Magnum Gitzets for lings?

[Billamicasr]

Bobby Garland originated the Gitzet for Bass fishermen I believe in the late 70’s, maybe early 80’s. I’ve used them for years to drag bass out of hiding and from depth. I found the magnum series to be an excellent bait to use at 30-40 foot, Carolina rigged, during bright sunshine in clear waters to catch heavy Largemouth bass.

I happened upon my assortment of Magnums just the other day and wondered how they might do for shallow water (30’ to 80’) rock fish and Lingcod. We caught several small Lings on our last trip to Charleston with other rigs and saw them spit up squid when they were retrieved.

I’ve rigged the two in the photo with a 6oz. lead head on the top one and a 5 oz. on the bottom Gitzet, I plan on running these on the bottom under a pink & white shrimp fly rig which was the ticket for black rockfish on the past outings. Also, since the bottom half of the Gitzet is hollow, just imagine how much scent can be used - theses have to work.

As soon as I get these wet I’ll report to let everyone know how good (if so) they have been; I expect to be able to sort this out maybe Tuesday 7/2, next week. Sure hope this is a new winner, it looks good!

 

[rogerdodger]

I think they will work for lings and big rockfish, maybe just a bit better in the ocean compared to the bays based on my observations...

 

[Billamicasr]

Most of the bottom fish we go after are about 1/4 mile off shore and within a mile north or south of Sunset bay. Amazing the concentration of fish in that area. I've read Sunset bay it is a great place to launch a kayak through the 4 to 6 inch shore break.

I visited sunset about a week ago, what a beautiful spot. When we last fished the area about a week ago we spotted a few porpoise and two whales near Sunset Bay. Hope to get the chance to fish the area again when the winds calm and the ocean is a bit more tame.

 

[rogerdodger]

Most of the bottom fish we go after are about 1/4 mile off shore and within a mile north or south of Sunset bay. Amazing the concentration of fish in that area. I've read Sunset bay it is a great place to launch a kayak through the 4 to 6 inch shore break.

I visited sunset about a week ago, what a beautiful spot. When we last fished the area about a week ago we spotted a few porpoise and two whales near Sunset Bay. Hope to get the chance to fish the area again when the winds calm and the ocean is a bit more tame.

yep, that is where I launch to fish the ocean, been out 5 times so far this year...still haven't been out on a "SAG" day but soon I hope. And I wish this wind would take OFF the month of August...

that said, I strongly recomment that people take very seriously going out of Sunset Bay in any small boat, once you leave the slightly larger outer bay it is the real deal, lots of good sized powerboats buzzing around, large whales, and there are lots of submerged rocks and reefs. being prepared to me means dressing for immersion, having practiced self recovery, being leashed to your boat, having a radio attached to your PFD and know what the sweels and wind are predicted to do (a strong offshore wind, in addition to fighting you coming in, makes the swells much steeper..a double wammy) ...cheers, roger

 

[taconight2night]

Oh those will definitely work well for ling cod. I have fished the OR coast for decades and if it's one thing I have learned about lings, it's that they really aren't picky about what they will eat. That being said, if I had a choice as to what size and color of gear to toss at em, it would be 6" dark colored twin-tailed grubs, especially black, or metal jigs. Strip-bait of any kind dropped an a 4-6oz lead head works great at times, too. One thing about ling cod that I wish were different would be the size regs. I believe that a slot limit would be a great idea, but I am no biologist... Over the years I have worked on many charter boats out of OR and it always broke my heart when I would have to bonk a big, breeder ling that is likely terrible to eat. Those big mamma lings often times have gross, mushy meat that is filled with worms. Please toss those back and let them breed! Good luck out there :thumb:

 

[Gulfstream]

What taco 2night said !Let the big hens go!When I use gitzits for salmon ,I fill the tube with scent and that seems to help!Have fun!

 

[Billamicasr]

yep, that is where I launch to fish the ocean, been out 5 times so far this year...still haven't been out on a "SAG" day but soon I hope. And I wish this wind would take OFF the month of August...

that said, I strongly recomment that people take very seriously going out of Sunset Bay in any small boat, once you leave the slightly larger outer bay it is the real deal, lots of good sized powerboats buzzing around, large whales, and there are lots of submerged rocks and reefs. being prepared to me means dressing for immersion, having practiced self recovery, being leashed to your boat, having a radio attached to your PFD and know what the sweels and wind are predicted to do (a strong offshore wind, in addition to fighting you coming in, makes the swells much steeper..a double wammy) ...cheers, roger

Great advice RD... the ocean in a small boat (under 30') is where freak accidents occur. So far this year we have had one "Rogue wave" which was very short and probably 15' tall hit us. We keep a close watch while on the water; if it hit us broadside we could have been in trouble. Instead we had an exciting roller coaster ride while quartering that single wave.

The ocean is a great place to get hurt. Of course after saying that it is fun to watch some of those most adventurist kayakers who ride the big waves over rock piles that soon become jagged killers. Amazing just how much we can get away with in the interest of "one more thrill".

Hope to be bottom fishing and crabbing out of Charleston tomorrow (Aug 2nd) starting at 6:00 AM. Looks like we will be able to place crab pots and fish for a few hours before a new front system hits us to drive us off the water. The plan is to bag a couple nice Lings on the new lure (Gitzet). We'll see how that goes.

 

[rogerdodger]

The ocean is a great place to get hurt. Of course after saying that it is fun to watch some of those most adventurist kayakers who ride the big waves over rock piles that soon become jagged killers. Amazing just how much we can get away with in the interest of "one more thrill".

yes, that is why I am really looking forward to getting a new reversing Mirage Drive 180 when Hobie gets them out. Being out there, 'dancing' on the swells and fishing just OFF or above reef/pilings/submerged jetties gets really exciting at times. Being able to, in a fraction of a second, reverse the drive fins and pedal backwards quickly is going to be fantastic, much faster than putting the rod in a holder and getting a paddle in your hands to avoid getting dropped on the rocks or banging into a bridge piling.

of course in my case its about "one more fish"! :thumb:

 

[Billamicasr]

Did get to try the Magnum Gitzits on Tuesday and can tell you... nothing much happened. The weather and ocean report allowed us to drop crab pots before 8 then hit a few spots south of the Charleston jaws. We fished 20 to 40 foot with the Gitzit on the bottom and shrimp flies above and did well on black rockfish on the flies but no lings. Fishing deeper, up to 120 foot I stuck one undersized ling on the Gitzet and more black rockfish on the shrimp flies. My fishing partner used Kalin double tail scampi in root-beer flake and black and white with only two undersized lings for his effort. I doubt this was much of a fair test. NOAA says we could get a weather reprieve in the next few days, if so we;ll do it again.

The winds started getting a bit pushy and the waves began building right at 11AM. On the way in we pulled the pots and cull collected 24 keepers all large sized in the 7 inch plus range. This has been a great year for crab and the real crab catching is said to be best in the months ending in "R". Most of the crab were from pots baited with black rockfish carcasses from past outings and two with tuna..