thanks everyone, later on I did have 2 more chances at a second lingcod, hooked one at 40' that felt larger, got it halfway up and poof, it was gone (that happens with these fish...), the other was a solid ling take at the bottom, felt it move, set the hook hard and my 20# leader broke right in the middle, so it had been nicked on a rock at some point...that's how it goes fishing around pilings and rocks...lots of hook sharpening and leader checking. I released 5 coppers and also took home a 1.5# black...
FYI- that ling, which was 23.5" on the cleaning table, resulted in a pair of beautiful 14oz fillets and another 6oz of chunks, strips, cheeks, and bellies, so 2+ pounds of eats plus 2 crab baits from that fish...