Lings......How big is too big?
- Thread starter Mark L
- Start date
My opinion is, if its legal kill whatever you want. My experience says lings in the 8-20lb range are better food then the bigger ones. Science says basically any legal ling is a breeder ( over 65cm). The old " shoulda let that breeder go is ridiculous. In my area you are allowed to only kill a handful of lings a year and you must record them. If someone wants to kill a 40lber, have at er.. I believe killing one 60lber does alot less harm then killing six 10lbers.
tinboatrobb
Well-Known Member
I have to agree with Joe. Any thing over 20 lbs would be like eating your grandmother....And probably very wormy
sailfisher
Member
I figure that all fishers should be the first stewards in maintaining healthy fish stocks. It will certainly depend on the area you fish in, but if there is a relative scarcity of lingcod in your area you should certainly let the big ones go regardless of 'toughness' or 'worminess'. Sadly I think DFO tends to be reactionary and often doesn't realize there is a problem until too late. Just because you can kill it doesn't mean you should.
DFO reports that a 70 cm lingcod will produce 97 000 eggs compared with the 490 000 eggs from one that is 120 cm. Alaska Department of Fish and Game also reports that the number of eggs per mature female increases with size and age.
DFO reports that a 70 cm lingcod will produce 97 000 eggs compared with the 490 000 eggs from one that is 120 cm. Alaska Department of Fish and Game also reports that the number of eggs per mature female increases with size and age.
That right there is the key point - the bigger fish produce more eggs and thus more offspring. This is a case where it's not what one believes that matters but what science actually shows. Release the big legal ones, eat the smaller legal ones.
Peahead
Well-Known Member
There are derbies that for a Ling weighed in it is "closest to 15lbs without going over" . The reason for that is not because the fish has "worms" if larger. It is the fact of the EGGS produced as others have mentioned above. My understanding is that if you kill a Ling under 15lbs it could be a male or female and if a female it would produce less eggs than a larger one. Any Ling over about 35" ( 16-18lbs) will apparently most likely be a female so hence that 15lb derby max. It is every fishers choice/decision to keep a larger Ling or not (as long as its legally caught) but as far as sustainability goes I would think killing only up to a 35" would be good practice.
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TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Generally I release over 20 pounds myself. I posted a pic last week of a large Ling my girlfriend caught within a half hour of our first pit stop at one of my favorite Ling locations. There was a bit of a backlash as I expected when I posted the picture, but not too bad. My girlfriend has not done much bottom fishing. That was the largest fish she had ever caught, and she did not want to let it go. Experienced anglers don't feel the need to keep trophy fish later in life once they've caught there share. Anglers that are just starting out have a harder time releasing a big fish, when they haven't caught many. She wanted me to post the picture as she was so proud of herself for catching such a big fish. I never post pictures of fish, but I did it for her, and it made her feel great seeing herself with the big fish she caught posted on the forum.
The fish was deeply hooked, so I didn't waste much time trying to convince her to release it. The area it was from has a large population of lings harvesting one wouldn't impact the stocks there drastically. I went back the next morning and caught one far larger than the one she caught the night before. That one was released. After that I moved to other areas as I was looking for smaller eater size fish. I generally advocate for release of large bottom fish, but taking one now and then isn't that harmful if the area has good populations. It's really about knowing what is sustainable in the areas you fish. If you can easily pull up multiple big fish in no time, then obviously the stocks are healthy there. If you really have to work to get a ling, chances are that area has been pounded and stocks are not in good shape in that location I try to not take very many from any one location, and spread the harvesting around.
I generally only keep a few Ling during the season and release most. I have only kept one ling this season. All my others I have released, I generally only keep one or two at the end of the season for the freezer.
The fish was deeply hooked, so I didn't waste much time trying to convince her to release it. The area it was from has a large population of lings harvesting one wouldn't impact the stocks there drastically. I went back the next morning and caught one far larger than the one she caught the night before. That one was released. After that I moved to other areas as I was looking for smaller eater size fish. I generally advocate for release of large bottom fish, but taking one now and then isn't that harmful if the area has good populations. It's really about knowing what is sustainable in the areas you fish. If you can easily pull up multiple big fish in no time, then obviously the stocks are healthy there. If you really have to work to get a ling, chances are that area has been pounded and stocks are not in good shape in that location I try to not take very many from any one location, and spread the harvesting around.
I generally only keep a few Ling during the season and release most. I have only kept one ling this season. All my others I have released, I generally only keep one or two at the end of the season for the freezer.
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Clint r
Well-Known Member
Yeah sure. They say the same thing about halibut. But the commercial guys are under no such restriction. And they catch alot more fish than all of us sporties.
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True. However, as I said the guy that kills 6, 10 lbers does more harm then the guy that kills 1 40lber. The net result of the 6, 10 lbs is 6 less fish that could potentially grow up to and produce the same amount of eggs as the one 40 lber. If you kill all the smaller ones and leave just the big ones that is not sustainable IMO.
bottom feeder
Active Member
eating your grandmother- just just sounds wrong lol
fogged in
Well-Known Member
Every area of the coast is different and you can't generalize.
It is dangerous when fishermen target big Lings in small area's.
Do it because it's "legal" is a selfish attitude.
A lot of catching big Lings has to do how and where you fish.
Thrasher Rock off Nanaimo is a good example of a small area being fished hard for Lings.
Great if you can take a couple of 10 or 15 pound Lings, but please don't target the big Moma's
We all need to be aware how we enjoy this wonderful resource and an attitude of if it's legal "have at er" is not in the best interest of the fishery.
I'm not trying to start an argument, but how do you know what is in the best interest of the fishery? As far as I know there is not a MAX size limit on lings anywhere on the coast. I believe that to be the case because the biologists that have a say in these types of things, don't think killing big ones is detrimental to the fishery. Come to think of it, I cant think of a MAX size limit on any species of fish in Ocean in BC( I may be wrong but I don't personally know of any) other then halibut and we all know that regulation has nothing to do with sustainability. So I guess I ask, if killing these bigger "breeders" is so bad, how come there isn't a single regulation in entire fishery for any fish to protect them?
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
I think you will start to see maximums introduced more often in the future. There are upper slots in some areas on springs at various times of the year.
You guys do know, the more you mention an area on the Internet and tell guys to leave the big ones alone there, the more it draws guys to that area to target them. That is why I will not post bottom fishing locations on the Internet for ling.
That should read no max size of ground fish. I am aware that there are some slots put into place for springs from time to time which is almost comical because they are usually in very specific areas close to their spawning rivers, meaning these same fish are being killed there entire way down the coast
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Ling fishing has only started to come back on the inside of the Lower strait over about the last 7 years or so. Introduction of the larger minimum size than the west coast waters, and the RCA's have really helped turn around the lingcod stocks in the lower strait on the Island side. Unfortunately, most of the waters on the lower strait on the mainland side are completely closed to ling harvest. In Howe Sound it is illegal to even target them with catch and release. Not all areas are blessed with good abundance. I don't know if the mainland side will ever be reopened for harvest in my lifetime.
