new guy

[gregwa]

hi folks thanks for all the information here.I want to make sure Im ready for the upcoming season.I can fish from providence to boston...boat,pier,bridge.just need opinions on what works and what doesnt.all advice is welcome! thanks and enjoy!

[BillG]

hi folks thanks for all the information here.I want to make sure Im ready for the upcoming season.I can fish from providence to boston...boat,pier,bridge.just need opinions on what works and what doesnt.all advice is welcome! thanks and enjoy!

 

If you haven't already, come into the Newport 2015 topic. For that matter, it would be worthwhile to skim the 2014 and 2013 forums for other info. 2013 was the Spring squid season that wasn't. 2014 was the best Spring squid season in 20 years. So there is great info to be gained from both threads. Boats, piers and bridges are all great locations. A lot depends on what you have. If you have a boat, fish finder and lights, you can go into a place like Newport Harbor, find the squid, catch your fill, and go home happy until you realize what is involved in cleaning 50+ squid at 2 a.m. If you're totally new, have no boat and no squid gear (jigs, lights, etc.), you will want to fish a pier or a bridge with lights on it or a popular spot where people already have lights there. Get yourself some quality jigs. Skip the WalMart ones which look like a skinny barrel with 2 rows of hooks. Those catch in a great year, but you will have better success (and fewer bottom snags) with some of the other jigs. Squid should start running within the next 3-4 weeks, so if you need to gear up, do it now.

[Gilligan]

 Welcome Greg, where are you located?? I am mostly a dock/pier squidder and do most of my fishing on the Vinyard. I prefer a short 5-6' (mine is 5') light action trout style rod with four pound test line. The more sensitive the rod the better so I use graphite rods. I also use a TINY snap with no swivel to make quick jig changes easier (getting hard for me to see four pound at night). I prefer jigs 3&1/2 inches or less with the Yamashita Naory RH in size 1B being my new favorite although I loved the Martinetti prawns for years. White, pink, and orange are the colors I use the most with green and tan right behind. If you are in the Boston area Tomo's Tackle in Salem is a great source of jigs, and so is Lucky Bait and Tackle in Warren, RI if you're down thataway. Squid Jig Warehouse (google it) is the best source for the Martinettis and he is very reasonably priced for online or phone ordering and he carries a huge variety of jigs but no Yamashitas or Yozuris. Tomo has a website also and you can phone order from him too. So if you freshwater fish just spool up a light rod with 4-6 pound line (flouurocarbon is great), get a few Naorys and watch the reports for squid near you and go get 'em. As far as jigging technique, just watch a couple of other jiggers and you will get the action down in no time. Well lit docks are very productive although when the squid are in thick they will be easy enough to get in dark areas. Have a ball, squidding is addictive!!

[Gilligan]

Sorry, I prefer the Naory RH jigs in size 1.8B. For some reason I could not edit the above post to change my omission of the .8.

[gregwa]

thanks guys,I got the reel,penn battle II,(10 lbs braid)the pole.custom graphite trout,6' medium heavey.the  lures...I hit most of your shops you advised but got one more this week end....hell,squid fishing isnt cheep.lol I dont mind I know Ill have fun.Any advice on lights a generator is out of the question...it would drive me nuts.i seen some 12 volt lights online the looked pretty nifty. $120???

[Gilligan]

 Hi Greg, I would have gone with mono or I actually use the new generation flourocarbon line. Squid have superb vision and when they are finicky (which they fairly often are) the less visible line will get more squid. You can easily strip back fifty feet of your braid and add 50' of six pound flourocarbon line. Remeber there is no need for ten pound, most squids you will catch will be under a pound and they don't fight or run with the line. Many guys use the portable battery jumper jumper boxes to power their lights without a generator. If you use the LED light tubes you can pretty much fish all night on one charge. I do not carry or use lights, I rely on fishing from lighted docks. I have seen a lot of these underwater lights in use and have largely out fished those fishing right over the lights by staying away from them. When the squid are thick and aggressive you don't need any lights they will hit just as well in totally dark water.

[greg ct]

From a boat at least, I've found that light can either your friend or enemy.  There are nights when I turn off the underwater and spot lights and suddenly start to catch.  Other nights, you don't get a sniff without them.

 

My feeling is that like other species, squid are skittish on nights with a bright moon and stars.  They can see very well and avoid the brighter areas.  Dark nights, different story, but you will notice they hang out just past where the light is brightest in the water.  They are near the light, but they don't spend time in the light.

[Gilligan]

From a boat at least, I've found that light can either your friend or enemy.  There are nights when I turn off the underwater and spot lights and suddenly start to catch.  Other nights, you don't get a sniff without them.

 

My feeling is that like other species, squid are skittish on nights with a bright moon and stars.  They can see very well and avoid the brighter areas.  Dark nights, different story, but you will notice they hang out just past where the light is brightest in the water.  They are near the light, but they don't spend time in the light.

 I agree with that, often dock fishing they come right into the light (dock lighting not in the water), but sometimes they hit best just outside the lit area of the water. Usually when I see someone set up with those underwater LED tubes I do much better away from the light than they do right over the light. I have fished with a friend with one of those lights, and it seems like it has to be in the water at least an hour before any squid come near the area, and I am not convinced they wouldn't have come by the same place in that time if the light weren't there.