Fishing for Lingcod and Rockfish for Season Opener
Here in on the inside water of Vancouver Island (Georgia Strait) our bottom fish season doesn’t open until May 1 (typically). It’s May 2, 2025 and I get out on my local waters in my trust Old Town PDL 120 with my favorite bottom lures to target some of my favorite eating fish – Lingcod! Here is the story of my day!
Good tides and wind to start the day off
The tides were great for this early morning of fishing. I was out on the water by 6:00am so near a high slack tide already following a low slack tide. Meaning the bait was moving around and the fish seemed to be too. The wind was near dead maybe 2 knots when I got out there. It picked up midmorning, but the start of the day couldn’t have been better.
This day was an absolute banger and it started as such too as my first drop I caught the largest fish of the day! I started fishing with a lure I had never used before, and it looks hilarious, it’s a 10″ Eel swim jig by Savage. The tail has some crazy action in the water, and I used that for the first drop and BAM! It got smoked. And as mentioned, I caught my keeper on the first drop.
Experimented with other lures and explored other areas
Since I had already bonked my keeper Lingcod, I figured I’d explore some more reefs and try some new lures. The day couldn’t have been better as I caught double digits of Lingcod, and a handful of Rockfish and Greenling.
When the wind pick up I spent some time on an island having a shore lunch and explored it a bit. Vancouver Island is so beautiful it’s an incredible place to live and visit. I never get tired of spending time out along the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
Lingcod attack my underwater Camera
I also got to fish with my CanFish Camera which caught some incredible underwater footage of Lingcod behaviour. That footage is in my video (bottom of article) on my YouTube channel. I get some of the bites and fights of the Lingcod, but the coolest thing was watching a pair of Lingcod defend their area together. I hooked both of them in one drop, one popped off and the other came up and smoked my Swim Jig, as I’m reeling it up the initial Lingcod comes up and attacks my CanFish camera two times! It’s wild to see.
Underwater Fishing Camera I use
If you want to learn more or get a 15% discount on this underwater camera, check out this link: CanFish CamX.
Catching Lingcod on Season Opener
This video is the story of the season opener in early May. I get into a bunch of Lingcod, showcase some fun new bottom lures and also get to see some really interesting Lingcod behaviour!
