Coastal Washington Lingcod and Rockfish starts March 8, 2025
Lingcod, Rockfish and other bottomfish open for the season
Large sections of Washington’s saltwater fishing areas open up for the season on Saturday March 8th. Marine area’s 1-4 make up the entirety of the Pacific Coastline of Washington State, as well as the far western portion of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and hold some amazing fishing opportunities for Lingcod, Rockfish, Greenling and other bottomfish.
Washington’s ocean Lingcod and Rockfish season for 2025
All four of Washington’s marine areas that include the Pacific Ocean open on March 8th, and give us a pretty solid season that will run into fall. Overall, the daily aggregate bottomfish limit is 9, which can include up to 2 Lingcod and up to 7 Rockfish. Other bottomfish like Greenling and Cabezon can be part of that aggregate limit as well. Check each individual marine area regulations for details (links below). Overall, all areas provide good fishing and have good populations of Lingcod and Rockfish. One change for the 2025 season is that the portion of the Rockfish limit that can be Canary Rockfish has changed to no more than 5 per day.
Black Rockfish are common in all marine areas of the Washington Coast.
Fishing the Washington Coast for Lingcod and Rockfish
With such a vast area, Washington’s portion of the Pacific Ocean holds a lot of places to find Rockfish, Lingcod and other bottomfish. Shore anglers gravitate to the Columbia River North Jetty and Westport South Jetty to access these fish. Boat anglers head out into the ocean on fair weather days, their range can be a couple miles to a couple dozen miles. With each area, it’s important to understand where you can legally fish, as each area has its own off-limits zones throughout the year, mostly it’s about depth restrictions to protect Yelloweye Rockfish. We have included a link to the regulations page for each marine area below.
Most bottomfish, including Lingcod, Black Rockfish, Canary Rockfish and Greenling will be found resting on the bottom or very near. Finding that rocky structure is pretty important to finding most bottomfish, whether it is a flat-hardpan bottom or a very craggy reef.
Canary Rockfish
It’s important to make sure you have heavy enough jigs or sinkers to get down to that zone, fishing shallower than 50’ may mean having anywhere from 2-8 ounces, 50’ to 120’ could mean 4-12 ounces, and deeper than 120’ may mean anywhere from 12-32 ounces. Currents and wind speed drift can make a big difference in how much weight you need.
Yellowtail Rockfish are the most common pelagic rockfish that can be found schooling anywhere in the water column. These can be a challenge to find, because they do move, but drop onto a large school of Yellowtail and you may very well limit your boat in a drift or two.
Marine Area 1 - Mouth of Columbia River, Illwaco
Apart from the deepwater Lingcod fishing that happens later in the season, lots of anglers from both boat and shore fish the North Jetty of the Columbia River. There are a good number of large Black Rockfish and Lings here. Like other river mouths of the Pacific Coast, it is super important to be aware of the bar conditions (current and future) when heading out for the day. Marine Area 1 published regulations and emergency rule changes.
Cape Disappointment near the mouth of the Columbia River - Marine Area 1
Marine Area 2 - Westport
Westport is the largest fishing harbor on our coast, and both the recreational and charter fleet here catch a ton of Lingcod and Rockfish throughout the season! Mid-sized boats can stay inside the harbor entrance and fish for Rockfish and Lingcod off the South Jetty, but most anglers make the trip to Westport to fish offshore. There are plenty of areas where rocky structure holds good populations of bottomfish. Marine Area 2 published regulations and emergency rule changes.
Marine Area 3 - La Push
This remote section of the coast is accessible from the harbor at La Push, as very small town inside the mouth of the Quillayute River. Just outside the entrance to the river lies a ton of rocky coastline, perfect habitat for those reef-loving bottomfish. Typically a popular choice for mid- to large-sized fishing boats that are equipped to fish in open ocean waters. Marine Area 3 published regulations and emergency rule changes.
James Island at the entrance to La Push - Marine Area 3
Marine Area 4 - Neah Bay
Neah Bay is a small coastal village with a modern marina, offering access to a vast swath of the Pacific Ocean and Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is not only one of the most picturesque parts of our coast, it also offers the most versatility for anglers fishing out of all sizes of boats. The harbor is inside the Strait and protected from west and south winds by the foothills of the Olympic Mountains, meaning that most days offer kayakers and small boaters the chance to peak out of the marina and fish the reefs and kelp bed edges surrounding Neah Bay and Wadaah Island, where Black Rockfish and Lingcod can be found. More seaworthy boats still fish around here, but also have the range to hit the entire area inside of Tatoosh Island, as well as the Pacific inshore to the south. Marine Area 4 published regulations and emergency rule changes.
The rugged coastline of Cape Flattery near Neay Bay - Marine Area 4
Seattle Fishing Co. can outfit your for Ocean Rockfish and Lingcod Fishing
There are a few setups that will help you catch Ocean Rockfish and Lingcod with ease, we have a few rigging diagrams to make things easy.
Rockfish Jigging and Drifting Gear
Once you find a rocky structure, Rockfish will most likely be around. If we are specifically targeting Rockfish, a double shrimp fly rig works really well. Sometimes you catch em two at a time. When fishing the inshore, from boat or shore, a Kalin’s 6” Mogambo Grub and a bullet jighead is a great option, as is a 1-3 ounce Shad Jighead and 4”-5” Pitbull Swimbait is a great lure that also catches Lingcod regularly.
Fishing with light tackle can be really fun inshore, and a 1-2 ounce P-Line Laser Minnow and Mustad Tracershot Jigs can bring on some great fishing.
Inshore and Nearshore Lingcod Gear
Most of the areas have depth restrictions that keep us away from the true offshore Lingcod zones for a good portion of the fishing calendar. In some areas, a 30 fathom limit is in place, other areas have a 120’ depth restriction (like inside the Strait near Neah Bay). If you’re fishing the inshore, working shallow reefs, rockpiles and edges of kelp beds, soft plastics like a Pitbull Swimbait or a Kalin’s 8” Octobumbo Grub using 2-6 ounce bullet jigheads are a popular choice. While live-baiting is more common inside Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, it also works really well in the open ocean.
For deeper zones that are closer to that 30 fathom deadline, a heavy metal jig like a 16 ounce copper pipe jig, a 7-11 ounce Mustad Moonriser Jig or a 12-16 ounce bullet jighead and 10” Kalin’s Big’N Grub are great lure choices. Drifting a live-bait setup or a whole herring can be a great searching technique, making long drifts to find good structure and fish.
A nice Lingcod caught close to the kelpline near Neah Bay