Here's my tip: Try and collect some smallish live forage fish and then impale a few on a big hook(just like maggots or caddis). No need to fish them too close to the rocks though(snag up less). The idea is to swim them within a foot of the rocks so that when your rig passes over the ling's lair the response is immediate.

Someone commented on the fact that lings aren't hungry all the time. My response to this is that if you eat big meals all the time then of course you'll need a longer time to digest, esp if you just gobbled up your 1lb cousin.

I would have to say that the size of your bait is usually a good indicator of what size of ling you're likely to catch. From my experience, the lings will try to get the biggest bang for their buck, thus they will generally ignore a tidbit or morsel and go for something that is just about as big as their mouths. Those pictures of rockfish/greenling tails sticking out of the ling's mouth are a prime example of what I'm talking about. Much the same way with snakes... they take more than they can eat in one swallow, thus increasing their energy extraction to energy consumption ratio.

Think BIG baits.

I find that in general, the female kelp greenling tend to be about the smallest that you can find with only a few topping 1lb or more. They are peppered with brownish spots, have golden yellow flecks scattered on their sides and are generally light colored in comparison to their male companions. Oh and I forgot, they tend to hole up in groups. Generally they seperate out by sex, with one hole being predominantly male and the next being a harem(one male the rest females;)). So if you catch one, you're bound to catch another if you toss your bait into the same hole.