Ling is a member of the much sought after cod family. The body is eel like in that it is very long and slender. Ling tend to be a very light brown in colour with a white under side.
The ling has 2 dorsal and 1 anal fin. The upper jaw of a ling protrudes slightly further than its lower jaw. Adult ling can be found in depths up to 400m. They prefer areas of rocky ground, small ling can often be found in shallow rocky waters.
Ling are viscous feeders and will feed on most fish species but are known to appreciate cod, pouting and mackerel offered by anglers.
Unlike conger, the ling does not live directly inside a wreck, but much prefers the ground surrounding the sunken vessels. Ling can grow well into double figures with a 20lb fish regarded as very good. Sadly from Holyhead most of the ling fail to exceed 5lb
