Mondo Rock Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Well after all the reports of jewies off the beach I thought it was time I got back down to the sand to have another go at it. So on Wednesday night I sneakily arranged things so that I could pop down to my secret squid spot and throw my fav YoZuri around for half an hour or so (by "arranged things" I mean that I offered to the to go to the supermarket and then zipped over to the secret spot instead). Threw the lure around for about ten minutes before I felt a good weight and that trademark squid pumping - it was taking a bit of line from the 4lb outfit so I knew it was a good one. Couple of minutes later, and after some mucking around in the wash at my feet (did everything I could to lose it), up came this good sized fella: Sorry about the pic quality - am having some camera probs!! Anyway kept on plugging until I felt a second bump and a weight, lifted the rod tip and . . . snagged . Dammit - expensive lure at risk, so I gave it a couple of tentative whacks to see it I could dislodge it and then expressed some confusion as the snag proceeded to pump off out to sea at a rate of knots. Hang on a minute - I'm onto a big one! Five minutes later and this mother was on the rocks at my feet: PB squid for me - and more jewie bait than I could use so decided to pack it in and headed for the supermarket. Got home and cooked the big one up for dinner and kept the smaller one for strip bait. I think I may have prematurely shot my load though, as I won't be hitting the beach until Sunday night and now have to keep the squid fresh until then. I've frozen it - thinking that five days in the fridge is a bit too long, but do any Raiders have any advice in this regard? How long is too long before squid isn't fresh enough for good jewie bait? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Mate the best thing to do is ensure no freshwater touches it, seal it up so the frost off freshwater cannot build up on it. If freshwater does not touch it, it should be fine to use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Fisho Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Nice squid Netic, should be happy. I bet the misses was impressed with the seafood quality from the local supermarket BJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldy Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Great squid catch!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrasseman Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Don't waste it as bait, just eat it, yum yum. Nice squid there, quite big for sydney too, I've only caught smallies there, good bait size though. The bigguns can give a reasonable account of themselves on light gear. I hooked my biggest whilst spinning out of the yak for salmon, it was about 1m long and est. about 4kg (this is about max. size for southern calamari) and took me for a bit of a tow before I got it in, unfortunately I had to let it go as there was no way it was coming in the yak with me. Out of interest, were they male or female? and sexually mature or not (sorry I have a vested interest in squid biology)? If sexually mature females will have a mass of pale yellow/clear eggs in the top of the body and 2 large white glands in the centre of the body whilst males have a yellowish mass in the tip of the body containing little white sticks. These sticks may also be found embedded around the females head/funnel/mouth areas and even occasionally on males. Cheers Col. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted May 5, 2006 Author Share Posted May 5, 2006 Hi Col A 1 metre long squid eh? Now that's something I'd like to see!!! Both Squid were definitely male, as both had those white sticks to which you refer and no eggs that I could make out. The big one certainly gave good account of itself on my 4lb gear - it took about 25 metres of line before I was able to start recovering any. Mondo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharky Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Nice squid Mondo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bung Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 (edited) as netic said if bagged up properly it wont get freezer burn or frosty. we've used squid up to a couple months old for jew. (i might add my mate caught the ANSA record jew on rank squid that was at least 6 months old!) when you defrost it the flesh should still be firm and still a bit translucent. Edited May 5, 2006 by bung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted May 5, 2006 Author Share Posted May 5, 2006 Thanks to all the Raiders for their advice on keeping squid fresh. Looks like the tricks are: - freeze it as fast as you can after catching - make sure it doesn't touch fresh water at any stage, and - keep it tightly sealed in the fridge so it doesn't go frosty (therby touching fresh water). Awesome stuff. Unfortunately I did end up washing the tube under the tap as I originally intended to eat it (before realising that the big squid was plenty for two people all by itself) - but the squid heads and wings are all untouched by fresh water and therefore should still be good. It was all frozen within one hour of capture and I also kept the ink sacs for 'flavoring' prior to sending them out to the jewies. Will let everyone know on Monday how I went over the weekend chasing my first beach jooooo. Mondo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Nice squid there Mondo. I can't believe you ate it!! 2 is perfect for a beach session. I take a small esky with an ice brick in it & some glad cliplock bags. When I get a squid I put them staight into the cliplock bag & onto the icebrick. When I get home I get the air out of the bag & freeze it. Almost as good as unfrozen. The squid we used last w/end was frozen like this. Good luck on Sunday. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted May 5, 2006 Author Share Posted May 5, 2006 Thanks JH - it was your reports that inspired me to go out again this weekend! The photo just doesn't do the big squid justice - it was as long as my hand and fore-arm (and I'm 6'4") and would've needed a mighty big ziplock bag to fit in!! Nonetheless I will definitely use your method from now on. Might head back out tonight to see if I can rustle up another since you recommend two per session . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flattieman Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Thanks JH - it was your reports that inspired me to go out again this weekend! The photo just doesn't do the big squid justice - it was as long as my hand and fore-arm (and I'm 6'4") and would've needed a mighty big ziplock bag to fit in!! Nonetheless I will definitely use your method from now on. Might head back out tonight to see if I can rustle up another since you recommend two per session . . . Well done, Mondo. Don't the big squid put up a great fight!!! Hope the weekend goes well. Flattieman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted May 8, 2006 Author Share Posted May 8, 2006 Well - to all those who were following my exploits last week leading up to a jewie session this weekend here is my report: NO JOY!! Ocean was so flat on Sunday that 'secret beach #1' had zero wave movement whatsoever when we got there to start our evening's session. So flat in fact, that it was effectively impossible to pick the gutters!! We plugged away anyhow for a good three hours in what we thought was a gutter/hole, using my fresh squid from last week, but with no success. Got one strike that might've been a jew but my fishing companion (an otherwise well respected Raider who shall remain nameless, for now) lost the fish through what 'may have been' knot failure. Tides were a bit wrong (started at the high and fished the drop) and conditions were not ideal, but I was still hoping that Sunday night may have been the time . . . . Oh well - there's always next week!!! Mondo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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