Looking for ling cod on Prince William Sound

September 03, 2009|by John Carpenter

It was a successful day on the waters of Prince William Sound. (Eric Sowl/KTUU-DT)

WHITTIER, Alaska — Our summer fishing reports are fast coming to an end. Over the course of the season we've caught a lot of fish: king salmon, silver salmon, red salmon, pike and halibut.

So this week we headed out to Whittier and Prince William Sound for a species of fish we definitely don't want to leave off our list.

An hour south of Anchorage, Whittier is a gate to Prince William Sound. Mother Nature rarely disappoints here, displaying her handiwork for those of us lucky enough to find ourselves in her backyard.

The beauty on this day is a bonus. We're here with Jody Mason of Alaskan Four Star Charters looking for ling cod.

Jigging is our method du jour -- a monotonous task broken up by a sighting of humpback whales.

The whale watching distracts us momentarily from our task at hand -- at least it does until the fish start biting.

For a while we catch black bass and yellow eye -- big yellow eye -- before finally hooking into the species we came looking for.

To be legal a ling cod must be at least 36 inches. Having no luck of my own, I switch to a jig I brought with me and minutes later I hook into a ling.

Jody helps out by picking up the camera and shooting while photographer Eric Sowl and I are busy reeling in a pair of lings.

Jody quickly puts down the camera and picks up the gaff. By the time Eric is behind the lens again his fish -- a really big ling cod -- is safely in the boat.

The fish keep biting and we keep bringing them in. The daily bag limit for ling cod is two a day and it's not long before I hook into my second keeper.

And so the day goes. By the time we're done the fish box bears witness to another good day on the waters of Prince William Sound.

Contact John Carpenter at jcarpenter@ktuu.com

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