You can easily find lingcod in Newport, Oregon. They’re aggressive hunters and ambush predators, and they love cold water reefs. They’re not gigantic like other game fish, so they’re perfect for new or inexperienced fishing enthusiasts. 

Catching Lingcod in Newport, Oregon

Lingcod features an elongated body paired with a huge mouth that’s packed with canine-like teeth. They’re generally brown, mottled gray, green, or blue in color. 

In Oregon, you’ll find lingcod averaging at around 2 to 3 feet in length and 10 to 35 pounds in weight, but they reach up to 5 feet in length on other places. Additionally, you should note that a lingcod is neither a ling nor a cod. 

This fish loves cold water reefs and places where they can ambush prey, so you’ll see it in rocky places. However, note that lingcod doesn’t like socializing, so you should expect to see a lingcod or two but not a group. They don’t like socializing so much that they even eat each other.

Best Lingcod Fishing Spots in Newport

You can catch lingcod nearshore and offshore, but the best spot for lingcod fishing should be somewhere around 350 feet. You’ll spot them alongside tuna, rockfish, and halibut. 

They prefer areas with plenty of complex formations, such as rock piles, jetties, sea mouths, reefs, and places with hard bottom structures. You’ll have great luck in finding them if you look around dark areas that potentially camouflage lingcod or places with heavy currents. 

Heavy currents provide lingcod with plenty of food, so it’s quite popular to them. Moreover, note that lingcod can’t regulate their depth since they don’t possess any swim bladders. This propels them to avoid swimming and lie on the bottom of the water bed instead.

If you’re after adult lingcod, check out inshore spots and rocks. Meanwhile, if you want to see young lingcod, go after muddy bay bottoms, inshore spots, or sandy areas.

Best Baits for Lingcod in Newport

Lingcod love live bait, and a greenling or a sand dab makes their day. However, you can use any other live bait or artificial lures, too.

Common Techniques for Lingcod Fishing

Catching lingcod in Newport requires you to utilize deep sea fishing, jigging, or bottom fishing techniques. You may also bounce baits on the ocean’s bottom with 5/0 or 6/0 hooks.

Lingcod Season in Newport, Oregon

Lingcod doesn’t have a closed season in Oregon. They’re quite abundant, so you can find them on the coast at any time of the year. 

Lingcod Fishing Regulations in Oregon

You’re limited to bagging 2 fish with a minimum length of 22 inches when catching lingcod in Newport, Oregon.

Cooking Newport Lingcod

Lingcod looks unappetizing, but they taste quite the opposite. Their flesh are mild and firm yet tender. You’ll also notice they give off huge moist flakes. You’ll see that their flesh possesses a blue-green tint as well, but you’ll realize that it turns white once the fish cooks completely. 

You can cook lingcod in a variety of ways. They’re often used in creating fish and chips, but they can also be stuffed and baked, turned to steaks, boiled, broiled, steamed, sautéed, or grilled. Note that you may need to cook lingcod longer than other fish due to its flesh’s density.

If you’re looking for a tasty recipe involving lingcod, check out Pastime Fishing’s lingcod with creamy pesto sauce recipe. You can also visit Seafood Source to see the nutrients a lingcod offers.

Hiring a Fishing Charter for Lingcod Fishing

You might want to hire a fishing charter when catching lingcod in Newport, Oregon. Fishing charters make everything easy for you to the point that all you’ll worry about on your fishing trip is how to dress.

They’ll lend you the best fishing gear alongside an experienced captain and a local guide. Sometimes, they’ll provide their own fishing license, too, so you don’t have to obtain one for yourself.

Other Fish You Can Catch in Newport

Besides lingcod, you can catch Dungeness crab, salmon, halibut, cabezon, and sea bass in Newport, Oregon, too. These sea creatures are abundant within the coast, so with the proper set of gears and skills, you should harvest excellent results in no time.

Dungeness crabs typically reach 4 to 6 inches in length. Meanwhile, coho salmon reaches 2 to 6 pounds in Newport, and Chinook salmon averages at 10 to 50 pounds. Newport bass and cabezon weigh 4 to 20 pounds. 

Lingcod aren’t as big as most game fish, so they’re not really considered to be one. However, they’re good seafood and perfect for beginner anglers. They weigh 10 to 35 pounds on average in Newport, and you can spot them in deep waters. 

Coho salmon and Chinook salmon taste similar, but their textures differ from each other. Chinook salmon features a firmer meat compared to Coho salmon. Additionally, Chinook salmon is bigger than Coho salmon and typically boasts large spots.

On the other hand, lingcod tastes similar to lobster. Its unappealing appearance surprises you once you eat it. Bass tastes slightly watery and fishy, while cabezon tastes like a regular rockfish. However, know that a cabezon’s eggs contain poison.