The squid were coming into the fox hole over the rail like living grenades, and it was all we could do to scoop them into the bucket before they exploded with ink all over the boat. The fisherman to my right was hit in the face by an explosion, and so was the face of deckhand Mike next to him. On the other hand, another fisherman pulled a double-header, and we netted the first squid just before the second one burst. he dodged the shot like neo math questionAnd the ink hit the wall behind him with an audible splash.
Left and right, squid were piling up, and the deck was being covered with black ink. Mike walked up and down the boat, untangling tangled lines, retying nets, and helping anyone who needed it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Captain Greg Dubrule and C.J., another deckhand, recording a Facebook Live video.
“It’s Saturday night, and we’re live!” Dabrule shouted, looking at the camera with his arms outstretched. “We’re on a pile, and we’ve got a lot of people on the boat and a boat full of squid stuff. We’re right on top of them, guys, they’re chewing the anchor line off the boat!”
party all night
It’s a very typical Saturday night for Captain Dubrule and his crew during the peak of the short-lived squid season. In Southeastern Connecticut, three hours from New York City, they take an all-night fishing trip from Niantic on The Black Hawk, the party boat voted number one in the area.
When we left the dock visibility was negligible. There was a thick fog and it didn’t look like it would clear up any time soon. I was on the boat by 6:00 pm, and while most other sailors were struggling to get home that evening, Captain Dubrule was sailing out into Long Island Sound filled with customers. I stood on the bridge with the Captain and listened as he told me about jigging for squid.
“It’s not luck, it’s pure talent,” he said over the drone of a diesel engine. “Lure color, presentation, how you jig; there’s more to squid fishing than anyone might think. We have some guys who bring their LampThey have their own greed, everything.”
Each passenger is allowed one five-gallon bucket, and some of them catch squid for food while others use the trip to stock their bait freezers. this is the first year Black Hawk Sportfishing has been targeting squid, and it’s been a huge success.
“We didn’t really know how popular it was going to be, but we found out it’s very popular. We’ve got a whole boat tonight, and we have a waiting list. Every time we put one of these on, we book it solid,” he said.
Black Hawk has invested about $15,000 in lights and equipment specifically for squid fishing. These lights are very important. “You actually drag the squid to the boat,” he said. “You don’t find them, they find you.”
Bait fish come to the lights, and squid come to the bait. After a while, predators like bluefish, fluke and seabass also arrive and the marine food chain continues. Everyone eats squid, and it is because of predators that the spring squid fishing season exists in such a short window.
“It’s a very short-term fishery, squid fishing only lasts for about three weeks in the spring,” Dubrule said. Once the water temperature rises, the predators come out and it’s all over. Conversely, when things start to cool back down in the fall, squid become active again. The ideal water temperature for squid fishing is above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and below 60 degrees.
Squid Jigging 101
The best setup for squid jigging is a high-low rig with a ¼- to 1-ounce sinker On the bottom and two squid jigs are spaced about 15-20 inches apart on the line (basically enough space so they don’t hit each other as they swim up and down).
What differentiates lures from regular fishing jigs is that instead of a hook, they have one or two rows of barbs attached to each other, which curve upward to catch the squid’s tentacles. Lures come in a variety of weights, sizes, and colors, and it’s good to have a mix of styles in your tackle box. We were using pink and green, and they both packed the same amount of punch. Other colors like orange and white work too. Trial and error may be your best bet to find a winner, or if you’re on a party boat, find someone who is pulling squid and see what they’re using.
For me, I was very fortunate to have some great teachers. On my left was Amy. It was her third time on the boat, and she brought with her some homemade cookies and an empty five-gallon bucket to fill. Last time he made squid salad and fried calamari with the looted pieces; This time she was on a mission. “The trick is to get them inked in the water before they get into the boat,” he said.
“No, that takes all the fun out of it,” said Steve, sitting to my right. Judging by how quickly Steve got his jigs into the water, he wasn’t messing around. After about a minute passed he brought out the first 10-inch long squid, which was changing color and spraying water everywhere.
“If we’re catching them while there’s still light, you know tonight’s going to be good,” Amy said before pulling a double-header.
Without lights, the best way to find squid is bottom fishing. If you can spin the lure at the right speed, you will tempt them enough to strike. I immediately changed my technique to match the pace and rhythm that Steve and Amy were using. Steve suggested I let my sinker hit the bottom, pull up about a foot and slowly cast. However, I was still having trouble, and every time I thought I felt a shock, I would step back and find nothing.
The trouble is that it’s hard to feel when a squid is on the hook. You’re jerking the rod tip up and down with a lot of hardware on the other end, and sometimes jigs and sinkers feel like jerks. I asked Amy what I should watch out for. “They feel like a wet sock at the end of your line,” she said. “You have to really pay attention if you want to set the hook. Also, make sure you don’t cast with too much force or you’ll pull out their net.”
While she was explaining this, Amy grabbed another rod and handed me hers, “Here you reel it in, and I’ll try your rig to see if you’re using the right lure.” I slowly turned around, and a small squid came to the surface. Luckily, as soon as it came up, it went into the water. I barely got her over the rail before Amy climbed onto the other rail with my stick. He handed it back to me, and I realized there was more to squid fishing than I thought.
saturday night lights
Captain Dubrule dropped anchor and decided it was time to turn on the light. Mike, the deckhand, took out a glowing, green Hydro Glo and pitched it on the starboard side. Then he turned on the spotlights on the bridge and the underwater lights around the boat. In the pitch black darkness the mothership had officially landed, and the alien-like squid was about to arrive, like a glowing party boat. This took about five minutes, and when they arrived, the squid began thrashing around at all levels of the water column.
The fishing was going on non-stop, and I could only imagine the pile of squid we were sitting on. With squid, baitfish and predators all swimming fast and changing colors in the light, the bottom of the boat must have looked like a rave party. From time to time, you’ll see them chasing each other underwater like torpedoes or heat-seeking missiles.
We were also in full enthusiasm on the water. Customers were standing shoulder to shoulder on the tracks, all dancing in unison to the classic rock tunes playing from the radio. hydro shine Put green, electric lights on everything, and squid were spraying water and ink everywhere. Any problems I had before had gone away, and I had either got over it Lamp Were doing their work. Whatever the reason, I didn’t have time to figure it out as I pulled back-to-back double-headers into the boat.
“Catch them, catch them,” Captain Dubrulle shouted as he walked back and forth on the deck. “Don’t stop now. It’s a calamari safari!”
The captain and his crew had to work hard dealing with crowds, interviewing customers on video and sorting out 40 lines spread across the water. The fishing continued in this manner until the tide changed, and it did not take long to fill our five gallon buckets to the brim.
clear the deck
Cleaning and draining buckets full of freshly caught squid falls somewhere between a farm water balloon and an oil change gone horribly wrong. Instead of blood, there is dark black ink in abundance. I watched and learned that CJ grabbed a squid behind the eye, placed the other hand on the mantle (squid body) and tore it apart in one go. He then removed a clear, plastic-like piece of cartilage from the mantle called a cuttlebone and cut off the tentacles just below the beak.
For anyone planning on doing this, be sure to separate the beak from the tentacles as it is hard, sharp, and your day will definitely be ruined if you swallow it. And, like an oil change – if you don’t do it on a boat – clean the squid in your garage or another location you can clean later by carelessly discarding it.
On the way back, Steve volunteered to clean. The fog returned with a vengeance, and although there were not as many boats to dodge as before, travel was still slow. I was standing on the bridge with the captain talking to him while a customer’s baby was sleeping on the bench behind us.
“I’ll tell you, you guys caught them,” he said. “That was the best squid we ever caught.” Almost every passenger caught as much squid as they could handle, and if there was any reason why they didn’t do so, it was probably because their hands were too tired from hauling in so many squid. We arrived in Niantic around 2:00, and everyone was back in their cars with ink-soaked clothes and plastic turkey bags full of squid.
The next day I came back home, and after sleeping in a little longer than usual, I cut up the squid and put it in a quick, simple marinade of salt, pepper, lemon, and olive oil. My wife and I went to our favorite Italian market, Russo’s, and picked up a pound of fresh, house-made squid ink pasta with some vodka sauce. Squid cooks fast, and so does fresh pasta, so about 20 minutes after returning home, we were stuffing our faces.
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Judging by their looks, squid should taste pretty bad, but as any fried calamari lover knows, quite the opposite is true. When they’re only a few hours old, they’re even better and deserve to be out all night and covered in ink. Actually, think about it, that’s probably the best part.
