Close-in fishery: While anglers in Alaska and British Columbia often focus on halibut and salmon and shy away from rockfish, the 2- to 10-pound fish are a popular target for California, Oregon and Washington saltwater anglers. But many fishermen head into deeper water to catch rockfish. They often pass over some of the best rockfish waters found close to port, where ultra light tackle can be used, instead using broom-stick rods and hefty reels to catch fish that are much more enjoyable to fight on light spinning gear. For some reason, shallow water rockfish also tend to bite better, perhaps because visibility is much better and they quickly see a bait or lure and grab it.
One reason anglers often pass over shallow reefs and drop their gear down in deeper water is the rock piles and jetties closest to harbor entrances get fished hard. But instead of heading out, head up or down the coastline and look for shallow reefs that don’t receive as much pressure.
Black rockfish, the most common species targeted by sport anglers, are found from Santa Monica Bay in Southern California to Alaska’s Amchitka Island. They are most often found suspended 10 to 20 feet above rocky reefs or in kelp beds in shallow water up to 120 feet deep, but are also found mid-water as deep as 240 feet down in 1,200-foot deep water. The waters from Santa Cruz north to Alaska yield the greatest numbers of rockfish, with the inshore reefs near Humboldt Bay, Trinidad and Crescent City in California, the entire Oregon Coast except for the Winchester Bay and Florence areas, and most of the Washington Coast being prime areas for anglers.

When found shallow, in water less than 50 feet deep, or suspended close to the surface in deeper water, anglers are in for a treat. Rockfish caught in deep water don’t put up much of a battle on heavy gear. But when taken on light tackle close to the surface, blacks and blues are among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the salt.

Shallow water anglers can also enjoy steady catch-and-release action, while deepwater anglers – those fishing in over 50 feet – end up keeping each fish until they limit out because rockfish caught in deeper water often succumb to the change in pressure as they are reeled in.

Finding rockfish: “You want to look for rocky reef areas,” says Don Bodenmiller, a biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “You want to keep it fairly shallow.” Rockfish use rocky structure to ambush prey and also hide from predators. They will ambush small baitfish washed against the rocks. They also feed and hide in kelp forests, where rockfish can be caught just below the surface.
When fishing is tough in deeper water, kelp beds will almost always produce fish.
Avoid sandy areas, as rockfish, as the name implies, need rocky structure, are kelp, to avoid predators and find food.
Rockfish run in schools. Where one fish is caught, many more are sure to be. “They are a schooling fish,” Bodenmiller says. “Usually where you find one you find more.” Some of the most exciting rockfish fishing occurs when an angler slowly reels in a black or blue rockfish caught in shallow water. Sensing a feeding frenzy, the entire school will often follow the hooked fish to the surface, where anglers can then actually see rockfish attack their baits in some of the hottest West Coast saltwater fishing to be found.

Rigging up: Leave the meat sticks use for halibut at home when targeting rockfish. When fishing in shallow water, a light spinning combo works best. Shakespeare’s Ugly Stik rods have long been the staple for the West Coast charter fleet that targets rockfish. While braid is effective in deeper water, where strength and thinner diameter lines are crucial, mono, like 15- to 20-pound Cajun Red Lightning, still works well in shallow water. Mono also won’t create wind wraps around your rod tip, which can be a problem when jigging with light spinning combos. Since rockfish like rocks, snagged lines are a common occurrence when fishing for rockfish. It’s better to have your line snap at the knot instead of breaking a light rod.
A 6- to 8 ½-foot rod will work best. Rig up with the lightest gear you are comfortable using.
Whole or cut herring fishing on a two-foot leader below a 2- to 4-ounce banana weight almost guarantees rockfish after rockfish, but artificial lures also work well and are easier to fish. Capt. Townsend Tatterson, a veteran Washington, Alaska and Mexico charter skipper, prefers lead jigs, such as the Point Wilson Dart. “They have a great action and are easy to fish,” he says. Lead jigs or jigheads with a plastic grub or worm are also more cost-effective in the long run. A hot rockfish bite – which is a common occurrence on the West Coast – can quickly drain a bait bucket of several trays of herring or anchovies.

Plastic baits, like Power Bait grubs, swim baits and worms in white, black, purple and root beer are among the most effective rockfish baits.
The ever-popular shrimp fly rig works well in deeper water, but single swim baits, jigs or bait rigs will produce more fish over the shallow reefs.
Baitfish and other small rockfish make up the majority of a rockfish’s diet, so small fish imitations are the preferred bait of veteran anglers. Berkley’s 3-inch swim baits with an internal sinker and pre-rigged hook are durable enough to catch dozens of rockfish and often produce easy limits.
Most rockfish anglers will fish with two lures. A swim bait or lead jig is used to get the rig down, while a loop is used to attach another hook and a small grub about a foot and a half above the bottom lure. A 2-inch curly tail grub works well as the teaser lure. Sometimes rockfish prefer the smaller bait, while often times the two hooks will produce frequent double hook-ups.
Few rockfish anglers anchor. Instead, they drift over a reef, jigging lures at depths their sonar units indicate fish are holding.

Hot spots: Veteran rockfish anglers store dozens, even hundreds, of waypoints in their GPS and chart plotter units. Specific rocks that hold fish at one time of the year often continue to produce several months later, as most rockfish tend to be “resident” fish. Bodenmiller points out that tagging surveys revealed many rockfish are caught later at their initial release site, although some fish have been recovered nearly 350 miles away from their original capture site.
Rockfish slowly mature, so fish schooling in a specific area will likely remain within a small group of reefs years later, although rockfish do move higher into the water column to feast on schools of herring or anchovies when they move close to shore in the summer and fall. Apparently they then return to their “home” reefs.
Having several go-to spots is important, as someone else may be already fishing a favorite reef when you arrive, and it’s best not to over-fish a hot area, as it may not produce later into the season.

Bonus lings: Find schools of rockfish and count on large lingcod being nearby. Lingcod are top-of-the-food-chain predators and prey heavily on rockfish. Anglers will often hook into a rockfish and have a large lingcod grab on, holding onto the fish without being hooked all the way to the surface.
While landing a ling clinging to a rockfish is difficult with light gear, it can be done, as lingcod often just clamp down on their catch and ride it up to the surface as an angler reels in.

Regs: Oregon has the longest rockfish and lingcod season, as anglers can keep fish year-round. Rockfish can be kept year-round in Washington, but lingcod season is closed for several months. California’s rockfish fishery is restricted by region and the complex regulations require careful examination of the sport fishing regulations before fishing. Alaska also has a seasonal lingcod closure.
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Capt. Andy Martin is an Oregon and Alaska charter boat captain. His Web site is https://www.wildriversfishing.com/.

Sidebar
5 things you didn’t know about rockfish
Black and blue grubs or swim baits are one of the best baits for rockfish, especially in the kelp, because during the winter, when baitfish aren’t around, large rockfish prey upon smaller rockfish, especially blue rockfish.
Rockfish, as with all members of the Sebastes family, give live birth. Rockfish mate in the fall and females store the sperm internally until December or January, when the larvae begin to develop. The fry are spawned in February and March and free-drift for three months before currents bring them inshore and the rockfish mature in kelp beds, where they will spend their first three years.
Rockfish can live up to 20 years or more. Many rockfish aren’t sexually mature until seven years.