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How to catch Pink cusk-eel

Genypterus blacodes (Forster, 1801)

About Pink cusk-eel fishing

The pink cusk-eel is an elongated bathydemersal marine fish belonging to the family Ophidiidae, easily identified by its pinkish-yellow body adorned with irregular reddish-brown blotches and reduced filament-like pelvic fins. Distributed widely across cold southern hemisphere waters, it inhabits deep continental slopes and shelf zones ranging from shallow depths down to one thousand metres. This sedentary predator feeds primarily on benthic crustaceans including lobster krill and scampi, as well as various demersal fish. Due to its substantial size and excellent culinary value, it commands high commercial importance and is occasionally encountered by deep-water anglers.

  • Difficulty

    Medium

  • Average size

    100 cm TL

  • Market value

    Medium

  • Habitat

    Saltwater

  • Season

    Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

  • Also known as

    Australian rockling, Banded ling, Common ling, Kingclip, Kingklip, Ling

Pink cusk-eel

Pointed caudal shape

Rounded and pointed tail fin characteristic of cusk-eels.

Reduced pelvic filaments

Pelvic fins reduced to long threadlike filaments positioned far forward.

Reddish brown blotches

Body has pinkish-yellow tone marbled with irregular reddish brown dorsal markings.

Pink cusk-eel fishing facts

Characteristics

  • Typical size

    100 cm TL (max 200 cm SL )

  • Typical weight

    3.5 kg (max 25 kg )

  • Preferred temperature

    3.3–12.7 °C

  • Depth

    22–1,000 m

  • Longevity

    46 years

  • Body shape

    Elongated

  • Commercial?

  • Vulnerability score

    84.1

Best hours

  • Dawn

    First light

    Active

  • Morning

    After sunrise

    Low

  • Midday

    High sun

    Low

  • Afternoon

    Late day

    Low

  • Dusk

    Last light

    Peak

  • Night

    After dark

    Peak

When to fish for Pink cusk-eel

01
January
02
February
03
March
04
April
05
May
06
June
07
July
08
August
09
September
10 Now
October
11
November
12
December

How to catch Pink cusk-eel

Tips for catching Pink cusk-eel

Targeting this deep-water benthic species requires heavy-duty sea angling gear capable of presenting baits effectively at considerable depths along rocky bottoms or soft substrate slopes. Heavy bottom rigs baited with strips of oily fish, squid, or whole crustaceans work best to attract its keen scent-hunting instincts. Since these fish maintain a largely sedentary lifestyle close to the sea floor, working vertical jigs or static ledgering rigs right on the bottom structure during periods of reduced light yields the highest success rates.

Other names for Pink cusk-eel

Local and alternate names anglers use for Pink cusk-eel.

  • Rock ling
  • Pink ling
  • Pink cusk-eel
  • Ling
  • Northern ling
  • Kingklip
  • Kingclip
  • Common ling
  • Banded ling
  • Australian rockling

Best equipment to catch Pink cusk-eel

Compare fishing methods for Pink cusk-eel — sized kit for each technique.

Note: Typical fish is 3.5 kg Our algorithm will suggest the best equipment for you based on this weight.

Best lures and baits for Pink cusk-eel

Ranked lures and natural baits from every method, best first.

How Pink cusk-eel migrates — Oceanodromous

Migrates within the sea between spawning, nursery and feeding grounds, and never enters fresh water. Follow its seasonal shifts along the coast and offshore.

How Pink cusk-eel migrates — Oceanodromous 1. Eggs: Laid on the spawning grounds. 2. Larvae: Drift with the currents to the nursery grounds. 3. Juveniles: Grow up in sheltered nursery waters. 4. Adults: Range widely over the feeding grounds. 5. Spawners: Return to the spawning grounds each season.
Spawning grounds Nursery grounds Feeding grounds

1 Eggs

Spawning grounds

Laid on the spawning grounds.

2 Larvae

→ Nursery grounds

Drift with the currents to the nursery grounds.

3 Juveniles

Nursery grounds

Grow up in sheltered nursery waters.

4 Adults

Feeding grounds

Range widely over the feeding grounds.

5 Spawners

→ Spawning grounds

Return to the spawning grounds each season.

It stays in the sea and never runs up into fresh water.

Hover or tap a number to read each stage.

Diet and behavior of Pink cusk-eel

  • Diet

    Top predator

  • Feeds by

    Hunts animals

  • Hunts

    Dusk · Night

  • Feeds over

    Soft bottom · Hard bottom

  • Main prey

    Baitfish

Prey and predators of Pink cusk-eel

Prey is what Pink cusk-eel eats. Predators are the animals that eat it.

That is how it feeds, and how it is hunted.

Prey

What it eats

Predators

What hunts it

Fish

  • Dipturus chilensis recruits/juv.
  • Dissostichus eleginoides juv./adults
  • Macruronus novaezelandiae juv./adults
  • Squatina guggenheim juv./adults

Where Pink cusk-eel lives

Deep-water bottom fish, below the sunlit shelf. Stay on the seabed in the dark zone.

Habitats
Saltwater
Depth zone
Sublittoral, Bathyal
22–1,000 m
Usually 300–550 m
Water column
Demersal
On or near the bed

Where this species lives

Where to fish for Pink cusk-eel

Mapped fishing spots where Pink cusk-eel is recorded — open a pin for access and methods.

Port Taranaki

New PlymouthTaranakiNew Zealand