Squidding in Seattle:
It's a strange feeling to be standing in downtown Seattle while trying to secure dinner. But other crazies like me line up on fishing piers every fall in an attempt to land a giant squid... or at least his very tiny cousin. The serious folk haul out generators, halogen spot lights, and lots of rain gear while jigging for squid.
The squid hang out in the dark and then dart into the light to snag bait fish. We try to trick them with glow in the dark jigs that have lots of little wires for the squid to wrap their tentacles around. There is no fight in a squid but as you drag them out of the water they are spraying streams of ink and water. It seems a little silly but then I realized its an effective defense, the picture below shows Kat as close as she is willing to get.
Our first trip was a success, with Kat demonstrating she is much better at this than me. She caught the first squid, the largest squid, and even speared a small fish! I clearly need more practice to master calamari but these little guys are easy to prepare and have a very mild flavor.
When we branched out to try fishing in Edmonds, we arrived to a beautiful sunset over the Olympic Mountains. Unfortunately, a harbor seal was also attracted to the lights and the promise of squid. He would lay flat on his back with his eyes underwater. When a squid was spotted he would flip around and give chase. There were only a couple times when he chased a squid close enough to the surface that we could watch but they were flying. We got skunked on that trip but the seal left fat and happy.
After three trips of standing in the frigid darkness with very limited success, I spotted these squidders pulling out squid on every cast in broad daylight... Clearly I have much to learn.
Happy holidays and safe travels!!
It's a strange feeling to be standing in downtown Seattle while trying to secure dinner. But other crazies like me line up on fishing piers every fall in an attempt to land a giant squid... or at least his very tiny cousin. The serious folk haul out generators, halogen spot lights, and lots of rain gear while jigging for squid.
The squid hang out in the dark and then dart into the light to snag bait fish. We try to trick them with glow in the dark jigs that have lots of little wires for the squid to wrap their tentacles around. There is no fight in a squid but as you drag them out of the water they are spraying streams of ink and water. It seems a little silly but then I realized its an effective defense, the picture below shows Kat as close as she is willing to get.
Our first trip was a success, with Kat demonstrating she is much better at this than me. She caught the first squid, the largest squid, and even speared a small fish! I clearly need more practice to master calamari but these little guys are easy to prepare and have a very mild flavor.
When we branched out to try fishing in Edmonds, we arrived to a beautiful sunset over the Olympic Mountains. Unfortunately, a harbor seal was also attracted to the lights and the promise of squid. He would lay flat on his back with his eyes underwater. When a squid was spotted he would flip around and give chase. There were only a couple times when he chased a squid close enough to the surface that we could watch but they were flying. We got skunked on that trip but the seal left fat and happy.
After three trips of standing in the frigid darkness with very limited success, I spotted these squidders pulling out squid on every cast in broad daylight... Clearly I have much to learn.
Happy holidays and safe travels!!