Throughout the rest of the lingcod's range, live herring, greenling or rockfish work well. When using live baits, intentionally or unintentionally, never pull their head out of the water. Always net or gaff the lingcod while it's still entirely underwater, otherwise it might let go. If it lets go before you net or gaff it, lower your bait back down and past him - sometimes they'll grab the bait again. Put the top hook through both lips and the back hook through the skin near the tail.
Spreaders allow the bait to reach the bottom rapidly without tangling the mainline.
Crescent sinkers, torpedo sinkers or sliding sinkers with heavy leaders work well if you're using smaller live baits like herring, sand dabs or squid. I prefer using sliding sinkers when fishing live bait. This method allows the live bait to swim more actively and allows you to feel the live-bait fish trying to escape when a hungry lingcod rears its ugly head. When you feel the lingcod take the bait, feed it line until your rod starts to bend, then set the hook, hard. Large pipe jigs and a variety of imitation baitfish jigs also work well.