How to catch seafood
Huw Williams shares his methods for snaring and preparing some unusual but tasty seafood alternatives from your yacht
A practical guide to snaring and preparing tasty dishes
One of my favourite ways to spend a day is on the ocean with friends and finish it off with a meal cooked with the fish we’ve caught during the day – and it doesn’t need to be limited to the finned variety. Shellfish and crustaceans are common enough catches, but what about cephalopods?
The word itself means ‘head-foot’, and it’s the genus that includes octopus, squid and cuttlefish. We don’t tend to get that many octopus in the UK, but squid and cuttle are surprisingly plentiful. They’re also easily caught and very tasty.
The two main species found in the waters around the UK are the common squid and the European squid. Both are found all around the UK, but they’re more common in the warmer waters around the south and south-west regions of England and parts of Wales and Ireland, especially in the summer and early autumn months when the sea temperature is at its warmest.
The common squid is the smaller of the two and has a body (the mantle) length that
rarely exceeds 20cm. The European squid can grow to a mantle length of over 50cm, although squid of this size are relatively rare, and the average mantle length is around 30cm – thank goodness. You don’t really want a squid that size on a yacht.
Squid don’t seem to be on most people’s fishing radar, but they’re a lot more common in British waters than you might imagine. They’re sometimes caught accidentally while fishing for other species – usually mid-water when you’re pulling in your tackle – but there are specific ways to target them, and the fact that they’re active predators makes them suckers (sorry) for artificial lures. As is so often the case, copying the methods commercial fishermen use is the way to go.
Commercial squid boats fish at night and use large banks of lights to illuminate the water. The squid are attracted to this and squid-specific lures suspended or jigged in the illuminated water are extremely effective. Commercial boats can catch thousands of squid in a night, and if we scale down the technique a tasty squid snack is very much on the cards.
A squid lure is very different to the ones we use for bass and mackerel. Instead of a hook, it uses a skirt of sharp pins which catch the tentacles of the squid as it envelops it. The pins are barbless, so you
can easily shake it off once it’s aboard. As we’ve discovered, squid are attracted to light, so these lures are usually luminous and a 7-10cm model is just right for use in the UK. The standard model is cigar shaped and works well, but there are prawn-shaped versions that may be worth a try. Just like fishing for bass, resist the temptation to buy lots of different versions – you only need one. And a spare.
Tackle
As explained in last month’s feature on catching mackerel and bass when sailing, never use a fishing rod on a yacht if you can help it. They take up space, get damaged on rigging and it’s too easy to hook up a crew member or poke them in the eye. While you’re enjoying the sensation of the rod being bent over (it’s a big one!) and the reel’s drag is buzzing, you run the risk of your catch swimming around the keel and rudder or, worst of all, the prop.
I recommend using a handline. They’re cheap, foolproof, maintenance-free, take up minimal storage space and work really well. When you hook a fish or squid, you just haul it in hand over hand. It only takes a few seconds and drastically reduces the chance of fouling the boat.
All the kit you will need for catching squid should fit into a small box and cost less than £20:
30m of 20kg breaking strain nylon line wrapped around a suitable holder A lanyard to prevent handline from going overboard pack of quick-release clips – Spinlinks are a reliable brand – useful if you get into a tangle or want to switch to another type of fishing squid lures
How to catch squid
You’ve had a pleasant day, dropped the anchor in deepish water and dusk is falling. Rig a torch to shine vertically into the water. Attach one end of the lanyard to the boat and the other to your handline holder. Tie a quick-release clip directly to the end of the nylon line using a three-turn uni-knot. Attach your luminous squid lure to the clip, charge-up the lumo with the torch for 30 seconds, lower to half depth and jig slowly. Note: this is not the erratic motion that mackerel like. Come up a metre and repeat the jig until you reach the surface. Then back down and do it again. Or, if you’re feeling lazy just leave the lure dangling in mid-water or suspend it under a plastic bottle rigged as a float – this is most effective if there’s some chop to give the lure some movement. Eventually you’ll hook a squid, and if there’s one there’ll be lots.
Squid bites are what we might call very positive – you’ll initially feel a strong pull as the squid engulfs the jig with its tentacles and a heavy weight will continue to be felt. If you’re using a float, it will just shoot under the surface – exciting stuff! The instinct is to pull back, like you do when a fish bites, but resist this temptation because you’re not trying to set a large barbed hook – the squid is already hooked on the lure’s skirt. Instead, smoothly and steadily pull in the line, and don’t give any slack – this will prevent the squid from untangling itself from the barbless jig. Now for the most important part. Squid, as you probably know, squirt copious amounts of ink when they feel threatened. So don’t bring the squid out of the water until it has squirted all its ink!
If you forget this – very easy to do in all the excitement, and initially hilarious when it happens – you’ll be cleaning the deck (and each other) for the next week. It sticks to everything like cephalopod superglue.
How do you dispatch it? Cut off the head and tentacles with a single stroke of your knife, and watch out for the beak – it’s sharp! Don’t forget to keep the tentacles – they’re the tastiest part – while a head and tentacles or whole squid makes a great bass bait.
How to eat squid
First, you need to gut and clean them. Get your sharpest knife and slit the mantle so it can be opened flat. Pull out the entrails and the plastic-like bone. Pull the skin off and rinse thoroughly. It should be a uniform creamy-white colour. Now, cut the tentacles off the head and give them a rinse – you don’t need to skin them. Use the same method for cuttle and take a look at the beak – it’s fascinating. Now imagine it scaled up on a 2m long Humboldt squid. Yikes.
Some people don’t like eating squid and cuttle because ‘it’s like eating rubber’. This is down to cooking it incorrectly. You must either fry, deep-fry or BBQ it quickly, or simmer it gently in a sauce for 30 minutes or so. I’m a quick cook fan, particularly on a boat when gas is limited. Anything in-between will result in a dish of cephalopod a la silicone.
Most people are familiar with calamari fritters, but I tend to avoid deep frying on a boat. Instead, try the classic chilli squid. There are umpteen variations, but we’re on a boat so let’s keep it simple. Cut the cleaned mantles into four pieces and lightly score one side in a criss-cross pattern. Heat some oil in a pan, add chilli flakes and chopped garlic. Add the squid pieces and the tentacles. Stir fry for 15 seconds and don’t let the garlic burn. Add a splash of soy sauce or lemon juice. Eat. It’s a great starter, and because the squid is so fresh it’ll be the best you’ll ever have.
How to catch cuttlefish
We’re familiar with cuttle (fish) because of those white foam-looking things we often see washed up on the beach. These are the cuttle’s internal skeleton or bone, and it’s more accurately described as a gas-filled shell that the cuttle uses for buoyancy. They’re a useful clue to catching them.
Cuttle spend the winter in deep water, but once spring arrives, they start to head inshore looking for shallow, sheltered water that has a profusion of sea-grass in which to lay their eggs. Then, like salmon, they expire. I’ve noticed over the years that cuttle tend to arrive at the same time as terns, and if you start seeing cuttle bones on the beach it means they’ve spawned and have started to die, so keep your eyes peeled when you’re sailing close to shore and you might find them floating on the surface. A run around the harbour in the dinghy could also be fruitful. If you’re anchored up in a shallow-ish harbour or bay it could be worth trying your newly acquired squid jig under a float, but don’t forget they’re here to breed, so it’s probably better to wait until they’ve expired and then just pick them up.
Just like a squid, they’re equipped with ink defence and the beak is much larger, so watch out! Dispatch in the same way.
Eating cuttlefish
Because the flesh is thicker than a squid, I find slow cooking to be best, particularly the tentacles, so maybe save your precious gas and make a classic fish stew at home. Add some olive oil to a pan and soften onion and garlic. Add a few chilli flakes, a tin of tomatoes, red wine, sliced fennel or fennel seeds and a selection of white fish, shellfish and lots of cuttle pieces. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread. I’m drooling already.
How to catch crustaceans
This encompasses lobsters, prawns and crabs, but we’re mainly concerned with the Edible Crab, also known as a Brown Crab. If you’ve ever had a crab sandwich at the seaside, this is what you’ve been eating, and unless you really want to turn over hundreds of rocks for little return, the best way is to once again copy commercial fishermen – that means using a pot.
Commercial pots are heavy and take up valuable space on board, but there are now collapsible and lighter versions available that fold flat. Result. But first you need a recreational potting licence which is easily applied for online and is free of charge. Different parts of the UK have different licences – if you search for sea fishing/crab/lobster/recreational licence and your area you’ll be successful. Make a point of thoroughly reading the information concerning seasons, size limits and catch limits – there are quite punitive penalties if you break the rules.
Also, think about ethical dispatch. A crab can be dispatched by quickly pushing a sharp implement between its eyes – a small screwdriver works well – but there seems to be no firm agreement on lobsters because they have no central nervous system. Some favour putting them straight into boiling water, others cold water that is brought to the boil. Some restaurants actually electrocute them, but even for a PBO reader this may be a project too far. It’s a tricky one.
Right, you’ve downloaded the licence, bought the pot, attached a suitable line (sinking) and a brightly coloured float – NOT an almost-invisible empty milk bottle. Just think of the number of times you’ve cursed commercial pot markers! Now’s your time to show nautical leadership.
A bright yellow bleach bottle works well because it has a guaranteed air-tight top, so it won’t sink. Make sure to label it with your boat name and newly acquired licence number. You could even get the children to design the ultimate pot marker and make it into a mini-danbouy complete with flag and reflective tape.
If you’re cruising for the day, bait up the pot, deploy it as close to rocks or ledges as is safe – not, of course, where other people are likely to anchor or in a main channel – and remember that the sea state and depth may have changed when you return. Make a note of the lat and long or put a waypoint into your chartplotter.
If you’re anchored, just bait up the pot with mackerel heads and lob over the side. Tie the line onto the boat and check it each hour. As well as crab and lobster, you can often catch shrimps and prawns and it’s probably an easier method than wading the shallows with an enormous push net. You might also catch some whelks using this method and a friend once pulled up his pot to find a large conger eel in residence!
Remember that commercial fishermen do this for a living. They all have their favourite spots and there’s an unwritten rule that you don’t put your pot right next to someone else’s. If you do, don’t be surprised if it’s not there on your return.
Eating crustaceans
Drop into boiling water for a few minutes, allow to cool and devour with lots of Mmmmm noises.