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Features: Lingcod have an elongated body with a large mouth and sharp, canine-like teeth. They are generally mottled gray or brown but sometimes green or blue. A green-colored “ling” should not be confused with a greenling. Lingcod can get 5-feet long, but those caught in Oregon average between 2- and 3-feet. Habitat: Adults like to be near rocks, inshore and to 230-fathoms deep. Young lingcod prefer the sand or mud bottoms of bays and inshore areas. Technique: Bounce some bait along the bottom with 5/0 or 6/0 hooks, a 4- to 6-ounce sinker, and 20-pound line on a stout rod…

Features: Trout-like in appearance, the body is silvery in color with a bronze or dark back. They can be distinguished from trout by the forked tail and the small, down-turned mouth. Lengths run to 20-inches. Whitefish are often erroneously called graylings by many anglers. Habitat: Mountain whitefish inhabit many Oregon streams and lakes, thriving best in clear, cold water. Techniques: Whitefish tend to go for flashy flies, but are known for quickly spitting them out. Many sportsmen look with disfavor on the whitefish and often throw it away as undesirable. However, the flesh of the whitefish is firm and tasty…

Features: Greenish or bluish above with dark wavy worm-like marks along the back; shading to silvery below, usually with dusky spots on the lower side. Mackerel grow to be 25-inches long. Habitat: Pacific mackerel are usually found close to shore, but are not typically associated with any bottom structure. Technique: Mackerel are not usually targeted by Oregon’s anglers, but are often caught incidentally by salmon anglers. Small shiny spoon or baited hooks are good methods to use to catch mackerel.

Features: Quillback rockfish are slate-brown and mottled with yellow and orange towards the head, while the rear half of their body is gray to dark brown or black. They have dark brown or black "freckles" on their head and gill cover. They have deeply incised membranes on their very long, spinous dorsal fins. Quillback rockfish can grow to be 24-inches long.‌ Habitat: They prefer rocky bottoms from the intertidal zone out to 800 feet.‌ Technique: Quillback rockfish are currently prohibited. Anglers are required to immediately descend back to depth any quillback rockfish encountered outside of the 30-fathom regulatory line and…

Features: Its deep red sides are mottled with gray. They grow to be 30-inches long. Yelloweye, canary and vermillion rockfish can look similar. See this rockfish identification article for distinguishing features for each species. Habitat: The vermilion rockfish is found near the bottom of the ocean over rocky substrate. Technique: They readily take both bait and lures. Rubber tailed lead head jigs, metal jigs, shrimp flies, and baited hooks will all take vermilion rockfish. Header photo by Ratha Grimes, Flickr