MINIMUM SIZE
22 in total length
Species · Groundfish
Lingcod fishing in Southern California
Ophiodon elongatus
A prehistoric-looking ambush fish that will happily eat the rockfish you are already reeling up.
TYPE
Lingcod (a greenling, not a cod)
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Ophiodon elongatus
TYPICAL SIZE
5–15 lb (30 lb+ possible)
LIVES ON
High-relief rock and pinnacles
DEPTH
Often 60–300 ft
lingcod regulations
DAILY BAG
2
OPEN SEASON
Apr 1 to Dec 31, by depth
Lingcod runs on the groundfish calendar: closed to boats January through March, inside the fifty-fathom line July through September, and outside it October through December. A fillet has to be fourteen inches with the skin on.
Southern groundfish summary, as read on October 9, 2026. Limits, seasons and marine protected area boundaries change, so the CDFW southern groundfish regulations are the authority, not this page. Check them before you keep anything.
Meet the lingcod
Not a cod at all, but a greenling, and one of the least subtle predators on the coast: a long body that is mostly head, a mouth that opens like a bucket, and teeth pointing backwards so nothing gets out. Mottled brown, green or occasionally a startling blue-green inside.
Where lingcod hang out
Hard, high-relief rock: pinnacles, ledges, the rough bottom around the outer Channel Islands. They sit on a high spot and wait. The further northwest you go in the Bight the better they get, which is why Santa Barbara and the run out to Santa Rosa and San Miguel are the lingcod addresses.
How big lingcod get
Eight to fifteen pounds is a good one. Fish over 30 exist, are almost always female, and come off the deeper, rougher ground. Season, depth limits and size limits are set by CDFW and change from year to year, so check the current groundfish rules before you drop.
How to catch lingcod
A whole dead bait or a big swimbait dragged just off the rock, or a heavy jig. The classic lingcod is the one that grabs a rockfish you are already winding up and will not let go: keep winding steadily, do not jerk, and have the net ready, because it is not hooked and it knows when to quit.
Where to catch lingcod
The grounds that hold lingcod within reach of each home port, south to north. Follow a port through for its season, the rest of the water it reaches, and the rules that apply there.
- Santa Barbara
- SANTA CRUZ ISLAND
- SANTA ROSA & SAN MIGUEL
Seasons, depth limits, size and bag limits and marine protected area boundaries are set by CDFW and change from year to year. Check the current rules for the ground you are running to before you keep anything.
🐟 FUN FACT
About one lingcod in five on this coast has blue-green flesh. Nobody is certain why; the leading explanation is a bile pigment that cooks out white and is completely harmless.
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From the logbook
More on lingcod
Gear
How to catch lingcod in Southern California: rock, swimbaits and live bait
Lings move up onto the rock in fall. Here is where they sit, what to drop on them, how to handle the hitchhiker, and how to get one in the boat with your fingers intact.
Fish
Winter fishing in Southern California: what still bites from November to March
The tuna boats stop, the counts get shorter, and a lot of rods go in the garage. Here is what is still worth chasing between storms, and how to pick the days.
Fish
Lingcod in winter: what the spawn does to Southern California's lings
Lingcod head for the spawning rock as the water cools, and the males stay behind to guard the eggs. Here is what that means for a late-season trip in the Bight.
Heading out for something we do grade?
This is a profile, not a scored species. Fish or Pass grades seven fish across the Bight every day, so if you are going anyway, see what the water is doing for those.