BOAT FISHING WITH BARHAM
Squid are now a sought-after catch.
Squid were once considered an accidental catch by boat anglers fishing with artificial eels, but are rapidly becoming another target for those seeking something completely different. There are an estimated 350 species of squid (or Cephalopods to give them their correct title) in the world, with some giant squid weighing in at two tons and measuring up to 60 feet long.
In UK waters we’re more likely to encounter Loligo forbesii (veined squid) or Loligo vulgaris (European squid) species weighing between 1lb and 12lb, and measuring up to four feet in length.
The European squid is the first to visit our shores in the spring. It has a long, slender body, with long fins that comprise two-thirds of the mantle length. The head and body is relatively small compared to that of the veined squid, and it can grow up to 30cm to 40cm in mantle length, but more usually they are 15cm to 25cm long. Catching one over 2lb is considered an achievement.
The veined squid is much bigger than its European relative and also much stronger – it’s a real voracious predator. The lifespan of a squid is seldom more than two or three years, with the female dying immediately after spawning.
December and January is when the really big squid are caught, normally by accident on cod baits, and some trawlers have reported them as big 12lb-plus.
AGILE OPPONENT
Squid usually have 10 ‘arms’ arranged in five pairs around the head. Four pairs are short and heavy, while the fifth and lighter pair, the tentacles, are more than twice as long as the arms and are equipped with suction cups, which are used to seize and hold prey. In the middle of these arms and tentacles is a mouth equipped with a very hard and sharp beak.
Squid eyes are large, giving this sight feeder excellent underwater vision. They have a highly developed nervous system, probably the most sophisticated of any of the invertebrates, which allows them to be extremely agile. They propel themselves head first by using the motion of their fins, but when alarmed they can pump water out of the mantle through a siphon, shooting water with great force and moving rapidly into reverse. It’s quite common for squid to expel ink when doing this to create a cloud and give them more chance to get away.
Squid are usually a translucent, creamy colour, but when they need to blend with their surroundings, are excited or alarmed, they can rapidly change colour. They are voracious opportunist feeders, their main prey being fish, but they won’t turn down crustaceans, molluscs or even other squid.
BEST TIMES
Squid can be caught in deep water at any time of the year, but the main season for targeting them on rod and line over inshore reefs and wrecks is from September to May, with the period November to February being the most productive. Neap tides or slack water are the best times for squid fishing.
During daylight, squid are usually found in deeper water, normally more than 70ft deep, feeding over wrecks and reefs or on shingle/ sandbanks with the bass and mackerel. Wherever you find bass and mackerel you will find the squid.
At dusk and throughout the hours of darkness they seem to move into the shallows from 10ft to 25ft deep.
JIGS AND TACKLE
I’ve caught numerous squid by accident when using Red Gills and other artificials over wrecks when fishing for cod and pollack, but if you want to target squid specifically a squid jig is essential.
There are many types and colours available, ranging from hard plastic to cloth-covered prawn-shaped versions and skewer jigs for fresh bait, and as with many lures some
catch the angler more than the squid. What they all have in common is two rows of multiple, barbless hooks, designed to entangle the squid’s arms.
Pink, orange, green and blue appear to be the most successful colours, but if I had to choose just one to carry in my box it would be a bright pink prawn-type jig.
When fishing for squid at night, it’s a great idea to use luminous jigs, or even just decorate your cloth-covered jigs with a glow-in-the-dark pen. Squid definitely respond to light at night.
Standard lure-fishing kit can be used for the ultimate sport inshore, with smaller tides and slack water being the most productive times. However, when fishing offshore you may need to step up to a 12lb-class boat rod or a heavier lure rod in order to keep your jigs working vertically with more lead weight.
A fixed-spool reel loaded with 15-20lb braid coupled with a 10-40g lure rod will cover most situations.
THE METHOD
When it comes to fishing the prawn-style jig, the favoured method is a single jig fished either on a 4ft trace behind a boom and weight, or multiple jigs fished on a multidropper paternoster rig.
The flowing trace rig is lowered to the bottom then slowly retrieved for about 20ft, then lowered and retrieved again, exactly like you would when working an artificial over a wreck for cod and pollack.
Multiple squid jigs can be fished paternoster style with each on a 6in trace. Again the slow retrieve method can be used, or you can simply leave the rig hanging over the side and let the ‘motion of the ocean’ move them – like mackerel fishing on a spare rod.
When a squid does take a fancy to your jig you’ll first feel an almost static heaviness on the end of your line. Then, as you start to retrieve, the squid will use its water jet propulsion in a bid to escape.
Pump the squid up slowly, and once it is in the landing net leave it there for a short while, even giving it a shake - this will encourage the squid to release most of its ink into the sea and not all over the boat.
Put the squid into a coolbox with a lid, so that it cannot squirt any remaining ink over everyone and everything. ■