When big swells or high winds keep anglers off the ocean, creative juices sometimes flow and we create new lure designs during the downtime. Some new designs pan out and some don’t, but they are all fun to create and then go try out when sea conditions improve.
I’ve come up with plenty of new things to try to catch fish, but one day many years ago, I came up with a unique lure design that has served me and others exceptionally well ever since. The goal of the design was to make a better lingcod lure. It was fun because I knew that lingcod are fatally attracted to flash, they chase down things that move and sounds can annoy the dickens out of them.
So I put together a lure that puts it all together into something those lingcod have great trouble ignoring. I call it the Lingslayer.
I’m a firm believer in putting things together to create presentations that lure manufacturers haven’t thought of or cannot mass-produce profitably. That’s the strategy I used when I put together three things, one of which I have made exclusively for Lingslayers. It takes some doing to put together a Lingslayer, and most folks would rather have me do it, so I began assembling them at my bait and tackle shop, Hook, Line & Sinker fishing center in Santa Barbara, so that people can come in and buy them. I also offer it through our website by clicking here.
Now here we are at the height of the season for catching big lingcod, which aboard my charter boat, WaveWalker, I call “Lingasaur” because it is the only fish I nickname after a dinosaur because of their teeth and nasty disposition. These are pretty good size fish, which must be over 22 inches before they can be kept for dinner. Speaking of which, they make fabulous table fare. Lingcod is a rich meat, ranking up there with halibut and white seabass and red snapper in terms of good taste.
The Lingslayer is fun to fish. Once the boat is over a rocky reef zone where lingcod live, drop the lure to the bottom, lift it up about a foot above the rocks, jig it actively two or three times, pause for a few seconds and jig it again. The lure has plenty of flash, it is articulated, so it has great action when jigged and it also has an alluring soft plastic twintail, so it does indeed have great fish attraction going for it. What really seals the deal is that two pieces of metal bang together noisily as the lure is jigged actively.
Now whether a mean ol’ lingasaur bites it because it is attracted by it or annoyed by it, I don’t really care — as long as it bites hard!
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
