Octopus Attack!

[Nautilusly]

Sorry I know occy is not squid, but i would just like to ask you guys to share some experience with me <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



I went squiding yesterday on a rocky platform near the edge of water. I was playing around a bit and was tapping water with my hand casually. And suddenly i saw a big octopus came out of nowhere and was about a inch away from my hand, with tenticles waving around. It was kinda pink-brownish with suckers of the size of a $1 coin! I was first shocked and quickly backed off. I then wanted to grab it with my hand (it was definitely within reaching distance) but i was a bit afraid whether it might bite me or may be poisonous. It seems to be more flexible then squid and cuttlefish, might be about to get around my grasp for a bite. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/innocent.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



By the time i digged out my protective gear (in this case it was a thick plastic bag <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> ), it was deeper in the water and vanished soon after... I then retrieved my jig and jigged around there for about 20 mins hope of hooking it but with no luck.



I think the occy was either excited by my tapping motion and mistaken it as food or was just annoy and try to fence me off. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/innocent.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> But anyway, do you guys know whether a squid jig would work on octopus? and is octopus safe enough to be handled by hand? Thanks for your input!

[glen]

there are octopus-specific jigs. You can see some examples here:



[url="http://www.squidfish.net/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=27&view=findpost&p=6894"]http://www.squidfish.net/forums/index.php?...post&p=6894[/url]



see the "TechnoFISH - ATHINA KALOU" entry and look at the image on the far right (the lures look like crabs).

[Nautilusly]

Thanks glen! These are sure funny looking jigs <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[glen]

no worries. hopefullly someone else can help you with the biting octopus question. i have never really handled them myself <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[flounderpirate]

Arrgh...now that the engagement is done, I can try to get my brine fix.



Ha...laddie, I have heard of fish doing similar things. In britain FAT catfish sometimes attack dogs in creeks when their owners are walking them!



It is all about the bigger they are the more aggressive they get, trying to eat anything smaller than themselves. This is also the way they catch MASSIVE catfish in the US. By diving into a muddy river and luring a catfish out by wiggling their fingers in front of the hole then grabbing the catfish by the gills when it latches onto their arm! Google it, it is called Noodling.



Anyway the long and the short of it is: the bigger the beast the more brazen and if it works for big fish, I'd assume it is the same for big Octopii. That octopus was probably going to nip a nice chunk out of your hand with its beak if you had let it.



I once caught one on a line by accident, it felt like a starfish, but it was so flexible, it kept crawling out of the creel! So I dare say it may have gotten around your grip. Oh and the splashing I think would have attracted it too.



Some youth in tropical islands catch octopii by pairing up, where one boy is the 'bait' and goes down into the octopus' hole until it grabs hold of his face, then the other one quickly swims in and bites it right in its achilles heel: the collection of nerves right between its eyes, killing it instantly! Maybe try that next time...Hahahaha

[Nautilusly]

Wow, interesting <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/w00t.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':woot:' />



I think i wouldnt want to risk my face for a octopus <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Yah, maybe my fingers mimic the legs of a crab (big crab <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' /> ), and the occy was coming for a feast. It was big, but not that big, maybe around 3-5 kg? Never caught a octopus before and dont have any thing to compare with. and i am sure it would have to work really hard to have me for dinner <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol' />



So, if there is a next time, should i just let it rave around or grab its tanticles and drag it out of the water <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />

[flounderpirate]

I reckon lure it close enough with a couple of wriggles of your fingers then grab a hold of it and throw the beast up onto the rocks...you only live once laddie, and think of the great story you could tell later! But make sure it ain't a poisonous one (I doubt it will be).



I know the squid are spawning now and they are whoppers and get very aggressive at anything that comes near them and their eggs, so maybe Octopii are the same?

[Jazman]

I'd be pretty cautious about letting an octopus grab me, even if it was a small one. They have a beak like a parrot, and can take a chunk out of your hand in a flash. If I were you, and you encounter an octopus at close range again, I'd try and nail it with a hand spear <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' />

[Nautilusly]

This sounds like a good strategy <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol' />

And guess what, I have caught a octopus already -- on my usual fishing tackle! I rigged a half pichard with a big hook, was hoping for a snapper or something but hooked up a octopus. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' /> this one was about a kilo. it sure was flexible and slippery. It tasted alright, but was a nightmare to clean. And its beak was much smaller for its size compareing to squid and cuttlefish, hardly of a threat <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Dont think i would need to worry about it too much <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':woot:' />

[Jazman]

Yeah, I guess the smaller octopus are not such a worry <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' /> I am a bit suspicious of all octopus though, I had to fight a big one for a crayfish I'd caught one time while SCUBA diving, and the way it flowed across the bottom, and grabbed anything I put near it (hands, knife, crayfish etc) really made me wary. I reckon they are 10x smarter than squid.



My dad told me a story years ago of a big octopus that grabbed his leg at night while he was spearing crabs in a rock pool. He was worried it was going to pull him under! So he speared it....and speared it.....and speared it some more, until eventually he could pull it out of the water. He said it had a body the size of a basketball, and when it was stretched out the legs had a span of well over 2m. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':woot:' />

[flounderpirate]

Kraken' Story Jazman.....Hahahahaha



Arrgh!

[madog]

I've been commercial fishing in Puget sound my whole life and handled 100's of Octopi from a few ounces to fifty pounds or more; and have never been bitten. Octopi are very intelligent, and inquisitive. They like to explore anything new in their envirinment. They do react to fear, and stress. If you are afraid of them they will grab on relentlessly <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/w00t.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' /> , they let go when you calm down. Some varieties are poisonous. So I suggest you grab 'im if you can, put 'em in a bucket and play with them for a while.

[Nautilusly]

[quote name='madog' post='7726' date='Dec 2 2006, 08:03 PM']I've been commercial fishing in Puget sound my whole life and handled 100's of Octopi from a few ounces to fifty pounds or more; and have never been bitten. Octopi are very intelligent, and inquisitive. They like to explore anything new in their envirinment. They do react to fear, and stress. If you are afraid of them they will grab on relentlessly <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/w00t.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':woot:' /> , they let go when you calm down. Some varieties are poisonous. So I suggest you grab 'im if you can, put 'em in a bucket and play with them for a while.[/quote]





Thanks for the advice mate!

[2hotpotato]

i have caught an occy that size once, it was very simple.



we where having a bbq on the waterfront (boatshed) around middle harbour here is sydney.

was trying to get some yaka around so i put 3 bones of the drumsticks i just ate off the bbq in a standard green fishing net.



i was there stiring it in the water for like 10 mins and out of no where this huge ocopus came swimming over and went strait into the net. was a bit too easy but it was delicious. don't remember exatlly how it was cooked but it was stewed some sort of way.



another time, same place i speared one with a hand spear

[mrzed]

Have heard "mate of a mate" stories over here of people catching big buggers and pulling them out by hooking a rope to the Hilux <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ink' /> Some one had a pic on his blog last year but I've got no idea who it was <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/whistling.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':beer' />



Last year while jig casting of a breakwater, there was a guy who had given up on squid and was plugging along the side of the wall for octopus. A little one snagged his egi and wouldn't let go. 20 minutes later he got his egi back with 2 tentacles <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':beer' />





Quick search dug up this baby. Its a 22kilo mizutako.

[col_den]

I've had a couple of experiences with octopus.

I caught two some years ago. My line kept getting "snagged" in shallow water so i walked out with a small gaff to see what it was. Octopus! I got two, cut their bodies away so i had the tentacles with just a hole in the middle. When I got home over an hour later the tentacles were still wriggling - spooky



Recently I caught a small one and decided to use a tentacle for bait. I cut off the tentacles (killed the Occi first) and tried to skin a tentacle. Damn thing kept sucking on to me which was really eerie, and the other tentacles were crawling around the bait board. These are really creepy creatures!!!

[glen]

nice photo egi-zed,



i think i would be too scared of that octopus to land it! <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':beer' />



thanks for sharing the pic,



cheers, glen

[BradS]

Jaques Cousteau did a nice book with lots of beautiful pictures a few years back on Cephalapods including octopi, you might be able to find it in a library if you look.



In the book it said that Puget Sound has the biggest (and some of the least aggressive) Octopi in the world and he took his ship to Puget Sound to film an annual octopus rodeo they had/have every year where scuba divers go out and try to catch the biggest octopi by hand.



He said that the divers told him that sometimes an octopus will grab their mask underwater and try to pull it off but if they grab the 'pus by the neck and shake it the creature will go limp.



I saw a show on T.V. where some people that run a large aquarium at some amusement park put an octopus (it looked about the size of the one in the picture above) in one of their tanks and they had some young 3-4 ft Tiger sharks in the tank and I'm thinking Uh oh, there goes the octopus, but guess what? The tiger sharks started dissapearing so they filmed the tank for a couple days and the octopus was grabbing the sharks as they swam by and was killing and (I assume) eating them!!!



I never knew they were so aggressive.



BTW, I alswo saw on a T.V. show that said there are some octopi that are deadly if they bite you, like the blue ringed octopus that lives in the meditteranean.

[glen]

Hi brad,



Welcome to the forum.



We have Blue Ringed Octopus down here in Australia. They are very small and very deadly!



cheers, glen

[kingyfisher]

I have seen Blue Ringed Octopus in a kids rock wading pool at Avoca Beach on the NSW Central Coast,it freaked me out ,couldn't take my eyes off it ,sent the wife to pull the kids out of that pool pronto! As for catching Occys .Saw an old fellow many years ago who had the oddest technique .He had a gaff hook on a pole and would walk around a rock wall with lots of holes in it at low tide. He would rub the back of the hook on a rock near a likely looking hole and......out would pop an Occy to see what was going on,quick as a flash he would gaff it. I saw him do it at least 10 times and it worked every time <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup2.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' />