According to Powers, the lingcod are running as large as he has seen in several years. "The quality of the fish has been amazing on our last two trips," he explained. "18 to 20 pounders are only average fish and we're seeing a lot of fish topping 25 pounds. The rockfish have been a mix of chili pepper, canary and bocaccio rockfish."

At press time, the latest lingcod special run on the New Sea Angler was on Friday, January 11. "We brought in full limits of rockfish, half reds and half yellows, along with full limits of lingcod for 26 anglers," said Powers. "The big fish of the day was a 34 pound lingcod. The previous Friday, we had full limits of rockfish and lingcod as well with the top fish weighing 32 pounds."

The top method for taking Cordell Banks lingcod has been jigging big bars in deep water. "We're fishing 14 to 16 ounce chrome bars with a shrimp fly or B-52 squid teaser," said Powers. "On our last trip, we limited out on quality rockfish in 330 feet of water, then moved in shallower to 280 feet where we located the lingcod.

Deep water rockfishing opportunities will be very limited this year according to the latest press release from the California Department of Fish and Game. Ocean sport fishing regulations for the 2002 season are now in effect and our deep water (deeper than 120 feet) rockfish, lingcod and sculpin fisheries will be closed for eight months this year.

The state's coastal waters have now been divided into three different zones designated as management areas for rockfish and lingcod species.

• Northern Rockfish and Lingcod Management Area: Waters from Cape Mendocino (40 degrees, 10 minutes north latitude) to the California-Oregon border.
• Central Rockfish and Lingcod Management Area: (formally known as the Northern Rockfish and Lingcod Management Area) waters from 40 degrees, 10 minutes north latitude south to Point Conception.
• Southern Rockfish and Lingcod Management Area: Point Conception to the U.S.-Mexican border.

It is the central management area that includes most of the waters in Fish Sniffer country, basically everything from Fort Bragg south to Morro Bay. Deep water rockfish and lingcod season will be closed March through June and September through December in this zone. In addition, our shallow water season will now be closed four months of the year, March, April, November and December. This is due to concern that the eight month deep water closure will put increased pressure on nearshore stocks.

On a brighter note, during the offshore closures in the central management area (May, June, September and October), nearshore anglers will be allowed to take and possess two lingcod and two offshore species of rockfish in waters less than 120 feet deep. The two rockfish may not include bocaccio, canary, cowcod or yelloweye rockfish. The new regs also include a reduction in the minimum size limit for lingcod. The previous limit of 26 inches has now been reduced to 24 inches.