As a young angler, my uncle and I would take a short drive to Sausalito and hop on the Salty Lady, for our weekly trips to the Farallon Islands in search of Rock Cod. About 25 miles outside the San Francisco Bay, the first hour would usually involve tussling with people four times my age for a seat in the galley while waiting for our breakfast burritos to finish from the grill. Back then the standard rig would involve some sort of Penn reel and a stocky 6 ft. rod, with everyone fishing a variety of Shrimp Flys or Diamond Bars.

But with the Japanese reinventing the game like they did with watermelons, the Eastern techniques of Veritical Jigging have proven to be wildly successful for bottom fishing for these voracious predators, such as the Ling Cod pictured above.

More after the jump.

When bottom fishing, you simply drop your line straight down until it hits the floor of the sea, and you reel up about 5-10 ft. It might be the perfect way to introduce friends into salt water fishing who have never caught anything larger than a parasite. I’d recommend a half day trip out of Redondo Beach or Long Beach Sportfishing, both offering 6am and noon trips on the weekends.

Vertical Jigging involves the use of a flat jig, like the P-Line Laser Minnow pictured above. These jigs when used correctly produce the effect of a wounded bait fish. Simply raise the tip of your rod and drop it down, and as the jig drops this is usually when you will get your strikes. Highly effective with Rock Cod, so stop by your local Korean sport fishing store and cop a few for your next trip.