There are two things about squid that everyone I talk to agrees on: 1) You won't find a better, more productive dead bait; and 2) you better take care of them properly or they will stink you right out of the cockpit. Unfortunately, using dead squid as trolling baits comes with a little bit of baggage.
Besides having an odor, squid don't hold up well when trolled at high speeds, and most folks don't know how to go about rigging them properly. Finding good-quality squid baits can also be a problem. But that said, good ballyhoo can sometimes be difficult to get a hold of, and I've never seen anyone hang a dead bally from their rearview to freshen the interior of their vehicle.
''In the '70s we pulled squid up in North Carolina for everything,'' says Capt. Bubba Carter. ''I don't know if a fish knows that a squid doesn't have bones or something, but they'll just wolf a squid right down. Our hookup ratio was like 99 percent on squid bites. The hookup ratio is so good that you get a lot of gut-hooked fish when using squid. In fact, a lot of world-record guys use squid because they can get a bait down deep into a fish, hurt it and get it to the boat faster.'' Carter uses plastic squid for teasers and says the fish he catches are always full of squid. For matching the hatch, there isn't a better bait, he maintains.
Howard Christians, owner of Calcutta Baits, says, ''A squid is about the hottest bait you can use. No matter what else you have in the spread, the squid always is the first bait to get bit.'' Christians still sells squid rigs that utilize a drinking straw to help stiffen the rig and act as a spacer between the tip of the squid and the hook.
Why, then, aren't crews pulling squid as much as they used to?
One reason might be the go-fast nature of today's sport-fishing boats. Pulling dead baits, squid in particular, doesn't cover a whole lot of ground. ''Squid are a more delicate bait,'' says Mark Pumo, owner of Baitmaters in Fort Lauderdale. ''You can't pull them at lure speeds like you can juiced mackerel or ballyhoo -- they just won't last. Natural-bait trolling speeds of 4 to 5 knots work best with squid.''
According to Pumo, getting good squid baits is no longer a problem. His company offers three different sizes that are almost perfectly uniform: 6- to 8-inch small squids for dolphin fishermen, 9- to 10-inch mediums for tuna and swordfish, and 12-inch squids for pitch-baiting marlin. These baits are measured by their tube length and don't include the length of the head and tentacles. All his squid are jig-caught by hand, so they have no skin tears.
The two main types used for bait are the loligo and illex varieties, says Pumo. ''The loligo we get are caught in the Pacific, and they have very white skin and narrow bodies. They're pricier than the illex and are a bit more fragile. The illex is the squid most anglers are familiar with, since it makes a tougher, more substantial bait than the loligo,'' he says. ''You can hide a giant hook in a large illex squid [much bigger than you can hide in a tuna or mackerel), and a marlin will just suck it down.''
The main reason for their absence in many sport-fishing spreads, however, is that most people are afraid to rig them, says Chuck Richardson, owner of Tournament Cable in Cape May, New Jersey. ''And that's a real shame since they are one of the best baits in the world, especially for white marlin. I know a couple of old-timers in Cape May -- Jim and Nontas Kontes who've caught literally hundreds of white marlin, and all they used were little squid,'' says Richardson.
Although most everyone around the world still uses them for swordfish baits, squid seem to have gotten a bad rap when it comes to rigging them for trolling applications. Some rigs can get pretty involved, but the same can be said for most dead-bait presentations. (Sewing and bridling a Spanish mackerel or splittail mullet isn't exactly a walk in the park, compared with throwing out a bunch of Softheads.) Squid rigs can be as elaborate or as simple as you choose, and we've gathered several here that run the gamut. So break out a box of squid on your next offshore trip, and try some of the rigs shown here. I'm sure you'll be surprised at how easily you pick up the techniques, and I know you'll be impressed with your increased catch.
Improved Swordfish Rig
Crews around the world use fairly standardized techniques for nighttime swordfishing, but some of the most successful crews develop little tricks that improve their odds for catching these sought-after game fish. Mark Haggard of Kenya's Hemingway fleet developed this simple squid rig with a drop weight to help increase his hookup ratio.
''During our first attempts for swordfish, we noticed that we weren't getting as many solid hookups as we should, considering the number of bites we were getting,'' says Haggard. ''I decided to work on new techniques for rigging a drop weight to the terminal tackle of my squid baits.''
This rig consists of a small barrel swivel connected to a 10- to 15-ounce sinker. Tie a 2-foot trace of 250-pound mono to the leader's snap swivel, and thread the trace through the small swivel attached to the weight, then on through the main-rod snap swivel. The even distribution of weight between the swivels, along with the snug fit of the mono through the swivel eye, is enough to keep the trace in place until the bite. When the broadbill strikes, the resulting pressure pulls the trace free and drops the weight. This allows the angler to drop the bait back without any additional weight spooking the broadbill.
This rig improved Haggard's efforts, but he wanted to do even better. He then centered his attention on the way he was rigging his squid. ''My standard swordfish leader consists of a 15-foot section of 300- to 400-pound leader with a single hook and a Mold Craft Fish Rattle placed about 1 foot below the swivel,'' says Haggard. ''But I made four changes to my 9/0 and 12/0 Mustad 7698B and 7754 hooks.'' The first change was to bend down the shank 15 degrees just behind the eye and to gently offset the points by 15 degrees. This creates a hook that is less likely to be pulled out of the swordie's soft mouth.
Haggard also began wrapping his hook shanks with waterproof tape and sharpening them to a round point instead of a cutting edge. The lack of a knife edge, along with the tape (which gets roughed up during the battle), helps prevent the hook from falling out.
-- Alessandro Giangio
Simple ''Straw Rig''
I developed this squid rig a few years ago while fishing on the Out of Bounds out of Cape May, New Jersey. We fished as many tournaments as possible during the season and used natural baits most of the time. The rig I developed can be made ahead of time with a variety of hooks, leader material, beads and/or weights, and can be adjusted for any size squid. The rig also offers a little more protection against cutoffs when using mono leaders.
What makes all this possible is cable covers that are used to cover stainless-steel rigging cable on sailboats. These are made from a thick, flexible plastic tubing and have a slit down one side. They come in 5-foot lengths of different diameters and are quite inexpensive: The 3/32 size, for example, costs less than $1. You can buy them at any marine hardware store that carries sailboat gear.
I use the same basic technique to construct three different rigs. For most situations, I use a needle-eye hook and single-strand wire. When fishing light tackle exclusively for white marlin, I make the rigs with a ring-eye hook and mono leader. Occasionally, when I find myself overrun with cutoffs and kinked wire, I'll switch to braided wire leaders. Using a crimp and loop to attach the hook, this rig allows me to change hook sizes easily to match various sizes of squid.
I also use beads, egg sinkers, worm weights or a combination of all three to vary my rigs to match sea conditions.
To construct the straw rig, connect your wire leader of choice to a needle-eye hook using a standard haywire twist with one variation: Instead of breaking off the tag end of your barrel wraps, cut it to leave about a 1/8-inch tag to act as a stopper. Slide on a standard bead followed by a High-Seas glow bead filed flat on one end. (If you want a weighted rig, substitute the beads with egg sinkers or worm weights.) Finish the leader by tying a standard haywire twist at the other end.
Lay the premade rig over the squid and position the hook where you want it to end up when the rigging is complete. Position the two beads on the leader with the glow bead about ½ to 1 inch from the tip of the squid and the standard bead jammed against the haywire connecting the hook. Lay a piece of cable cover next to the rig and cut a piece that will fit tightly between the two beads. Using an ice pick or the back of a knife, push the cable cover over the leader.
Lay the rig alongside the squid. Make a slit in the squid's body just ahead of the glow bead (top). Insert the leader through the squid's mouth and out the slit. Pull the entire rig through the body until the top bead reaches the slit and stops.
Using waxed thread and a needle, sew the slit closed and sew the squid to the leader. (This should hold the squid and prevent it from sliding down the rig.) Insert the hook through the head of the squid and the rig is ready to troll.
-- Chuck Richardson
No Sewing Required
A trolled squid makes a very effective bait for many offshore species, yet the prospect of rigging squid for the troll often intimidates all the but the professional mate. I use a method of squid-rigging that is fast and easy and does not involve the use of bait needles or sewing.
With a single hook, wire leaders, crimp, cone sinker and a few spacer beads, you can rig a swimming squid in under two minutes that will last all day.
Start by attaching a 7/0 to 10/0 live-bait hook to 8 feet of No. 8 to No. 10 wire. (Since most fish readily swallow a squid bait, you could easily substitute a circle hook in this rig.) Place the leader alongside the squid so that the hook lies just below the mouth, where it will be hidden by the squid's arms. Mark a spot on the leader 1 to 2 inches below the tip of the squid's mantle, and attach a small crimp to the leader. (A size 2 crimp works well with No. 9 wire.) This crimp will receive much of the towing force, so make sure it's tight.
Slide a few spacer beads, followed by a 3/8-ounce cone sinker onto the leader. The length of the squid determines the number of beads you will use; you want enough so the cone sinker will ride just inside the tip of the squid when the leader is pulled through the bait's body.
Insert the free end of the wire leader through the squid's mouth, and then guide it though the squid's body, exiting at the very tip. Next, pull the cone and beads through the mouth. Guide the cone and bead through the body until they stop against the tip of the squid. The hook should now be lying just below the squid's mouth, hidden among its arms. Tie a haywire twist on the leader's free end, and it's ready to troll.
If a strike or a hookup damages the bait, simply clip off the top haywire, slide on a new squid (changing the number of spacer beads if necessary), and tie a new haywire twist.
-- Dan Jacobs
