Or beaver trapping...
Puget Sound
- Thread starter Stonedfish
- Start date
Well it ain’t ten pounds, but not bad for my first hour of squiddin’. Pretty fun!
Jim in Anacortes
Life of the Party
I was on night watch on an Albacore sport fishing boat (long ago). I saw some marks on the fish finder and threw a "chovie" over the side.....Bam! fish on...fought and fought. The cook got up to make breakfast and watched the battle. Finally I got the "fish" up to the surface....It was a huge Humboldt squid. I was bummed... but the cook just could not stop laughing at me. I think he knew all along that it was a squid.
Went cutty fishing on Saturday, it was slow at the first area so I didn’t spend a ton of time there and went to another spot.
Much better action, 3 solid fish in the mix but I lost them all. It’s one of those days.
They seems to be a strong preference for a @Stonedfish silvery clouser vs pink or other colors.
Squid fishing this morning when the forecast turned out better than expected.
Got about 4lbs this time, when you find a big school it can be lights out. Headed back in when the wind changed direction and started to pick up.
Quick air fry a few in Vietnamese style and froze the rest. Garlic, pepper and olive oil with rice and fish sauce really hit the spot.
Much better action, 3 solid fish in the mix but I lost them all. It’s one of those days.
They seems to be a strong preference for a @Stonedfish silvery clouser vs pink or other colors.
Squid fishing this morning when the forecast turned out better than expected.
Got about 4lbs this time, when you find a big school it can be lights out. Headed back in when the wind changed direction and started to pick up.
Quick air fry a few in Vietnamese style and froze the rest. Garlic, pepper and olive oil with rice and fish sauce really hit the spot.
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speedbird
Life of the Party
Very frustrating morning for me. Tons of fish sipping and jumping at the surface very close to shore, one was very very large. Unfortunately, it seemed that nothing in my fly box worked.Tried the Euphasid I tied, a Euphasid from Gig Harbor Fly shop, Miawaki Popper, Gurgler, a sparse shrimp fly, even a Reverse Spider, which on my last outing hooked (But didn't land) at least 3 fish. Chatted with another fly fisherman for a while, he had mostly been fishing surface flies and only got one fish close to sunrise. I even tried putting euphasids under an indicator and letting it float in the current. I thought the good tide exchange and low light would compensate for my late start but I suppose not. I'll give it another go tomorrow.
Great to meet you @Kfish ! Today was probably the busiest I have seen this spot in a while, no surprise as it is the weekend and close to the peak date for this location. So busy that there was a line to launch kayaks in the access point! Luckily my old style paddle kayak launches just as easy from the beach so no problem.
Morning started very slow for squid, but very hot on sculpins, so much so that the first two catches were staghorn sculpins, you are missing out @Irafly!
A variety of vessels were around, no jet skis, but a couple paddle boards were spotted.
It was cold this AM, eventually we left the groups searching for schools to warm up a bit by paddling (me) and pedaling (my fishing buddy) and found 2 large schools producing a number of doubles and triples that helped load the buckets.
As we were working one of those schools a large powerboat either motored or drifted toward us, so close that it was at first uncomfortable and then downright dangerous as my buddy ended up under the bow between the hull and the electric motor shaft, even as we were giving a heads up to the boat occupants well before it happened. My buddy ended up having to push himself out by grabbing the motor shaft. The boat occupants kept on jigging as if nothing had happened, only saying that their trolling motor was out of order...funny that it was on the water then, or that they could not control their drift with the two shiny stern outboards. Squid fishing can be done in close quarters, often it is more productive to do in groups, but don't be like those boaters, safety first!
If you ever wonder how 10 lbs of squid would look like in the back of your vehicle, this is it! Forgot my cooler, the bucket lid did not quite close right and I took a tight corner a bit too enthusiastically...all clean now, we shall see (or smell) if clean enough!
All is forgiven now, this creatures are delicious in a variety of ways.
Morning started very slow for squid, but very hot on sculpins, so much so that the first two catches were staghorn sculpins, you are missing out @Irafly!
A variety of vessels were around, no jet skis, but a couple paddle boards were spotted.
It was cold this AM, eventually we left the groups searching for schools to warm up a bit by paddling (me) and pedaling (my fishing buddy) and found 2 large schools producing a number of doubles and triples that helped load the buckets.
As we were working one of those schools a large powerboat either motored or drifted toward us, so close that it was at first uncomfortable and then downright dangerous as my buddy ended up under the bow between the hull and the electric motor shaft, even as we were giving a heads up to the boat occupants well before it happened. My buddy ended up having to push himself out by grabbing the motor shaft. The boat occupants kept on jigging as if nothing had happened, only saying that their trolling motor was out of order...funny that it was on the water then, or that they could not control their drift with the two shiny stern outboards. Squid fishing can be done in close quarters, often it is more productive to do in groups, but don't be like those boaters, safety first!
If you ever wonder how 10 lbs of squid would look like in the back of your vehicle, this is it! Forgot my cooler, the bucket lid did not quite close right and I took a tight corner a bit too enthusiastically...all clean now, we shall see (or smell) if clean enough!
All is forgiven now, this creatures are delicious in a variety of ways.
speedbird
Life of the Party
@Northern gave me my first fly casting lesson maybe…4 years ago now? It’s something I’m grateful for every time I fly fish. It helped me tremendously and was a very kind gesture. (One of many I’ve received from members of this community)
The reason I mention that lesson is because I remember her distinctly warning that if I was going to spend a lot of time fly fishing Puget sound, to use a bandaid over my stripping finger. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I understood the importance of that until now:
The reason I mention that lesson is because I remember her distinctly warning that if I was going to spend a lot of time fly fishing Puget sound, to use a bandaid over my stripping finger. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I understood the importance of that until now:
….a rite of passage
Or use a two handed strip….
SF
SF
There are still some late run PS Pumpkins to be found but there’re getting a bit beat up. Sorry, can’t reveal too much location wise as these local runs are small and sensitive to pressure.
Somehow I snagged a sea run cutt. That’s a first. Like most fish, they are far more fun to hook in the front parts.
I’ve never seen an iceberg in Puget Sound in all of the 35 years I’ve been fishing it!
That’s nothing! It’s not even bleeding
. Keep fishing, eventually it just becomes a permanent callous. I’m a desk jockey by trade so I have “city hands” as Captain Quint says. During the height of coho season, my hands start to look like I might actually work for a living thanks to salty fly lines. The tape and reusable finger sleeves do work well. 