your best catch

[supersquid]

Hi all

What was you best catch <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blueboxbullet.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />

Mine was about six years ago on Queenscliff peir where I caught 22 squid

( 12 were released) It was a freezing cold night in july and I was fishing in about three feet of water using to long poles and jigs baited with salted pilchards. While I have been out in boats and caught more than I did this night, it was the speed I was catching them at. what made this night more memorable was that other anglers had only caught about four or five each

and some went home without, people were fishing right next to me using whiting for bait but the squid wernt interested needless to say there were a few foul looks coming my way that night. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blueboxbullet.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />



Another time was out in the boat about 20 years ago at Queenscliff between the two peirs, smack bang in the middle actually It was a hot windless calm day and the water was crystal clear, my brother and I were cleaning leather jackets and throwing the skins over the side

with in minutes a huge school of squid surrounded the boat and began to feed on the skins and guts of the leather jackets. Well I'll tell you now it was on for young and old and the squid kept coming, this was well before the days of bag limits so we just kept hauling them in till we had enough

and it was clear that if we kept going we could have filled the boat <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blueboxbullet.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':o' />





So what was your best catch and your most memorable one





Supersquid

[aok47]

HI,



i've got 2 most memorable squid fishing moments,...



Mornington, 14ft of water close to shore, i was fishing with my dad at anchor when i started casting a squid jig cause the fish weren't biting. in one hot session we caught 6 big cuttlefish and 4 calamari, all were caught on orange jigs. There were other boats drifting for calamari around us but noone was catching any .



2nd memorable moment was offshore out of flinders fishing for sharks. Dead bait got snaffled by an arrow squid which i managed to jag on the 10/0 hook, it let out an almighty rip and drenched my self and my neighbour in seawater. Out go the squid jigs and my neighbour latched onto a big arrow, anyway we bring it to the side and about to put it in the bucket when it let out a squirt. Problem was that this time it ws ink and we got drenched in it. we had to sit down becuase we were laughing so hard <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />: . The boat was a complete mess with the squirt extending 18ft all the way to the front of the boat <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' /> . No camera was onboard unfortunately,...



i wont forget the inking for a very long time,....



AK

[Mr_snapperman]

I've bagged out many times but in all these occasions most of the catch has been small with the ocassional good one thrown in. My best catch was a total of 14kg (6 squid), all bad hungry monsters. Getting them around to the right point of the pier to use a small net was at times farcical but very exciting. My father and mum, fishing off portsea pier two years ago bagged around 20 one night for 27kg weighed!!

[mangajack]

G'day Fellas,



My best haul of squid was about 15 years ago outside Moreton Island, Qld.



Late at night about 15 miles offshore in around 600-700 feet of water on the drift.



As usual we had a big berley trail running to bring the snapper to under the boat but this particular night the squid came up instead. All largish tiger squid around the kilo mark.

An amazing sight to see several hundred huge squid swimming in circles 6 feet under your boat in the moonlight.

In a little over an hour a friend and myself boated 93kgs of squid.

That lasted about a yrs supply of bait and meals on the table for four familes.



There is no bag limit for squid in qld and the trawlers haul similar amounts nearly every time in the area.



Close to shore it's unusual to get ten squid a night landbased as i think the trawlers can take as much squid as they want as bycatch.



Mangajack

[Guest]

That sounds like an incredible experience. The squid must of come together for some mating frenzy. I found a story on the net some time ago about 2 divers off the coast of California encountering huge schools of squid which were in the process of mating and then subsequently dying (as I am told all squid do?!!). Does anyone have any more info on the mating process/congregation partiularly concerning southern calamari.



Ps. If I find that diving story I will post it here.

[Guest]

Southern calamari live for between 12 and 18 months.

There size depends on how they have fed in that time but I have seen thenm to 6kg+

The male squid fertilizes the squid within the female's mantel, she then fastens the ready spawn to weed on the bottom.

After spawning the squid hang around the spawn wether to protect it or waiting for mates to arrive is unsure.



Flying Squid live upwards of 300days and die shortly after spawning.

Earlier this year I witnessed thousands of Flyers sipping on the surface in 35 meters of water, they where rising like trout and spread over an area of 200 square meters



We troll for squid here at times in the dark and I have had them crawling up my buley pot to get to some leftover burley ,this while trolling at 4kts.

Regards John

[IVAN T]

Last year I caught a 50lb Humboldt squid on the New Sea Angler out of Bodega Bay California. The squid was caught on a 2.5lb Candy Catcher jig at 800ft of water.