Hi all, i'm writting this report as squid fishing seems to be winding down. First off let me say this is my first year squidding with my wife and we both got the SQUID FISHING FEVER. Early report in May was discouraging from experienced anglers saying squid fishing was tough, which was very true in RI and MASS.. However in mid May squid seem to pick up better then predicted. On Memorial Day weekend squid fishing seemed to gain momentum and squid was all along the south shore of RI. My wife and i went every friday and saturday with no regrets as squid fishing got better and better. This weekend might be the last squid fishing this year as the fleet will target other speices as the summer goes on. As die hard fisherman we all know that feeling as the season is winding down. My regrets is that i didn't try squid fishing earlier before and i didn't write up about the fasinating squid fishing experience i had this year.
Here is what i learned from fishing on the Frances boat and in Newport. Tackle is pretty simple with any fresh water set with a 6-7 foot rod that can handle 8-20 lb test mono line with 1/2 - 2 oz sinker with either spinning or conventional set up. Since i spend more time on the boat this is will be more related to boat fishng. I start with a 25 lb test mono leader with 2 dropper loop about 6" long and 18-24 inches apart with a sinker attached 6-12" from the bottom dropper loop. I found out that the most common, and relaible jigs are YOR-ZURI ultra 4" jigs with pink and glow 2 best results.
Now the fun part, there are several different ways to jig for squid.
My favorate is drop your line to the bottom and use a quick 1' jig motion. If a squid is on the jig you will feel a heavy sensation on the line and then you just reel up with constant pressure on the line. No need to reel in fast, just reel in slow and sometimes a second squid will grab your other jig or it might try and grab the same jig.
My second method is a sinking jig with no weight. You cast out and let it sink slowly and jig it up slowly. Sometime you can feel a squid grab your line and pull on the line and swimm away with your jig. This works great when squid are near the top of the water feeding on bait fish.
Another technique is cast out your line and let sink to the bottom and reel in slow with a long sweeping motion as you are reeling back to the boat. However this requires the angler with alot of patient because when you reel in the line its painfully slow which requires alot of pateint ( which i don't have ). When a squid takes your jig it's that heavy feeling at the end of the line.
I could go on and on but you get the idea and the excitement when squids are coming up all around the boat and ink squirting all over the place. I've walked into a 7 11 store with my face half inked and the clerk ready to push the panic button behind the counter one time because i didn't wipe off all the ink on my face.
You can get good results fishing Newport docks and Goat island causeway, BUT..................................................................
loosing 2 or 3 jigs gets very tiring and expensive, thats why i fished from the boat and i have not lost a jig yet.
Here is what i learned from fishing on the Frances boat and in Newport. Tackle is pretty simple with any fresh water set with a 6-7 foot rod that can handle 8-20 lb test mono line with 1/2 - 2 oz sinker with either spinning or conventional set up. Since i spend more time on the boat this is will be more related to boat fishng. I start with a 25 lb test mono leader with 2 dropper loop about 6" long and 18-24 inches apart with a sinker attached 6-12" from the bottom dropper loop. I found out that the most common, and relaible jigs are YOR-ZURI ultra 4" jigs with pink and glow 2 best results.
Now the fun part, there are several different ways to jig for squid.
My favorate is drop your line to the bottom and use a quick 1' jig motion. If a squid is on the jig you will feel a heavy sensation on the line and then you just reel up with constant pressure on the line. No need to reel in fast, just reel in slow and sometimes a second squid will grab your other jig or it might try and grab the same jig.
My second method is a sinking jig with no weight. You cast out and let it sink slowly and jig it up slowly. Sometime you can feel a squid grab your line and pull on the line and swimm away with your jig. This works great when squid are near the top of the water feeding on bait fish.
Another technique is cast out your line and let sink to the bottom and reel in slow with a long sweeping motion as you are reeling back to the boat. However this requires the angler with alot of patient because when you reel in the line its painfully slow which requires alot of pateint ( which i don't have ). When a squid takes your jig it's that heavy feeling at the end of the line.
I could go on and on but you get the idea and the excitement when squids are coming up all around the boat and ink squirting all over the place. I've walked into a 7 11 store with my face half inked and the clerk ready to push the panic button behind the counter one time because i didn't wipe off all the ink on my face.
You can get good results fishing Newport docks and Goat island causeway, BUT..................................................................
loosing 2 or 3 jigs gets very tiring and expensive, thats why i fished from the boat and i have not lost a jig yet.
