Northwest Fishing Reports

so hears the deal I do a lot of lingcod fishing and lots of times I catch more than 1 rockfish which means I need to release anymore rockfish that I catch. if you don't already know rockfish caught in more than 60ft of water rarely survive because of their air bladder expands... I fish for lings between 80-500ft down. so what am I supposed to do after I catch one rockfish? cause I know the next one I catch I will have to throw back dead. I always try to let them shake the hook if i know that I have a rockfish and it works sometimes. I've also tried fishing with bigger jigs or whole greenling but this reduces you chances of catching a ling considerably because in order to not catch rockfish you must user a really big bait that only lings over 20lb will eat. in case your wondering rockfish and lingcod always live in the same places.

should i just not worry about it and throw back dead rockfish?

any Ideas?

do you guys ever have this happen?

big fish lite line wrote: I've also tried fishing with bigger jigs or whole greenling but this reduces you chances of catching a ling considerably because in order to not catch rockfish you must user a really big bait that only lings over 20lb will eat. in case your wondering rockfish and lingcod always live in the same places.

should i just not worry about it and throw back dead rockfish?

any Ideas?

do you guys ever have this happen?

Yes you should worry about throwing dead rockfish back. They grow/mature slowly so they are difficult to repopulate, hence why PS stocks are low.

Learn how to pop/deflate their air bladder. This helps immensely.

I think your statement regarding bigger jigs/greenling reducing the chances of catching a ling is false. Live bait (flounder) is a great way to catch lings (usually better then jigs) and big jigs also work great. Rockfish aren't usually too big, so its hard to hook into them with normal ling gear, whereas there is very little that is "too big" for a lingcod. I catch far more 15-24" lings on 3 oz curly tail jigs jigs than I do rockfish.

Learn how to pop/deflate their air bladder. This helps immensely.

isn't that were your poke there airblader with a needle?

Rockfish aren't usually too big, so its hard to hook into them with normal ling gear,

I caught a 20inch copper rockfish last time i went out. whats normal ling gear for you cause I was using a 10oz jig with an 8in curly tail.

I think your statement regarding bigger jigs/greenling reducing the chances of catching a ling is false

well I don't:bounce:

maybe I'll keep trying the large jigs and greenling

I heard that popping the air bladder is also a bad thing because then they no longer have one and they dont grow another one and it makes it hard for them to swim.
I would say the best way to avoid this is to fish with barbless hooks so the rockfish can shake off easier but that would also possibly make you lose the lings. Even with barbless hooks sometimes they would stay on in which case i guess you should just keep them.

you could always fish in shallower water.

kind of a tough question.

You will loose some Rockers chasing lings and what Blackmouth told you very very true all these guys slow= slower growers and any and all are a loss.

Many of you are too young thats good!:cheers:

Back in the day the real days I would hook so many (true Cod):chef: that I would burn up light gear and boy they ate swell they allowed the tribes and commercials to wipe them in truth in the entire interior of the Puget Sound and once they were like 100's of cord wood.

Bigger live baits and jigs will help some but rockers have Bass size mouths and a 15 incher will eat just about anything that won't eat or bite him.

I never have caught Rockers at 500 feet#-o in fact I never fish 500 feet /300 max for anything but most of my rockers were in the 45 to 90 feet stuff.

Sorry this was little help I had a custom Craftsman drill bed side this morning!!!:cyclopsan

Fish on!!!

PS= everything is barbless for years#-o and zero trebles as well:cyclopsan

With enough practice lite line (which it looks like you have ) you can tell a rockfish from a keeper ling in about 30sec-1min. Rockfish HIT HARD, then give way about 30 sec. in to the fight. Then, just take your time (after you realize you're not pulling up a keeper ling). I hate this problem too, but you can pull rockfish outta 150 ft+ if you TAKE YOUR TIME. I'm talking like 5 min or so (give/take depending on depth). Not only does this allow the rockfish to acclimate to the different pressure, it give it a longer chance to get off the hook. The key here though is to recognize a KEEPER ling and rockfish/small ling. It's not perfect, but even throwing a couple live rockfish back helps. If it doesn't make my reel sing, I just take my time (throw back small ling anyway, so who cares if it gets off). Just be a little more selective on the fish you "haul in" fast from deep water. As you know, there is no mistaking a 30in ling and a 13" rockfish. Now, a 20" rockie is huge (my best is 17) so that may be a problem. but you can't save them all, just some helps....

Oh, I have also tried sinking those babies back down after they get to the surface. If it is a small rockie with an expanded air bladder, just land it, re-hook it VERY lightly and drop that baby back to the bottom quickly. The air bladder should contract, and with a quick jerk, the fish will be set free... Could be confused for using rockfish for bait, but I'll take my chance the warden will understand.

big fish lite line wrote:

Learn how to pop/deflate their air bladder. This helps immensely.

isn't that were your poke there airblader with a needle?

Rockfish aren't usually too big, so its hard to hook into them with normal ling gear,

I caught a 20inch copper rockfish last time i went out. whats normal ling gear for you cause I was using a 10oz jig with an 8in curly tail.

A 20 inch rockfish is pretty rare around here....That's a very nice rockfish and very tasty too!

Normal ling gear are bigger jigs, live bait, pipe jigs, etc. I DO catch some rockfish, but only the biggest of em, and very few at that. But if I drop down a smaller jig or a buzz bomb or something like a 3 oz jig or smaller jig I start hooking into rockfish left and right...

thanks RWR those are some good Ideas. the Idea of hooking him and dropping him down again seems like it would work.

blackmouth: it appears that around my neck of the woods the rockfish are larger and more aggressive. your method of up sizing jigs probably works much better in your area.



last year I was fishing one of my faverate spots that go from 40-220ft and right as i dropped my jigg off a ledge I hooked into a nice fish and it fought like a ling so I didn't even think of trying to release it down there. anyways it ended up being a 22in quilback rockfish. I had kinda mixed feelings because it was a nice fish but I know it was older than me and probably was a major rockfish producer during breading season.

heres a totally unrelated pic
10lb line:cheers:

big fish lite line wrote: heres a totally unrelated pic
10lb line:cheers:

That's a very nice cabezon!

Very nice:-$

Blackmouth wrote:
Learn how to pop/deflate their air bladder. This helps immensely.

I think your statement regarding bigger jigs/greenling reducing the chances of catching a ling is false.

I don't think "popping" the air bladder is a successful method for releasing fish to live another day. Rather, I think it provides "out of sight, out of mind" mental comfort and makes people feel content, and less embarrassed, without 10 dead rockfish floating around their boat.

Also, "larger bait" doesn't always remedy the problem either. As stated the rockfish population is substantial and apparently aggressive here in area 7. I have only been out one time for lings in this area thus far and we probably hooked somewhere in the margin of 20 rockfish (quillbacks and coppers) and were using lures from 4-8oz. and either 8" grubs, or 8" tube jigs AND huge diamond jigs and still catching PLENTY of rock fish, and even a few greenling and sculpin.

I'm going to have to agree with RWR here about being able to tell the difference between a keeper/near keeper ling, and a rockfish. Most of the time rockfish are worth about 10 seconds of fight and then come up like a water-soaked sock. Slower retrieval and awareness of what you have on your line are probably the most suitable answers in this situation. Another good idea is to fish shallower water, although clearly this may not be ideal ling habitat

The good news is that simply by discussing this topic and acknowledging the fact that this IS an issue as a bottomfish enthusiast you have already taken steps to remedy the problem. Through awareness and activism you have taken a great first step into remedying the problem from an individual standpoint. By doing so, you also spurr the question in others' minds and followers of mindful practice are sure to surface.

It is a conundrum indeed.


Matt

Here's a couple of different ways to release deeply caught fish safely:

1)SWIM BLADDER RELIEF ("FIZZING")

Fish caught from deep water (generally greater than 18-20 feet) can suffer from over expansion of the swim bladder. Fish suffering from this condition cannot maintain a normal upright position. They cannot stay down in the livewell or recovery tank for long, and often float with their tails, heads or sides breaking the surface. A golf-ball-sized lump may appear on the side of the fish.

Inserting a 2-inch-long, 18-gauge hypodermic needle into the swim bladder can relieve the excess pressure. The needles can be obtained from farm and ranch or veterinary supply firms. Tournament officials must be trained and proficient with this technique so they can perform the procedure on fish brought to weigh-in. However, air bladder relief is best done as soon as the fish shows signs of distress. This means that anglers should also become proficient and comfortable with the technique so that the procedure can be performed in the boat. Courtesy of B.A.S.S.
Hold the bass underwater when "fizzing." A stream of bubbles will be seen escaping from the end of the needle when it has been inserted in the proper location.

If the bass appears bloated and can't upright itself, deflation may be required. To fizz the bass locate the swim bladder. The bladder is in line with the dorsal notch, below the lateral line and above the anal vent, approximately midway (see diagram). Hold the bass below the water's surgace. Slide the fizzing needle under a scale and at an upward angle. This will puncture the swim bladder.
Done correctly you will see air bubbles and hear a fizzing sound. When the bubbles subside, your fish is ready for release. To properly release, make several figure 8's. Hold the bass by the lip and below the surface. We don't recommend the push and pull method. Before using the fizzle needle again, rinse and check for clogs.

The location for needle insertion varies with fish size, but in general, draw an imaginary line between the notch in the dorsal fins . Draw another line from the tip of the pectoral fin to the fork in the tail.
Where these lines intersect, remove a scale or two and push the needle straight into the body cavity. Hold the fish underwater during the procedure so bubbles can be seen escaping from the needle.
Do not squeeze or press on the fish to force out more gas. When the bubbles stop, the fish should be able to right itself and swim normally. The larger the fish, the farther toward the head of the fish you need to insert the needle.
On fish over 5 pounds you may need to insert the needle within an inch of the tip of the pectoral fin.



I prefer the method described below: (((No surgery involved)))

2) THE RELEASE WEIGHT

This device essentially comprises of a weighted barb-less hook. The release weight can either be connected to an existing fishing rig via the clip or used on a rod and reel or hand-line specially set aside for releasing fish. The Release weight is attached through the lip of a fish to be released, lowered into the water and dropped back to the reef. It is then easily detached from the fish by a tug on the line when it reaches the bottom leaving it back at the depth it was captured. In many cases the fish recovers and gets off the barbless hook on the way down.

Here's a video link:

oXi6uduF7i0

That release hook is ingenious engineering! :cyclopsan

While deflating the bladder either by "fizzing" or returning to the fish to the depths will allow the fish to swim upright and return to the bottom the is another aspect to consider when rockfish (or even bass) air bladders become inflated.

The air bladder is a major body organ and is surrounded by tissues and other organs. Initially those tissue will constrain the bladder as it attempts to expand but eventually they fail and the bladder expands. When it does so there will be tearing of those surrounding tissues and a general squeezing of the other organs in the body cavity of the fish. The injuries from that expansion can themselves be mortal for the fish. So while "fizzing" may allow the fish to swim away it is not a guarantee that fish survived.

While "fizzing" the fish or returning it to the depths will increase its chances of survival there is likely enough mortality that it is to the resource's advantage that we avoid inflicting that damage to the bycatch. We can do that by not fishing areas with lots of deep water rockfish (for example fish in less than 50 or 60 feet of water), using fishing methods that minimize the by catch - there is little doubt that using larger lures or live bait will reduce the encounters with rockfish (especially the smaller fish. It also seems to me that the rockfish and ling cod bites are somewhat different with the lings typically engulfing the lure/bait. When fishing in more than 50 feet of water I do not set the hook on those lighter bites and only set on fish that I feel are lings. While I'm sure that I miss a ling or two (especially smaller ones) I do reduce the numbers of rockfish I catch which was my goal. Finally if you catch a rockfish get it unhooked and back in the water as quickly as possible; if you are not fishing too deep many will have the strength to return to the depths on their own (especially if the bladder has not yet fully expanded).

Tight lines
Curt

Follow D's advice. You can get an even cheaper (and some may have it already) method by using 4+oz leadhead jigs. Just debarb the hook, send him back where you found him, and give it a couple tugs.

Other options are weighted milk crates on downrigger cable (drives the fish to the bottom, he won't try to swim out on the fall) and weighted PVC pipe with perforations in it, though thats occasionally not effective.

E

I think you could modify a jig head by just tying the line to the bend in the hook rather than the eye and have something pretty much as effective as what D showed us there.

Also, the milk crate idea might work. I would say probably turn the crate upside-down for best results.

I have found a web site for purchacing the release weights....I do not have the ablity to make them. I will give the site to anyone that wants it..I just ordered 6 of the larger size...will follow up post to let you know when they get here.

Hey how bout you just sell me 1 of your 6 when you get them??? PM me if you're down.

Matt