6 Jan 2013 Humbolt Squid trip

[JeffB]

I headed out tonight for the squid despite the forecast for nasty weather. All I could think about was the previous two nights numbers on the squid. I took my pinhead head seeker rod( big mistake) bc he had my biggest reel on it. I was in for a little surprise when we first got there when they were telling everyone to completely empty their spools. We were fishing in over 1000' of water. I dumped out over 1200' of line and still did not hit the bottom. I was the first guy to hook up and of course it had to happen when I had 1000' of line out, ... It took a few minutes, but managed to get it all the way up to the top. The deck hand went to gaff it for me and dropped it half way up. This was how my night started. The kid ended dropping my first 5 squid , and he was doing the same to everyone else's squid. I was a lil flustered :banghead, so I just started slinging them over myself. I ended going 20/21 slinging over the side myself. It was a little bit of a slow night though, hardly anyone was catching them. Did not help that 5 or 6 people were sicker than a dog. Half way through the trip over half the people were sitting out. The last 30-45min only 6 of us were even fishing. Oh, we only fished for like 2 1/2hrs. We left around 4:15pm and were back by 8:00ish, we floated in place for about 20min so they could finish cleaning. So not a whole lot of fishing. Oh, did I mention it rained, more like poured! Plus the 10' swells was what was kicking everyone's butts and the wind. Luckily I had my little friend with me for a back up plan, dramamine, , to everyone else who was doing this with one another !!! I got to the point were I was just shaking the squid off at the side of the boat till I got in trouble, they told me to keep them so they could give to everyone else who wasn't catching anything or was sick. "KINDA" felt bad for them ... None the less it was a fun, crazy, and shitty trip all at the same time. The squid that I kept were about 8lb-10lb average. Almost all squid being caught were around an 8lb average....


*** Here is a tip***
I brought the squid home to clean myself. I watched them do it and looked easy. Took maybe 2min a squid at my house, for the part they were doing. Once I got the steaks in the kitchen I noticed a couple of things extra to do. Here are a couple pictures and hope that it helps you out if you do catch big squid and take them home. remove anything shinny. There is a real tough but really thin white piece of film implanted on the top under the skin. Pinch it with your finger nails on the corner to get it started so that you can pull it away. Then on the belly side, there is a very very thin coat as well. It is a lot harder to take off the the top. Once you take both of them off you will end up with a off white piece of meat that is actually pretty tender and you loose the smell once you remove those two extra parts. The deck hands on the boat did not tell anyone to do so once they get home.

I hope that helps out a little bit.















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-----So the big squid are in town and was thinking of going out and having a little fun. I saw where the party boats started night trips last for them and want to get the wife out for some action. Has anyone caught any big ones, not little guys? How hard do they fight or would it be a waist of time? I see it as a good way to get some calamari and load up on ground fish bait for the yr. any and all feed back would be much appreciated. I would think a big one would have a little spunk to them.----

[Ggiannig89]

I also woukd like to go and get in on some squid action. Are they in la jolla, if so what area?

[JeffB]

I think so, not sure. I'm just going to go on a party boat with my wife and let the deck hands mess with them. Keep my hands clean for once!

[danjor]

I have been trying to go out fishing for these for the last 6 years. If there still around come Monday night I'm going to go out.

[slobslayer]

Ya they fight! If they are in thick you end up pulling in more than one because they grab each other and try to eat each other. They taste pretty good but are very messy. Has anyone caught them in la jolla recently? I hope they aren't here....

[JarrodMc]

I wanna go! get a squid rig and put a 4-6oz weight on the bottom and drop it down. yo-yo it like an iron

[Dail14]

Its probably not a good idea to mess with one on a kayak. Their beaks could easily mutilate your hand if not careful and as long as their bodies touch water they can keep pulling their way down deeper. Its also probably not a good idea to put any part of your body around you in the feeding frenzy that follows any catch.

[Ggiannig89]

Hmm only took my kayak out to la jolla once so far but this sounds exciting to do on a kayak, the danger and difficulty factor intrigue me. Thinking about heading out tomorrow night

[crazyfishnfool]

There great for calamari but i heard there the worst thing to us for bait, something about the scent they put off scares the fish away.??

[TJones]

He's right. They catch scent of the red devil , and flee for there life. As far as catching them, I went on party boat and tried it. Won't do it it again. They are heavy and will put a bend in rod , but it is not the same as catching a fish. Can't tell you what they taste like , I couldnt figure how to properly prepare it. Tight lines.

[JeffB]

I don't know about all that.... That is all I used this past season for ground fish was strips of humbolt and I had very very productive yr of very nice size rocks. Either your just guessing or your were fishing in the wrong places at the wrong time. I even had some goats and white fish in the mix. Also the sand bass tore them up. I just cut them into strips and pin them onto lucanus jigs. The whole reason I started using humbolt was bc they were a lot thicker and lasted throw a few fish vs one fish

[DanaPT]

Last year I fished for them using a trap-rig and dead sardines. Cast it out and let them latch on and chew on the dead bait a while. Pump the tip, set the hook(s) and you'll hook em enough to get them to the side of the yak for a gaff.

what you do after that is your choice they squirm around a lot.

Bait up and repeat.

[Tman]

Here's a story for you all, might get a kick out of...

Couple years back one of the dads at Clay's school, Chuck, was putting together a kids and dads afternoon fishing trip and sent Clay home with a note, knew us from the MLPA crap, wanting to know if we would come along, help out and bring some extra gear.

We go out of Helgrens, no fish anywhere, none of the kids catching. The Captain comes over and tells us that the esqueed are outside, should we take a run to the? Heck ya, the kids would love it.

We get outside, they are everywhere, kids having a blast, I happened to have a big esqueed jig, these boys were brutes, 40# range...kids and dads having a blast, everyone got to tug on one or two. Deckhands would bring them over the rail, and step on their heads to remove them, don't know which group was more in awe, the kids or the dads. One dad, non-fisher, couldn't get one, so I help him out, let him use my setup, nothing...so I start 'showing' him how to do it, jig up and down, I have one on but don't tell him...poor guy didn't realize one was on, just sat there jigging...I tell him to sweep the tip up hard, finally, he feels it, his first one. Clay and I ended up going home with 3.

Now here's the fun part...I cleaned a couple and vacuum sealed a bunch to give to friends, etc.

I had one sans head, sticking out of a big black trash bag, talking with a neighbor girl the next day...now, picture this thing is thick, grayish, with a bit of red color to it. Neighbor guy walks by, sees it, and asks what it is...I tell him I think it's a human thigh (it did look like one) and Olga (Brazilian) is right on cue, and says "Yeah, Martin found it in the dumpster..."

That guy did a wide loop to avoid us, eyes wide open in fear, started telling us we were crazy and how he wants nothing to do with us...he was literally walking as fast as he could to get away from us, to the point he was almost running...his initial reaction was hilarious!

Best part is, he had just moved in to the hood...