Squid

I have been using squid as bait for a few years now. While I find it very useful for tipping I don't find it very good on its own. Has anybody found it otherwise? Is it useful for targetting specific species?

Ive got to put my use of squid in context

Firstly, I live close to Limerick, where fresh bait is impossible to get a lot of the time, and frozen bait available is very poor. Squid, especially boxes of frozen californian calamari, is great quality and value.

I do a lot of fishing on the shannon estuary, and even in winter, crab activity is a real pain. There are days when fish baits dont last even two minutes. To increase our chances , we always fish a rod with a large squid bait, alongside our other rods.
This means we always have a fishing bait in the water as even hyper active crabs have a hard time whittling down the squid.
Fished alongside more common baits, the squid has proved surprisingly effective, partly because compared to the fish baits etc, there is always a bait fishing.
Last year squid accounted for thornbacks, doggies,small conger,whiting and dabs.

Up until last year, I rarely used squid, and never caught anything with it, so part of its success is down to always using it.

Ive not caught a bass with it yet, but Ive not caught a bass in the shannon estuary with anything else yet either.

Kev

Didn't really have much time for this bait until last year. One of the mates works in the fish factory so he usually had it with him. I started baiting one hook with squid and one with mackerel and found that whilst it didn't outfish the mackerel it appeared to be good at getting bigger stuff including conger and larger dogs. Took a personal best shore whiting (1 and half pound) on a great big lump of it so from then on I wasn't shy about using it. Its useful for varying what your offering the fish.

PMG

I can't say I have had much luck with squid on its own but have caught, coddling, coalies and whiting on it as a cocktail. The fact that its plentyful and cheap is great, but I don't think it gives off much scent and therefore I use it primarly as a visual attractant. I either use strips in conjunction with mackeral or crab or stuff lug, mussel or crab into a small hollowed one on a pennel rig. I have found a big squid cocktail bait works well in coloured water. Also its very important to peel off the skin as it becomes much brighter in the water after doing so.

DRSEAFISH

http://www.worldseafishing.com/baits/squid.shtml

Mike Thrussels thoughts on squid and its use
Kev

i've used squid to tip baits but when used on its own i catch some big huss
up to 14 lbs thats in the salthill to spiddal area, so i have had no problems using squid..

[Donagh]

Should the squids tentacles be removed. They seem a good visual attractant but they give something for the fish to grab on to without hooking up ,there by feeling resistance and dropping the bait.

Most advise seems to be that squid on its own is a good rough ground bait for huss, conger and bass.

Donagh

Last edited by Donagh on Tue Mar 09, 2004 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

Haved tried, some two or three times, fishing from strand with whole squid for bass. It's hard going digging for lug here. No joy with whole squid but have caught both plaice and flounder with slivers of squid - in winter months.

Peter