiting out. Customers who fish with me are well aware of the technique we use to catch lings, and how effective it is.

After a couple days of especially good weather, with light winds and swells down to 3 feet, we are going to have bigger swells for a few days, combined with those strong afternoon northwest winds. It looks like the ocean may lay down again this weekend.

The ocean salmon season out of Brookings opens on Friday. We are seeing a lot of bait, and the pelicans are already here, diving on bait balls. We are expecting a good salmon season, and although the peak is always late June and all of July, we could see good numbers of nice kings early on.
We have room on our rockfish/lingcod, salmon and combo salmon/bottom fishing charters throughout the season. Call (541) 813-1082 or visit www.brookingsfishing.com or www.wildriversfishing.com to book your trips.
Below are a few photos from the last couple of days.
- Capt. Andy Martin
Brookings Fishing
www.brookingsfishing.com

A tote full of lingcod.

Sunday's group with limits of lingcod.

We are getting a good grade of black rockfish. These are the same fish that sometimes are referred to as rock cod, sea bass, black snapper or black bass. They are very good for fish and chips, or fish tacos.

Shane with a keeper lingcod.

Liz with a nice lingcod.

Glenn with a very nice vermilion rockfish caught April 27 out of Brookings.

Another limit of lingcod with www.brookingsfishing.com out of the Port of Brookings Harbor on the Southern Oregon coast.

Lots of good eating here.

Lingcod fishing heats up again (4-14-2015)

As the ocean conditions out of the Port of Brookings Harbor improved last week, so did the lingcod and rockfish action. We were back to catching limits of lingcod and rockfish last Wednesday through Friday before a big swell and strong winds returned over the weekend.
On Friday, I had six anglers, and we kept 12 lingcod and 42 rockfish, while also releasing several lingcod. We also limited on lingcod on Wednesday and Thursday, getting eight each day with four anglers.
Some of the lingcod have been in the 20-pound range.
The ocean salmon season opens in May, and with the abundance of bait off the Southern Oregon Coast, we could have some great early season action. The lingcod we caught last week hadn't spawned yet, so it looks like a fresh group of fish have moved into shallow water, a great sign for fishing the rest of April and into May.
On another note, there are quote a few charters to choose from right now out of Brookings, both the smaller boats with six passengers or less, and the bigger boats that fish up to 20 people. There are a few things that makes Brookings Fishing and Wild Rivers Fishing unique. I am one of the very few charter captains and fishing guides who actually grew up in Brookings and have strong local ties. I've been fishing the waters off of Brookings my whole life, and that experience comes in handy when we face rough water, slow bites, or heavy fishing pressure. I also specialize in smaller groups, so you can focus on quality limits of fish - especially lingcod and when in season, king salmon. It's hard to troll for salmon with 15 people on the boat, and I usually fish groups between four and six anglers.
I also love what I do (taking people fishing) and have top-quality gear. That's not always the case with charter boats in Brookings.
Here are some photos from last week's trips. We also did a whale watching trip for a family from Reno, and saw lots of whales and sea lions.
- Capt. Andy Martin
BrookingsFishing.com and wildriversfishing.com