I think lingcod are one of the coolest fish that swim the North Pacific. Their colorful camouflage varies wildly from shades of blue and green to rusty copper. They have an impressive grill armed with sharp and jagged teeth with which to clamp down on large prey. Lingcod attempt to eat things not much smaller than them and can get big, really big. Because they tend to inhabit deeper water much of the time, they're generally not considered by most fly anglers as an ideal target species. It's not impossible, but it's far from easy to get a fly down to depths of 40 feet or greater and maintain a tight connection with the fly while contending with a fast ripping tidal current.
Several years ago, a friend invited me out for a day of lingcod fishing in Northern Puget Sound. He said he had some good spots where, at the right stage of the tide, we might find them in shallower water and asked if I thought I could get them on a fly. I knew others successfully pursued lingcod on the fly so I figured, "Why not give it a try?" The night before our trip, I spooled a 10 weight reel with the fastest sinking striper line I had and tied some big Clouser Minnows in the 8-10" range with heavy dumbbell eyes, a variety of colors of yak hair and some flash. We went out the next morning and in the hours preceding the low slack tide, I managed to catch not one, but several large lingcod, including a handful over 30". Even the smaller ones hit like a freight train, pulled with unmatched ferocity, and fought well above their weight class. I was instantly smitten and from that day forward have had many successful outings for lings on the fly, though never quite as productive as that first experience with Eric.
I've since fine-tuned my lingcod set up and find it works reliably for plying the depths. Most of the time I reach for a 10 weight rod. That heavier rod allows me to throw big weighted musky-sized flies along with a line system that sinks ridiculously fast when I need it too. I typically fish a level running line to which I loop 30 feet of T-14, T-17 or even T-20. This shooting head system is far from pretty to cast but it gets down deep and when you occasionally get hopelessly snagged on a rock pillar, is less expensive to replace if you break a fly line. I mark the running line with a black sharpie every 10' so I know exactly how much line I have out. If you're drifting in 40 feet of water, I want the entire head plus 10' of running line out with my line oriented as vertically as possible. I'll then pump the rod tip up and down or strip and release the line to make the fly jig up and down. When a lingcod grabs the fly there is seldom much subtlety about it.
Of the various color combos I've fished for lingcod in Puget Sound, most have caught fish at one point or another, from chartreuse and white, pink and white to brown, olive and orange (kelp greenling). The standout, however, has been the black and white with red and blue flash, which I've come to call the Ling Patrol. It seems to consistently outshine the others and is generally what I fish most of the time.
Ling Patrol Recipe:
Hook: 4/0-6/0 Ahrex SA270 or Gamakatsu SL12S
Thread: 140 Denier Fl. Chartreuse Veevus
Eyes: XL Plated Lead Eyes
Tail: White Farrar Blend & 2 Natural Grizzly Saddle Hackles
Flash: Lateral Scale
Body: UV Copper Polar Chenille
Wing: Midnight Blitz Farrar Blend
Flash: Red Krystal Flash and Light Blue Krystal Flash
Head: Midnight 3" Senyo's Chromatic Brush