They are a very tasty bottom fish and also a favorite for the dinner table. Lingcod have been know to follow their own kind when hooked by a recreational fisherman up to the surface and at some point cannibalize their counterpart by trying to swallow them whole from the tail.īecause of their large mouth and the ability to open it wide enough to swallow their prey whole, they’ve been nicknamed “bucket mouth”. They are usually caught with jigs or trolling bait very close to the bottom of a sandy ocean floor. Because of all the sand lance in the area they also reside on the sandy banks and bottoms of the ocean. They love to hang out in rocky areas and along kelp beds where the bait fish are plentiful. Most lingcod are plentiful further out by the lighthouse and along the outer coastline. Lingcod is another popular bottomfish targeted by anglers who venture out offshore to seek them out. Other Bottom Fish Sought After in Nootka Sound They also come prepared for the sea sickness that sometimes accompanies the art of fishing in rough seas with swells of 6-15 feet or more. Those who come here in boats larger than 20 feet however enjoy the fruits of their labour when they venture offshore in search of halibut. Another one is that the weather can change in an instant due to the prevailing westerly winds that pick up during the summer months and most anglers arrive in Nootka Sound with too small of boats to chance it. This is one of the reasons that many anglers don’t get to target halibut in Nootka Sound without a guide. You will have to travel anywhere from 13-30 miles to find the right spots where halibut can be caught consistently.

The techniques can range from using weighted jigs to baited spreader bars and using a soft compound designed to look like small fish with hooks embedded in the tail and belly sections. Halibut can be caught in abundance further offshore from the Lighthouse at Yuquot. The recreational fishery gets a share of the halibut quota every year with size limits and in season closures but they still manage to get out and have some fun bringing home one of the tables finest flavored fish. Don’t want to get to political but a few years back, Fisheries and Oceans handed over the common property resource (halibut) to the Pacific Halibut Commission and took it away from all Canadians. They do an awesome job of managing the stocks and it is one fishery that has been stable or in various stages of growth over the years. Although the halibut fishery is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, it is really controlled by the Pacific Halibut Commission who is a commercial entity set up to protect the commercial fishery. Halibut is the favorite species of bottom fish to target and most anglers seek them out when the salmon aren’t biting during the summer months. Bottom fishing for halibut in Nootka Sound is just one of the many bottom fishing opportunities that exist. This fishery is very popular among the locals and those regulars who visit the Nootka Sound area every year.

One of the few fisheries that doesn’t get the exposure it deserves in Nootka Sound is the fishery for bottom fish.

Nootka weather