Captain Judy Helmey
Miss Judy Charters
"Kicking Fish Tail Since 1956!"
124 Palmetto Drive
Savannah, Georgia 31410
912 897 4921 or 912 897 3460 fax
www.missjudycharters.com
October 6, 2008
Happy Fish Day!
Saltwater inshore, offshore, blue water fishing report, Freshies Suggestions, and "Little Miss Judy's story! Thanks for reading! Captain Judy
"Little Miss Judy Believe It or Not!"
The Attack of the Killer Squid!
I love that title and I'm sure I certainly did get your attention with this line. This story is definitely about a forward-minded squid for sure! If there ever was a "Killer Squid" in this area this particular one that this story is about definitely had ancestors that would have fit just fine with this billing!
Squid while traveling in a pack also known as a school are very ingenious. They are very frail, but seem to always have some sort of back up plan. When they sense fear they actually turn a bright red. I have seen this on many occasions while watching tuna as they circle in hopes of getting a quick meal of squid. The first time I saw it I thought it was blood, but when it started illuminating I knew is was something very alive.
Schools of squid will try to ward off their attackers by rounding up together and turning into a "red fire ball." Apparently this works to some degree, because every time the school of fish got close to the squid they turned the red lights on. On occasion we catch squid while bait fishing with small gold hook rigs. This is always a treat for me, because I get to show my customers some of what this small creature is capable of doing. In the end they are all amazed.
The first thing I do is let the squid hang their for a second before dropping it into the live well. While in the hanging mode on the hook it spits water and you can exactly hear the squid as it rubs its beak together. A squid has a beak under all those tentacles, which is exactly what they use to bite and suck what they want from their caught prey.
While all this is going on I remind my customers not to touch their just caught squid, because it will spit on you and then possibly ink you. When you put your finger to close to the beak area the squid can deliver a serious bite for its size. Believe me, I have been there done that before!
After a quick story about the squid and answers to lots of questions we put it in the live well with the other occupants. However, once this single squid is introduced to the bait well a certain change happens and quick. The bait hovers together and you can almost see the fear in their eyes. The squid moves off to the side of the tank while the fish try to get as far as they can in any direction. The fish immediately go into the "tight schooling mode!" This act is another amazing sight that I can point out. When the squid feels threaten it turns a complete red color, which really makes the "in house" baitfish nervous.
Now please keep in mind that I am talking about a squid that is less then 10 inches long. This measurement is with the length of tentacles included. Once in the red color mode the squid then "inks" the well and turns the water within a murky black. When this happens you have to wait until the murky water is replaced with the clear water from the ocean before getting another good look.
Squid are known for being great escape artist. When in this mode they simply shoot out ink, which offers them quick cover so as to escape. I have seen this act on many occasions out in the wild. It's my opinion that the ink dispersed actually does for the moment take on the shape of a squid. This provides great cover for the escaping squid and confuses the predator completely. The ink once dispersed gets the attention of those wanting to attack just long enough for the squid to jet itself away. While in the live well all the squid can do is to cause much confusion when they do their ink job. My customers are always so amazed by this "squid act!" Heck, even though I have seen this hundreds of times, it still gets my attention.
I know what you are thinking it must be great bait when put on your hook. Well, for the most part it is. However, once placed on a hook it's really just a piece of squid, which all fish love to eat. The bottom line the squid can't defend itself. So therefore for me live squid isn't bait, it's entertainment. I let all live squid go so that they customers get to see a "live inking show!" If you planning on following my suggestion of release the live squid I suggest doing so with a net!
Now for the squid attack story…..
About twenty-five year ago while fishing a king Savannah Sport Fishing Tournament we didn't catch a king fish. However, what we do catch was a nice size squid. I should back up on that last statement. We didn't catch the squid it was latched on to our bait and was having a field day of feeding. While slow trolling large live menhaden and mullet one of our down riggers tripped. We knew it wasn't a big fish, because the main was moving, but not that much. We could tell something had the bait. So with curiosity big on the mind we gingerly pulled the hit bait in question to the boat.
The area that we were fishing, which was the shipping channel at Tybee Roads wasn't very clear. So we couldn't see what was sending the trembling up our line. When we finally got to the end of the line the biggest squid that I had ever seen was holding on to our bait. I didn't pull the bait out of the water I just put the rod in the holder and let the bait hang there. I wanted everyone to see this first hand. Now the squid wasn't on the hook it was latched onto our menhaden. Believe me the hold it had was a serious one, because even when I mistakenly hit the rod the squid wasn't spooked a bit.
When the large feeding squid saw me it spit out a funnel of water towards me. The fact of the matter is I stepped back and the water jetted out over the gunnels on my boat. Those behind saw the water and said, "What the heck was that?" I replied, "it a large squid!" Every one jumped up and I signaled to be a quiet as you can. Every time I looked over the gunnels at "the intense on feeding squid spit at me." Now this was "strong long spits" for sure! As all on board looked over at the squid, which now wasn't much amused at its surroundings, more spitting in our direction took place. As I am writing this I remember this day as if it happened yesterday. Why I didn't grab my camera still baffles me to this day!
We never tried to lift the large squid out of the water, because since it wasn't technically hooked up it would just released it own self. However, we did watch as the squid tried to dismantle our prize menhaden bait. Once the squid was tired of amusing us, it released, and the largest spread of black ink was dispersed from "the now gone squid!" My guess was the squid was just plain tired of trying to ward us off from watching. Not only that, but I'm sure the though occurred to the squid to go find something else to eat in peace!
For those that want to know how we placed in the particular tournament, we didn't. The reason being is large squid wasn't listed as an entry! Better luck next time!
Here's My Line Now Bite My Hook!
Captain Judy