Big Ugly Heavy Jigs
Lingcod love big, heavy jigs. I'm talking about ugly lead jigs weighing about a pound. Plain-lead diamond jigs from ebay work great, as do homemade "flutter" jigs or any heavy jig you have lying around.
Heavy jigs plunge down at tremendous speed, giving you more fishing time on the bottom, especially on a fast drift over a small pinnacle. A heavy jig is down in the ling zone fishing while your buddy's lighter jig hasn't even reached bottom yet.
The heavy jig also keeps your line more vertical as the boat drifts, further extending actual fishing time on the bottom. In a fast drift, a heavy jig may be the only practical way to fish.
Paint, as far as I can tell, is detrimental. Plain lead seems to work best. I use a cheapo treble hook on the bottom of the jig, attached with a split ring. If it snags, the hook bends straight and I get my jig back. The Mustad #3551-BR bronze treble in 3/0 size is the perfect junk hook. Hooks are expendable, so replace when they get too mangled.
You'll know it when the jig slams into the bottom. Reel up a couple of cranks and commence a vigorous jigging motion. I favor a one-two motion; two 3-foot upsweeps of the rod tip in an almost continuous motion. Yes, it's a lot of physical work.
For 80 foot depths, 10 ounces is about right. For 300 foot depths, I prefer 16 to 24 ounces.
Keep it simple! No bait, no scent, no assist hooks and no paint. And especially no shrimp flies! Shrimp flies create lots of water drag, which defeats the purpose of the heavy jig. You'll still catch rockfish on the heavy jigs, but they will be larger grade than what you get with shrimp flies.
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