SUMMERTIME AND THE squidding, while not easy, is an available option for those hungering for some calimari.
The squid are around in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and squid jiggers are catching them off Port Angeles’ City Pier in the midnight hour.
You can’t keep a good squid down on the salt farm apparently, as some innate urge in their biology has them swimming toward the bright lights and big city atmosphere downtown.
“They love bright lights and are so attracted to the lights they come close to the pier,” said Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim.
“Sometimes you can see these white flashes in the water, and its a school of them.”
Pacific squid, or market squid, or just plain squid, these cephalopods are closely related to octopuses.
But these squid are decodopods, 10-legged creatures, two up on their octopus cousins.
Squid found along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and inside Puget Sound are not the giant squid of maritime infamy.
These are smaller, most well under six inches in size.
There’s a gold mine worth of bad jokes to be made there, but none that will keep me employed.
Menkal suggests using standard glow-in-the-dark squid jigs that you can normally find at his store and other area tackle shops.
Emphasis in the last sentence on “normally.”
Menkal said a recent run on the item has left him awaiting a resupply set for later this afternoon.
“You get yourself a squid jig and use a trout rod that has some sensitivity to it,” Menkal said.
“If a squid grabs it, or you snag it, you’ll feel that.
“That works just fine.”
Menkal said the more adventurous squid will sometimes grab on to the jig with their tentacles.
Port Angeles angler and lure designer Pete Rosko differs from the general consensus, preferring to use a setup of his own.
“I use a 1/2-ounce, glow white Sonic BaitFish jig with a treble hook on the tail and the nose,” Rosko said.
“The line/snap is attached to the nose.
“I hold it about 10 ft below the surface and twitch it as if ice-jigging.
“The squid eat the jig versus snagging.”
He also has another setup in his tackle box.
“The other rig I used is basically a snag rig with a tandem of three or four treble hooks in line,” Rosko said.
“A light sinker, or glow-in-the-dark Crippled Herring, Kandlefish or Sonic BaitFish can be used for weight at the end of the line.
The night time is the right time for Rosko.
“I like squid-jigging, after midnight on the City Pier, under the lights,” he said.
Menkal warned squidders to avoid being hasty in bringing a hooked squid above the surface.
“‘Let them hang out below for awhile,” Menkal said.
“They will squirt that blue ink, so don’t raise the squid near you. They won’t wiggle off like a fish will, so there doesn’t need to be that same sense of urgency as you may have with a salmon.
“And if you get that ink on your clothes it wont come out. Not even Tide [detergent] can help you.”
Menkal told me a good story about a dapper gentleman who decided to go squidding while attired in a tan jacket nice enough to wear out on the town.
“This guy was doing the right thing, keeping them below the dock and keeping his jacket free of ink,” Menkal said.
“But there was a kid jigging behind him who got excited and brought his squid up too early.
“That ink went everywhere and ruined the back of that tan jacket. No fault of his own, besides deciding to wear it in the first place.”
Ward Norden, owner of Snapper Tackle Company, and a Quilcene resident, also has heard squid tales.
“Some of the visitors to the condos on Discovery Bay are already reporting catching hundreds in an evening on their private pier (no public access),” Norden said.
“Its time to check out the public piers in Port Townsend and Port Angeles, hang a light over the water, and see if those tasty critters are there, too.”
For more information on catching squid, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-Squid16.
River fishing class
Menkal will offer a two-part river fishing class at his store in Sequim, 609 W. Washington St., No. 21, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and again Tuesday, July 26.
It’s an excellent introduction for anglers looking to find success on North Olympic Peninsula rivers, or refresher for those seeking to brush up on their angling acumen.
Menkal will offer a host of tips and tricks and point out some good spots to try your luck.
The cost is $35.
Phone ahead to 360-683-1950 to reserve a spot.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 57050 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.