Newport Ri 2015 Squid Season

[greg ct]

was on block island this past weekend staying in new harbor.  At night lots of squid in the lights, and a few kids were not having any luck catching them.

 

So i got my squid rod out with a mini and had one in about 30 seconds.  Gave it to the nearest kid and offered to let him use my rod.  He caught a few and passed it on to another kid who also caught a few.

 

they were more interested in playing with them than catching them....  But you could have caught a lot if you wanted them.....

[squidwhisperer]

awful quiet on the forum the last few weeks which is funny because there are squid everywhere in Newport right now

[CephBirk]

Great! This is news to me! Where have you been seeing them? Goat Island Bridge area? Or elsewhere? How big have they been?

[BillG]

I just stopped into the bait store yesterday for some clam gauges and heard the same thing. Lots and lots of squid around in the Bay. Sadly, I haven't been able to get out much this year.

[CephBirk]

I caught some on Goat Island Bridge last night. Only caught 2 over about 2 hours, but others who seem to have the special touch were catching 1 squid every 5 minutes or so.

[squidwhisperer]

ceph, we were fishing from a boat between the causeway and the bridge

[new2ink]

Went out last night on the boat right past watch hill and caught almost a cooler full of small to 1' tubers. Was really dark and foggy so my lights really drew them in, I think sso anyways.

[OneEyedSquid]

Out of curiosity.  What are your squidding methods and lures?  My methods are different than others where I jig mine like I am largemouth bass fishing.  Seems to work for me, but maybe there is a better method I am not using.  Only lures I use are yamashitas, yozuri, and coleman.  

 

Also, squid jigs are expensive, how do you retrieve them when they are snagged on the floor?  I've seen the old timers using a latch thingy you get from rock climbing or zip lining.  Thought about using this method, but haven't tried it yet.  Also thought about scuba diving, but that may turn out to be more expensive.  

 

Any scuba diver out there?  I am willing to pay to recover my yamashitas for half the price.(wishful thinking)

[pot0mon]

I guess word has gotten out fast. Stupid amount of people over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of curiosity.  What are your squidding methods and lures?  My methods are different than others where I jig mine like I am largemouth bass fishing.  Seems to work for me, but maybe there is a better method I am not using.  Only lures I use are yamashitas, yozuri, and coleman.  

 

Also, squid jigs are expensive, how do you retrieve them when they are snagged on the floor?  I've seen the old timers using a latch thingy you get from rock climbing or zip lining.  Thought about using this method, but haven't tried it yet.  Also thought about scuba diving, but that may turn out to be more expensive.  

 

Any scuba diver out there?  I am willing to pay to recover my yamashitas for half the price.(wishful thinking)

The main trick is not to snag bottom. 

 

Is best to know how deep your jigging and try to stay a couple of inches above the floor. Or use sinker with lighter leader then the leader you have tied to your jigs. But most people don't use sinkers, unless the situation calls for one. 

 

as for methods I mainly use the cast out slow sink method.

2 jigs tied on one the top yozuri mini floating. 6-8" below that a yamashita sinking jig. 

 

Cast it out couple of feet beyond your light into the dark(Depending how deep the water your fishing thats how far you will cast). Reel in any slack and feel for any hits. 15-25 seconds give it two quick jerk and reel any slack. by that time your jigs should be right under your light. couple more quick jerks and recast.

 

I find it always hit when the jigs are sinking down. that is why I keep no slack. I get a lot of double headers using this method.

[BillG]

Back in the day, when people used to be able to go out and fill one 5-gallon bucket of squid per hour, every hour, there was a guy named Dave who worked until 11 or 12, then he would go out and squid jig, then he would gear up in his scuba gear at sunrise and go under/around the GI causeway and retrieve jigs. He would sell them back to the bait store for $1 each. But this was when the only jigs available were the cheap style which sinks hook-down into the weed. Now, the fish/prawn style is designed to sink like a fish with the "head" end angled down. A snag is less likely unless you drop it down to the bottom and leave it there, letting it roll with the current. If you do scuba dive, you might be able to make a few bucks pulling up snagged lures and selling them for half price. However, it isn't often that I see anyone snagged on the GI causeway. Other places like Jamestown might be worse with the rocks there, but there are fewer squidders there.

[OneEyedSquid]

@pot0mon & BillG Thanks!  I'll give that method a try.  Always looking to see what others are doing to develop a better technique.  Yes there are many ink spots out there.  Caught a couple, but they are on the smaller side.  Perhaps the bigger tubes will come as the water cools down a bit.  Good news is that there are lots of baitfish in the area.  Never wearing light color squiding again!

[Gilligan]

Never wearing light color squiding again!----"If you get cranky without your silk hanky you'd better steer clear of the squid jigin" grounds!" A line from a great song called "Squid Jiggin' Grounds" by Ed McCurdy. If you guys haven't heard it you can find it on youtube. It's hilarious!! One verse:

 

 Says Bobby the squid are on top of the water, I've just got my jigger 'bout one fathom down

 When a squid in the boat squirted rigght down his throat

 And they're swearin' like mad on the squid jiggin ground

[CephBirk]

Went out to GI bridge last night. Only a few people out. I was out for about 1.5-2 hours and caught one squid. I saw about 5-10 others though, but they didn't seem to have much interest in my jigs.

[usergopats]

When does the fall run start in Newport? Has anyone caught squid in  Maine?

[bbarlock]

When does the fall run start in Newport? Has anyone caught squid in  Maine?

 

I was out in Falmouth, Maine last night at the town landing and caught a few.  Other people were catching a bunch as well.

[joerosa1]

Spent a week in Rhode Island last week and my first attempt to find squid under some lights was pretty successful. Not a sharpe but caught them, the skilled guy next to me caught 50 within a couple of hours. 

[AT Grimaldi]

Was at DEM last night for a few hours and caught one.  Tons of bait and herring.

 

 - ATG

[squidUknot]

I guess everyone is too busy catching and not posting...

[OneEyedSquid]

Catching and not posting?  That may be or maybe not.  I've been targeting big fish and haven't been squiding lately.  

A friend of mines says he caught about 25 squid, but they were 4 to 6 inchers.  

[squidUknot]

same here.  bonitos, albies, blues, and stripers are everywhere.