SQUID FISHING
Squid fishing is easy. We can practice it from a boat or from the shore (docks, breakwaters…)
We want to difference this fishing from small squid fishing, which will be addressed in other articles.
Fishing from a boat is more effective without any doubt, and it’s the form in which the biggest specimens are caught. But in periods and situations fishing from the shore, in docks, can be very productive, especially with small squid.
Talking about fishing form a boat, we think drift-fishing is more effective, but with a bigger risk of losing material. Also, it’s necessary to be moving quite a lot and pay close attention to the fish-finder. Moored fishing is more peaceful. We are going to explain both in detail.
If there are squid, the normal thing is that everybody is getting some. The technique is easy; when they want to eat, there is nothing special we have to do. And when they don’t want to eat (or they are not around) we can do whatever we want, but we are not going to catch any. It can be a boring modality (when there aren’t).
The bigger incentives of this species is: the quantity, when there are a lot is fun due to the large amount of bites, or the size, due to the fight with heavy squid.
The fishing technique will lie in leave the rig go to the bottom, or to the depth where the squid are moving, and make it seem alive with vertical movements.
It’s important to do it in the depth where the squid are, because sometimes they are not in the bottom, even though the main tendency is to look for them there.
There are different types of rigs:
– One weight, a line and a bait. The weight must have a swivel.
– One weight and line and bait after it. And another bait before. (mix of the two previous systems).
The line can be used with a reel or with the hand. If it is with reel, choose the thinner line possible, the best kind is the braided one, to reduce the draft if there is current and allow the line to be as vertical as possible. If it is with the hand, choose a 0.70 line to avoid cuts and tangles, and in case of suffering any they will be easier to untangle.
For the baits, we have the squid jigs, which are like fake fish with feathers, and the classic heavy squid jigs, covered weights with a line of pins. If we are fishing with a weight, we will not use heavy squid jigs, and if we do with heavy squid jigs, this will replace the weight. In the in-detail articles about moored fishing and drift-fishing we will see the rigs and the baits with more detail.
The use of the fish-finder is a must, thanks to it we can know in which depth the squid are moving, or the type of fish they are hunting. We can also figure out the bottom’s relief, commercial fishing nets that could tangle our rigs…
To know more in detail the fish-finder, we can check the article of introduction to how to read a fish-finder.
As a general rule, we can find them in shallow water during the first and last hours of the day, and at bigger depths in the noon. Also, we will see often that along the day we have more bites of big squid, and in the sunrise/sunset there are more bites, of smaller specimens.
We have to take in count the squid is a terrible predator. It eats as much as it can and it attacks to anything. There is cannibalism between them, the big ones chase the small ones to eat them if they can.
The best period is from middle/end summer to winter. After this period the population decreases (several squid die after the reproduction)
After this introduction, we will go into more detail in specific articles.
