Cephlopodomania

[alaskanaturally]

For our Aussie mates. We picked up this affliction in Oz. We really miss the place.

 

                                        Cephalopodmania: Update 160604

It starts ever year about mid-February. Your mind gets a little cloudy and concentration on the mundane becomes more difficult. You start noticing a little twitch in your right eye and listening to family and friends starts to become an effort. As the days and weeks move on in their inevitable march toward Spring, the symptoms exacerbate. You find yourself walking around a fog of strange images ebbing and waning. You start seeing banners flying by your mind’s eye. They say things like: yo zuri,  Yamashita,  Shimano,  Diawa, etc. No, you are not studying Japanese, just day dreaming about dropping you line into a thick school of the Cephalopods and bringing up critter after critter.

The condition becomes dangerous when your friends start glancing at you from the side of their eye with concerned looks. And it’s time to take yourself in hand. While the disorder is not curable, the symptoms can be controlled. The primary treatment is to head to your favorite squidding hole and drop a line in the water.

Martin picked up this affliction in Australia. And since it is transmittable from human to human, Ruta developed a milder case. We thought that it was something we might have to live with until we made another trip to Aussieland. But then Squidfish was discovered on line.

So when the symptoms, became unbearable in May, a trip was planned for the end of the month and early June. A garden is difficult to leave for very long this time of year:  Five days at most. We left the Eastern Shore of Virginia last Monday. We had lots of help from folks on Squidfish but Gilligan was particularly gracious. We met him in Eastern Ct. on Tuesday and he clued us in on types of jigs to use and a few locations. He actually gave us a few of the lures.

The first attempt was futile. We fished mid-day in Stonington. From there we headed to Galilee   RI. After a very generous lobsterman gave us three soft shells, we set up camp in Fisherman’s Memorial State Park. After a nap and wonderful dinner and we returned to the wharf at Galilee. Just before dark, the first squid was caught and the symptoms were immediately relieved. It took a lot of trial and error but by 10:30, about 25 of the critters were brought onto the dock.

After driving back to camp, we realized how tired we were. Not surprising for two old farts who are used to hitting the sack at 8. We repeated the story the next night also catching about 25. It was time to start heading home the next day. Before doing so, we returned to Galilee for an attempt at daytime squidding. Surprise, surprise, we caught another 28 in two hours in the late morning.

During the trip back to Stonington, we stopped at a NWR and strolled along a trail for an hour or two. The plan was to fish the evening at the Ct. port and then spend the night at a rest area on 95. Upon arriving at the wharf, we were told that buckets were filled the night before raising our expectations. Alas, like any other angling, thing can change quickly. We only caught three in three hours and another fellow caught three. That was it!

We’re back in Quinby and packed and froze all the calamari, 33 meals. Happily all the symptoms of Cephalopodmania are gone. However, its going to take a while to get our Circadian Rhythms back in order.     

 

[Damien2Rad]

Gotta love a good feed of squid!
Are the tactics and gear used for the US squid pretty similar to Australian squid?

[alaskanaturally]

1 minute ago, Damien2Rad said:

Gotta love a good feed of squid!
Are the tactics and gear used for the US squid pretty similar to Australian squid?

Pretty much the same but most use real small jigs, 3cm.