Getting Squidy with it

[GeoFishing]

I was out watching the locals do their thing tonight. Amongst schools of squid, I saw occasionally circle the light hanging over the dock. One seasoned vet. A lady angler on top of it was doing much more catching then the others. I examined everything from rod, reel, line jigging technique and light position. Just off one observation I feel like I'm heading in the right direction. But I'm looking to pick your Minds as far as jigging technique and squid jigs I may possibly avoid. Based off your experience I'm not looking for location. A great angler I met today by the name of Hunter also mentioned They don't attack the jig as a source of food. But more so latch on as a mating thing. Now if this is the case. What's sexy to squid

Thanks for any and all info.

Happy Fishing

Geo

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[Sideburns]

from what I underestand, The squid we're targeting in the sound are not trying to mate with your jig. It is for food or aggression. There are some times and places when anglers or commercial fisherman target the mating squid masses, but I have not seen that in the puget sound. Light does help attract them somehow, but jigging in the day can be just as productive. Incoming, near or just before and during high tide and incoming after right after low tide are the hottest times for the big schools.

They do seem to follow certain paths when traveling towards the docks, and you'll notice hot spots on the docks. Lights that are too focused in one spot can repel them from the bright spot. Light color does not seem to matter too much, but the very blue hid lights i had did not seem to work as well.

There are lots of techniques, but ive found very short jerks (taps) and long pauses, just off of the bottom to be most effective. Some of the larger schools of big squid will not hit an actively jigged jig. You must be completely still sometimes. 1.5 " to 3" jigs work well, some glow is helpful and there is no magic color. I tie 2-3 jigs on my line, and only tie to the top of the jig. Light line works best, but some places have snags to break you off!. Braid is great, but hard to untangle in the dark.

Long spinning rods with soft fast action are best for detecting bites and keeping constant pressure on the squid while reeling up. When its hot, the faster you can unhook the squid and drop back to bottom, the more squid you'll catch.