Caught 2 ling-cod on a 1/2 day trip on the Patriot out of Newport Landing. Actually my 12 year-old-son did. The biggest was 24 inches. 2 inches short of a keeper or else it would have doubled the jackpot winner (a 2 pound calico)
We fished live squid. Most on the boat were fishing squid strips and catching tiny calicos. Seemed a waste of time to me.
My son also hooked into something big that immediately headed for the props making sure to wrap every line on the way. I'm thinking it was a ray. It also hit on the live squid.