Thrasher Rock

[frostyballs]

Went over to thrasher for the first time on Tuesday and managed to land a nice coho and had a couple other good hits. We fished around that green and white marker for a couple hours, and now want to also give bottom fishing ago . Ive been doing some research on bottomfishing in that area and can not find that many recent reports. What kind of area is best suited for lingcod fishing (not looking for specific spots)? Is it close to shore, or in deep water, near structure? As for tackle, I was reading that the big curly tail jigs work, as well as bait on a bottom rig, anything else that I should try? Are there any halibut in the area?
Thank you in advance,

 

[sly_karma]

Lings like a pile of rocks with nooks and niches to hide in so they can ambush prey. Cliffs that drop into the water usually continue below it, and there will be a pile of debris on the bottom that has fallen from above. That is a good place to start. Then look on your GPS for places where the contours ramp up to form underwater hilltops, especially small localised pinnacles. Those are generally a hot spot for bottom fish. Just be careful you're not in a closed area (RCA). A lot of the RCAs in the Strait of Georgia are located on these underwater hilltops and plateaus precisely because they are important breeding areas for ground fish. You can, however, fish along the boundary of an RCA and do quite well. The large mature fish tend to dominate the best spots, forcing the younger fish out to the edges of the area and potentially into the angler's reach. Guides at Port Renfrew use this principle almost every day, the area referred to as the Chicken Ranch is right along the edge of the Swiftsure Bank closure and delivers a seemingly endless stream of 15 lb hali to their eager guests.

 

[frostyballs]

Thanks alot sly. Next time im over at thrasher il definitely keep my eyes on the chart and looking for those hill tops!