Native to the northeastern Pacific, lingcod occur from Alaska's Kodiak Island down to Baha California, with a particularly large concentration near the coast of British Columbia off Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands, and in the Strait of Georgia, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. Lingcod prefer rocky areas, living on the bottom of the ocean from intertidal depths to about 100 metres.

Lingcod are not a true cod. They have an elongated body with a long dorsal fin, and are generally a mottled brown, but can be grey, green or reddish-brown-even bluish. Their colouration gets lighter on their underside. Scales cover their body except for their head. Highly predatory, lingcod also have a very large mouth filled with sharp teeth. They can grow to more than a metre in length and weigh more than 30 kilograms, with females growing significantly larger than males (which rarely exceed 90 centimetres). Males live to about 14 years and females live to about 20 years.