I also remember pier jigging for squid in the winter and using them for P-cod bait,used to do real good.That was twenty years ago though.

The reason for the disapearnce I have always been given was bottom trawlers in the straights and puget sound.

I also spent six years trawling up off the aleautians for p-cod.The succesfull skippers were the guys that had the knowledge of secret roookeries in and around the islands.It was nothing to litterally scoop 120 tons of fish up, run,hide untill processed and hopefully get back to the rookery before all the exitement was over.We used to hug the islands with our lights out to keep other boats from finding our spots.After the europeans fished there stocks down they immediatly came over to our northern waters and would run around year round dragging the nets scratching for all they could get.Some of the storys of little wars I have heard of over cod stocks it does not surprise me that they have all but disapeared.It did not take long for the fish to get harder and hareder to find.Unfortunately there is a huge market for these fish.I am unsure if they have changed to quotas on the p-cod but they need to.Pollack was a junk fish untill the p-cod stocks dwindled.