ReelCaster

Lingcod Fishing in Seattle, WA

14 spots · peak Jan, Feb-Apr

Lingcod live in Puget Sound year-round, so you are never fishing an empty house. The concentration you want comes when mature fish push onto nearshore rocky reefs to spawn and males settle in to guard egg masses. January stands out, February through April holds that peak, and numbers taper through summer and fall as fish spread back to deeper structure. Plan a winter or early spring trip and you are fishing the shallow rockpiles when the biomass is stacked on them.

We cover 12 spots around Seattle that hold lingcod. Admiralty Inlet at Point Wilson and the Edmonds Oil Tanks give you hard structure in moving water. Blake Island at South Point, Jefferson Head, Apple Tree Point at Kingston and the Kingston Reef inside Appletree Cove all sit within an easy run. Closer to town, Duwamish Head in Elliott Bay and Meadow Point put fish within reach of a short trip.

Current runs the day here. Fish the slack. From dead slack up to about 0.5 knots you can hold bottom and work a jig properly, and by roughly 2.5 knots the water takes your gear away from the rock. Time your drops either side of high or low water. Jigging is the main game, metal jigs, bucktail jigs and leadhead jigs with swimbaits worked near bottom in 40 to 120 feet. Back it up with live greenling or herring on a dropper, or drift large soft plastics to find the rockpiles.

When to go

Lingcod are resident in Puget Sound year-round, so abundance never drops to zero. The clear peak occurs March–May when mature fish move onto nearshore rocky reefs to spawn and males guard egg masses, concentrating the local biomass; summer through winter shows a slow taper as fish disperse back to deeper structure.

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Relative abundance by month: Jan 89 percent of peak, Feb 91 percent of peak, Mar 97 percent of peak, Apr 97 percent of peak, May 83 percent of peak, Jun 72 percent of peak, Jul 67 percent of peak, Aug 70 percent of peak, Sep 75 percent of peak, Oct 83 percent of peak, Nov 88 percent of peak, Dec 88 percent of peak.

Relative abundance through the year around Seattle. Peak: Jan, Feb-Apr

How anglers fish it around Seattle

jigging

Most used here

Anglers drop jigs to rocky structure and pinnacles in 40 to 120 feet, working them near bottom where lingcod hold.

Bait and lures
  • metal jigs
  • leadhead jigs with swimbaits
  • bucktail jigs

live bait

A live or fresh baitfish fished on a dropper near rocky bottom draws aggressive strikes from larger lingcod.

Bait and lures
  • live greenling
  • live herring
  • whole dead herring

drift fishing

Drifting soft plastics over reefs and rockpiles covers ground to locate lingcod holding on structure.

Bait and lures
  • swimbaits
  • large soft plastics
  • leadhead jigs

Tide, current and light

These are the conditions ReelCaster weights when it scores lingcod at Seattle spots, and they are the ones worth planning a trip around.

Current
100% of the score

Fish the slack

Best from dead slack up to about 0.5 knots of tidal current, and unfishable by roughly 2.5 knots. In practice that is the window either side of high or low water, when gear hangs where you put it.

Tides here read off Seattle, Glendale, Whidbey Island, Everett

Where to fish for lingcod

Every spot we cover around Seattle that holds lingcod, with today's score for this species. Open the spot for the tide, wind and the next 14 days.

SEE THEM ON THE SEATTLE MAP →

Other Seattle guides

Guide last reviewed August 2026. Seasons, limits and closures change: confirm the current WDFW notice before you fish.