Reef & bottom · Saltwater
Lingcod
Ophiodon elongatus
Northeastern Pacific groundfish native from the Gulf of Alaska/Aleutian region south to northern Baja California; a greenling (family Hexagrammidae), not a true cod despite the common name.
- Nearshore
- Offshore
- Regulated context
- 4 of 4 overlays reviewed
- Reviewed 2026-08-27
Before you target this fish
Regulated context — check the rules for the exact water
Where this applies California; Oregon; Washington; Alaska; British Columbia (Canada)
The reviewed context, unedited
Federal West Coast groundfish species managed jointly by the Pacific Fishery Management Council/NOAA Fisheries and the coastal states (CDFW, ODFW, WDFW), with ADF&G managing Alaska waters and DFO managing Canadian waters. Regulations combine latitude-based management areas, depth-based seasonal closures (Rockfish/Groundfish Conservation Areas), and minimum size and bag limits that are reset at least annually and can change in-season. Some areas add winter closures specifically to protect nest-guarding males. California requires anglers fishing for federal groundfish to carry a descending device aboard the vessel. Verify the current-year season, depth boundary, minimum size and bag limit for the specific state and management area before fishing.
Rules for this fish change at a state line and sometimes inside one. Check the ones that apply to the exact water you are standing on before you act on anything here — this record is biology, not permission.
Take this somewhere
This page is the record. The reading is what happens when you add water, a season and a temperature to it — that is where the families below get ranked against each other instead of just listed.
Those three links carry the fish and nothing else. No conditions were declared on this page, so none travel, and the link says so rather than sending an empty reading.
The half nobody publishes
What this record does not know
Everything else on this page comes from a named agency or peer-reviewed source. This is the other side of that: the questions a reviewer went looking for an answer to and came back without, and the fields the record leaves empty because filling them would mean guessing.
It is here rather than at the bottom because a page that only shows what it knows is easy to read as a page that knows everything. For Lingcod there are 12 of them.
Named by a reviewer
9Somebody looked for this and wrote down that they did not find it.
- Behaviour
Diel activity pattern not documented in the sources reviewed.
Current-facing and flow-response behavior not documented.
Cold-front / pressure response not documented — omitted per the brief's primary-source requirement.
- Identification
No regional nickname list confirmed against an acceptable source — left empty rather than guessed.
No sourced degF thermal preference or tolerance range found for lingcod; only depth-associated habitat is documented.
- Forage
Month-by-month or seasonal diet emphasis not documented in the sources reviewed.
Regional forage-substitution differences (e.g. Alaska vs. California) not documented.
- Season
Late-summer and late-fall entries omitted — no distinct seasonal signal documented for those windows beyond the general summer/fall pattern already captured.
Population- or region-specific calendar variation (e.g. Alaska vs. California timing) not documented at this level of detail.
Absent from the record
3No reviewer wrote a gap here. The field is simply empty, which is its own answer.
- Water temperature
No agency or peer-reviewed temperature band for Lingcod was found that a review would accept. The reading runs without one rather than borrowing a number from a related fish.
- Identification
No reviewed image. A photograph is only in this catalog when an agency or a named creator labelled the subject, and nobody has cleared one for this species yet.
- Population context
No regional population profile is registered. The species-level reading stands on its own; it does not silently become a local one.
Where the record puts it
Water and range
Nearshore
5 reviewed holding classes- Nearshore reef
- Kelp edge
- Rock pile
- Artificial reef
- Wreck
Offshore
3 reviewed holding classes- Offshore ledge
- Deep wreck
- Canyon edge
DepthOccurs from the intertidal to roughly 1,300 ft, but the bulk of the population sits on rocky bottom in the 30-330 ft band. Juveniles settle shallower over sand/eelgrass/kelp before shifting onto reef structure as they grow, and adults show strong site fidelity to a home reef (most tagged recaptures within a few miles of release).
Moving waterBottom-oriented ambush predator with no swim bladder; holds tight to rock structure rather than working current lines or tide seams, though moving water concentrates the small fish, squid and crab it ambushes from cover.
LightNot documented in the agency sources reviewed for this record.
Thermal band
Temperature
No reviewed temperature band
Nobody publishes a preferred or active temperature range for Lingcod that a review would accept. Borrowing one from a related fish would look like knowledge and behave like a guess, so the reading runs without it and says which parts of the answer that weakens.
How it uses water
Behaviour
Tagging studies cited by CDFW and DFO show the large majority of mature lingcod recaptured within a few miles of their original tagging location — a sedentary, reef-holding species rather than a roaming or schooling one.
Described by every agency source reviewed as a voracious, aggressive predator that ambushes prey from bottom structure and takes almost anything it can fit in its mouth, including smaller lingcod (NOAA Fisheries, DFO).
Diel (day/night) feeding activity is not clearly documented in the agency sources reviewed for this record; see gaps.
Seasonal activityFall migration onto nearshore rocky spawning habitat, followed by winter/early-spring nest-guarding by males, is the dominant seasonal signal. This is conservation context, not a targeting cue (ADFG, DFO, NOAA Fisheries).
Depth movementAdults range from the intertidal to about 1,300 ft, concentrated in the 30-330 ft band; juveniles settle shallower over sand/eelgrass/kelp bottom before moving onto deeper rocky reef structure as they grow (ADFG, NOAA Fisheries, CDFW).
CoverHolds tight to rocky reef structure, and to kelp and eelgrass beds as juveniles (ADFG, NOAA Fisheries, DFO).
Open waterLacks a swim bladder and is consistently described as bottom-associated; open-water/pelagic use is not documented in the sources reviewed.
Predator avoidanceAdult lingcod have few natural predators beyond marine mammals such as sea lions and harbor seals (DFO).
TerritoryTerritorial specifically around the nest: males claim and aggressively defend a crevice nest site for roughly 8-11 weeks (ADFG, DFO, NOAA Fisheries). Outside spawning, the species shows site fidelity rather than active territorial defense of a feeding station.
Spawning (conservation context)Migrates onto nearshore rocky spawning habitat beginning in fall; peak spawning runs early December through mid-March. Males establish and guard nest sites in rock crevices for 5-11 weeks until eggs hatch (hatching March-June); females deposit up to roughly 490,000 eggs and leave the nest site after spawning. This is conservation context only — nest sites and any pre-spawn staging habitat are excluded from target guidance (ADFG, DFO, NOAA Fisheries).
Where the general rule stops
- Do not treat a concentration of nest-guarding males in late winter as a location to target. This reading does not include coordinates, and we never give them.
- Lingcod lack a swim bladder, so barotrauma differs from rockfish, but California's descending-device carry requirement still applies when targeting federal groundfish generally — verify current rules.
What it can eat
Forage
- Small forage fish
- Larger prey fish
- Squid / cephalopods
- Mollusks
- Crustaceans
- Zooplankton
Adults are aggressive, opportunistic predators. CDFW reports that fish make up about 80% (by volume) of stomach contents in larger individuals, with squid, octopus and crab filling out the diet; juvenile rockfish are an important prey item in California waters, and cannibalism on smaller lingcod is documented (NOAA Fisheries, CDFW, DFO). Diet capacity is not evidence of a current bait event.
- Feeding style
- Opportunistic
- Feeding zone
- Mixed
By life stage
- Young of year
- Pelagic larvae (roughly 3 months, early March to early June) feed on copepods and other zooplankton (NOAA Fisheries, ADFG).
- Juvenile
- Shifts to small fish, including herring, as juveniles settle onto nearshore bottom (ADFG, NOAA Fisheries).
- Adult
- Largely piscivorous — bottom-dwelling fish (about 80% of stomach volume by CDFW's estimate for larger fish), squid, octopus, crab, juvenile rockfish, and other lingcod (NOAA Fisheries, CDFW, DFO).
Prey sizePrey size and type track gape as fish grow, from copepods (larvae) to small fish (juveniles) to larger fish, cephalopods and crustaceans (adults) (NOAA Fisheries, ADFG).
Ontogenetic shiftZooplanktivorous larvae, to juvenile piscivore on small fish, to adult generalist predator on fish, cephalopods and crustaceans — including cannibalism (NOAA Fisheries, ADFG, CDFW, DFO).
Diet capacity is not proof that a particular prey event is occurring at a given time. Observed current forage still comes from a user observation or Hatch Match.
Through the year
Season
Fall
- Where they sit
- Nearshore rocky reef, as fish begin migrating onto spawning habitat.
What that changesBottom-contact and structure-vertical presentations worked tight to reef structure remain the reviewed nearshore families.
What would count against it
- treating fall staging behavior as a location to target
Pre-spawn migration onto nearshore rocky habitat begins in fall; this is conservation context, not a location cue (ADFG, DFO).
Winter
- Where they sit
- Nearshore rocky reef and crevice structure, where males guard nests.
What that changesWhere a season is open, bottom-contact and vertical-jig presentations on rocky structure remain the reviewed families; check season and depth closures first.
What would count against it
- fishing over an active nest site
- assuming a winter season is open without checking current closures
Peak spawning runs early December through mid-March; males guard nests in crevices for 5-11 weeks. Some management areas add winter closures specifically to protect nest-guarding males (DFO, ADFG).
Early spring
- Where they sit
- Nearshore rocky reef as the nest-guarding period ends and eggs finish hatching.
What that changesBottom-contact, structure-vertical and vertical-jig on nearshore reef.
What would count against it
- treating late-hatching nest sites as holding water for adults
Hatching continues into early spring (through roughly June); larvae go pelagic. This is conservation context, not a targeting cue (ADFG, NOAA Fisheries).
Summer
- Where they sit
- General reef-holding on nearshore rocky structure and kelp/eelgrass edges, plus deeper shelf structure offshore.
- Depth
- Adults spread across the core 30-330 ft band, with individuals documented from the intertidal to over 1,000 ft (ADFG, CDFW).
What that changesBottom-contact, structure-vertical and vertical-jig nearshore; vertical-jig and deep-drop offshore.
Spawning · Winter, Early spring
Fish move onto nearshore rocky spawning habitat beginning in fall; peak spawning is early December through mid-March. Males establish and aggressively guard nest sites in rock crevices for roughly 5-11 weeks until eggs hatch (hatching runs March-June); females leave after spawning. This is conservation context only — nest and staging habitat are excluded from target guidance.
Recorded as conservation context. No spawning site, staging concentration or migration bottleneck is named anywhere in this catalog, because naming one is how a population gets fished out.
Telling it apart
Identification
What to look at
- A big mouth armed with about 18 large, sharp, canine-like teeth (ADFG, NOAA Fisheries).
- A single long dorsal fin, rather than the separated spiny/soft dorsal fins typical of true cods (DFO, ADFG).
- Scales cover the body but not the head (DFO).
- Despite the common name, lingcod is a greenling (family Hexagrammidae), not a true cod (Gadidae) — no chin barbel and a different fin arrangement from cod (ADFG, DFO).
- Average adult length
- Commonly landed at roughly 24-40 in; maximum reported lengths are about 59-60 in for females (CDFW gives 59 in; NOAA Fisheries gives up to 5 ft/60 in) and about 39 in for males (CDFW).
- Common angling size
- Legal minimum sizes and bag limits are set annually by state and change with in-season action; see targetContext. Historically the recreational fishery has centered on fish in the roughly 22-30 in range.
- Typical weight
- Commonly a few pounds up to 20-30 lb in the fishery; fish exceeding 80 lb are documented by both ADFG and NOAA Fisheries.
- Maximum documented
- Up to about 5 ft (60 in) and 80-85 lb (ADFG, NOAA Fisheries). California's oldest aged specimen on record was a 19-year-old, 45-in female (CDFW).
- Longevity
- Maximum documented age is about 25 years (ADFG, CDFW).
What it gets confused with
- Other greenlings (family Hexagrammidae, e.g. kelp greenling)
- Lingcod is by far the largest hexagrammid, with a single long dorsal fin and a much larger mouth and teeth than the smaller greenlings it is related to. Agencies specifically flag that the common name invites confusion with true cod (Gadidae) even though lingcod is a greenling (ADFG, DFO).
What follows from all of that
Presentation families
Nearshore
Bottom contact
Keep a bait on or just above the substrate along a break, flat, or inside a weed edge.
- feel bottom
- drag or hop
- pause on the break
- stay in contact
What it asks of the tackle
- Depth control
- High
- Sensitivity
- High
- Casting distance
- Moderate
- Weight range
- 1/8–1/2 oz
- Cover resistance
- High
- Line visibility
- Low
- Retie frequency
- High
Structure vertical
Hold a presentation in the water column directly over hard structure and stay there as the boat moves.
- stay vertical
- hold the depth band
- short lifts
- reset when the line angles
What it asks of the tackle
- Depth control
- High
- Sensitivity
- High
- Casting distance
- None
- Weight range
- 2–16 oz
- Cover resistance
- High
- Line visibility
- Secondary
- Retie frequency
- High
Vertical jig
Work a compact bait up and down through a marked depth, basin, or timber pocket.
- stay over the target
- measured lift
- controlled drop
- watch slack
What it asks of the tackle
- Depth control
- High
- Sensitivity
- High
- Casting distance
- Vertical
- Weight range
- 1/8–3/4 oz
- Cover resistance
- Moderate
- Line visibility
- Low
- Retie frequency
- Moderate
Drop presentation
Let a bait fall on a controlled line into cover, along a wall, or through a hole in vegetation.
- place then fall
- watch the line
- hold at depth
- short hop only after the fall
What it asks of the tackle
- Depth control
- High
- Sensitivity
- High
- Casting distance
- Short
- Weight range
- 1/16–3/8 oz
- Cover resistance
- High
- Line visibility
- Low
- Retie frequency
- High
Offshore
Vertical jig
Work a compact bait up and down through a marked depth, basin, or timber pocket.
- stay over the target
- measured lift
- controlled drop
- watch slack
What it asks of the tackle
- Depth control
- High
- Sensitivity
- High
- Casting distance
- Vertical
- Weight range
- 1/8–3/4 oz
- Cover resistance
- Moderate
- Line visibility
- Low
- Retie frequency
- Moderate
Deep drop
Put bait on the bottom in water deep enough that the drop itself is most of the work.
- heavy enough to go straight down
- know when you are down
- short lift to check
- wind steadily
What it asks of the tackle
- Depth control
- High
- Sensitivity
- Low
- Casting distance
- None
- Weight range
- 8–48 oz
- Cover resistance
- Moderate
- Line visibility
- Secondary
- Retie frequency
- Moderate
Trolling
Cover a depth contour or basin at a controlled speed to intercept mobile fish.
- speed control
- depth control
- follow the contour
- turn to change action
What it asks of the tackle
- Depth control
- High
- Sensitivity
- Low
- Casting distance
- Boat
- Weight range
- Varies with speed and depth
- Cover resistance
- Low
- Line visibility
- Moderate
- Retie frequency
- Low
What moves them for this fish
Reviewed rules that push particular families up when the conditions match. Each one names the conditions it needs and why it exists, so you can disagree with it.
Moving water is documented to concentrate the small fish, squid, and crab lingcod ambush from cover, so a presentation actively worked in the column right over structure has more to compete against and stand out from than a static bait would.
When
Nearshore · Flooding or Ebbing
Moves up
Vertical jig, Structure vertical
Reviewed 2026-08-30
Without moving water to concentrate prey past the ambush point, a bait placed and held directly in the lie fits this structure-bound ambush predator better than an actively worked presentation.
When
Nearshore · Slack high or Slack low
Moves up
Drop presentation, Bottom contact
Reviewed 2026-08-30
Adults are documented as heavily fish-eating, with fish making up most of stomach volume in larger individuals, so when fish forage is verified a presentation that covers water or works the column outranks one anchored to the bottom.
When
Offshore · Small forage fish, Larger prey fish
Moves up
Trolling, Vertical jig, Deep drop
Reviewed 2026-08-30
Where every sentence came from
Sources
Agency
Alaska Department of Fish and Game — Lingcod species profile
Used for habitat, thermal band and presentation families; identification; behaviour; forage; season. Read 2026-08-30, next check 2026-11-27.
Agency
Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Lingcod species profile
Used for habitat, thermal band and presentation families; identification; behaviour; forage; season. Read 2026-08-30, next check 2026-11-27.
Agency
NOAA Fisheries — Lingcod species page
Used for habitat, thermal band and presentation families; identification; behaviour; forage; season. Read 2026-08-30, next check 2026-11-27.
Agency
California Department of Fish and Wildlife — Lingcod life history summary
Used for habitat, thermal band and presentation families; identification; behaviour; forage; season. Read 2026-08-30, next check 2026-11-27.
A source with no link predates the rule that one has to carry a URL. It is still a real citation and still checkable; it just takes a search rather than a click, and that is worth knowing before you rely on it.