Welcome to the shanty chameleon, glad to have ya aboard ! No need to apologize, Ling can be far and few in between during the summer months, they tend to be sluggish and unresponsive during the warm weather months. But as soon as the ice hits, it is a whole new ball game, the lings get really active at night from December on, they can be caught during the day too sometimes.
Normally in March, they start to spawn and move into the shallower, rocky bottom areas and concentrate together around the rock piles and they become super aggressive, that is the Prime time to target them !
Bouncing a shiny spoon with a chunk of shiner or suckermeat can fill buckets with them at times ! Plan on targeting them on a full moon during the spawn and you will be pleasantly surprised by the results !
Surf