Many years ago (ran a CG 40 footer off Smith Island) we'd be 'putting around in circles doing your basic 'nothing ....' except waiting for someone to do something (usually quite) stupid.

Anyway, just south of Cattle Point (Orcas/San Juan Island?) there's a sea mount that came up. In the fall this is where the MONSTOR ling cod would come to spawn.

So down would go the herring and a couple oz. of lead ... dangle, dangle PuLL and you'd have about a 4-5# rock fish of some kind on the hook .....

NOW you had 'bait for the big boys.' Rod would just bend double like you'd hooked the bottom .... except it was moving off in another direction.

When you got the fish to the top you had to be very quick with a huge landing net as you had NO hook in the big guy. Ling would clamp down on the smaller (thrashing about) rock fish thinking 'easy lunch.' When you got them to the top ... the 'easy lunch' would be released ... but it you were ready with the net ..tooooo late buster!

We'd take enough fld. meat to fill a colman cooler in under an hour.