Lingcod Fishing in Sidney, BC

Lingcod hold in Sidney's waters all year, so you are not waiting on a run to show up. What changes is where they stack. From November through March they pull into shallower rocky ground around the southern Gulf Islands to spawn and guard nests, and that concentration is what makes winter your best window. Through summer the same fish spread out over broader feeding ground, which means more searching between bites.

Nine spots around Sidney hold lingcod. Active Pass and Colburne Passage off Moresby Island give you strong structure and moving water. D'Arcy Island, Portland Island and Sidney Spit sit close to the channel edges. James Island, Patrician Bay and Willis Point round out the sheltered options when the outside is rough.

Jigging is the method that does the work here. Drop metal jigs, swimbaits or soft plastics to rocky pinnacles and reefs in 60 to 150 feet and stay in contact with the bottom. Bait fishing backs it up when you want the larger fish sitting tight to a rock pile, and whole herring, live greenling or octopus dropped right on the structure is what pulls them off it. Time all of it around slack water. Fish from dead slack up to about 0.5 knots, because past roughly 2.5 knots your gear sweeps off the rock and the drop is over.