How to FIND a live squid - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

lamb · 01-24-2008, 03:59 PM

Well, there’s really not much to it – as long as they are there.

You can catch them on Sabiki, even snag on iron, but the squid jig is your best bet. I’ve been using one of those stringers – 5 or 6 small squid rings, and I put the bigger glow in the dark squid jig on the bottom. I got it at West Marine. That wasn’t heavy enough, so I added ghetto workaround – 4oz torpedo sinker on the bottom of the bigger squid jig. Worked pretty good.

They've got to be around, and you’ve got to find them. Previous years, I’ve been mostly picking them straight off the bottom. I would see a tiny marks right above the bottom on my FF... Just a lil' weird noise to drop my squid jig down all the way. You just lift it up and down until you feel you snagged on something. Wind it in doing steady retrieve as squid jigs are barbless – if you drop it down again, they'll just slide off. It’s usually been slow pickings – one or two at the time.

Early light seemed to be the best time, though I’ve been picking them off in the middle of the day as well.

Last week on Thursday when we got on them, it was ridiculous. I’ve never seen anything like that. They were so thick my FF was black from about 30 ft below all the way down to the bottom. And it was like that all the way from the canyon edge in about 150ft till the kelp line in 60 ft, straight in front of the preserve line. And it was the middle of the day – 11:00 AM or so. Nothing really mattered – just drop down and bring a couple in.

They do seem to like the canyon edge...

Glow-in-the dark seems to help, especially in the low light.

Again – real easy, as long as they are there.

tylerdurden · 01-24-2008, 04:03 PM

Gary, if you weren't marking anything on your meter on Sunday check your settings or it may be time for a new FF. They were on the meter on Sunday in and throughout the whole armada. Best way to find them was to use the FF and look for bait marks and lines. Mine is b&w so they don't look much different than normal bait balls.

01-24-2008, 03:59 PM	#1
lamb Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,568	Well, there’s really not much to it – as long as they are there. You can catch them on Sabiki, even snag on iron, but the squid jig is your best bet. I’ve been using one of those stringers – 5 or 6 small squid rings, and I put the bigger glow in the dark squid jig on the bottom. I got it at West Marine. That wasn’t heavy enough, so I added ghetto workaround – 4oz torpedo sinker on the bottom of the bigger squid jig. Worked pretty good. They've got to be around, and you’ve got to find them. Previous years, I’ve been mostly picking them straight off the bottom. I would see a tiny marks right above the bottom on my FF... Just a lil' weird noise to drop my squid jig down all the way. You just lift it up and down until you feel you snagged on something. Wind it in doing steady retrieve as squid jigs are barbless – if you drop it down again, they'll just slide off. It’s usually been slow pickings – one or two at the time. Early light seemed to be the best time, though I’ve been picking them off in the middle of the day as well. Last week on Thursday when we got on them, it was ridiculous. I’ve never seen anything like that. They were so thick my FF was black from about 30 ft below all the way down to the bottom. And it was like that all the way from the canyon edge in about 150ft till the kelp line in 60 ft, straight in front of the preserve line. And it was the middle of the day – 11:00 AM or so. Nothing really mattered – just drop down and bring a couple in. They do seem to like the canyon edge... Glow-in-the dark seems to help, especially in the low light. Again – real easy, as long as they are there. __________________ [------------------------ <)))< ....b-a-a-a-a

01-24-2008, 04:03 PM	#2
tylerdurden Bad Clone Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 874	Gary, if you weren't marking anything on your meter on Sunday check your settings or it may be time for a new FF. They were on the meter on Sunday in and throughout the whole armada. Best way to find them was to use the FF and look for bait marks and lines. Mine is b&w so they don't look much different than normal bait balls. __________________ MLPA, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem Let the Fish and Game Commission know what you think about the proposed maps. Be ready for December 9th and 10th.