Lingcod Fishing in Valdez, Alaska

Boats leave from the Valdez small boat harbor, and most lingcod fishing happens on combination trips: the same rocky structure in the outer Sound holds rockfish, and halibut grounds are often worked the same day. Charters here run 5 to 12 hours depending on species and weather. The dedicated bottomfish trips that reach the prime lingcod water at Montague Strait and Hinchinbrook Entrance are the long twelve-hour days, since captains put in a serious run before lines go down.

Per-person pricing is the norm, with published Valdez charter rates starting around $350 and long-range combo days costing more. Tackle, bait, and fish cleaning are typically included in the rate.

Lingcod is closed in Prince William Sound until the July 1 opener, then open through the end of the year under recent regulations. In practice the fishery runs from the opener through early fall: July and August offer the calmest seas for the long run to the outside waters, and by September much of the fleet's attention swings to silver salmon. Valdez hosts some of the oldest fish derbies in Alaska. Late-season lingcod trips are weather-dependent gambles on big water.

Expect an early start and hours of running before you fish. On the grounds, captains use both anchoring and drift fishing over reefs and pinnacles, and lingcod fishing itself is active work: heavy jigs bounced near bottom over rock, with rockfish mixed in on nearly every drift. The 35-inch minimum means undersized fish go back, and a legal keeper is a big, hard-pulling fish with a mouthful of teeth, so let the crew handle the unhooking. A nonresident Alaska fishing license runs $30 for one day or $145 annual, and anyone 16 or older needs one. The box at the end of a good day is a spread of lingcod, rockfish, and halibut rather than a single-species pile.