Northern Dogs and friends on the Rampage! Part 2

[KillerBeee]

After bagging a few big squid, Mark and I settled in with the rest of the crew for a decent night's sleep or so we thought. Towards the end of the day the wind started picking up and the waves were growing. I hit the bunk and fell asleep almost instantly. Throughout the night we all were awakened by the not so gentle rythmic pounding of the building swell and wind waves. Several times I woke to the sound that was like a log being bashed into the hull repeatedly but it turned out to be just wind waves.
The crew and our companions started getting ready for the morning around 6:30. Mark and I tried jigging for tuna and even threw out a couple of baits during the gray light to see what might happen. All we managed was a blue shark.
As it got light it was apparent we were in for a "special" day. The swell had grown to 7-8 feet and the wind waves were 4-5. The boat started trolling around 7am and we kept it up until around 11:30. There were some waves that broke over the bow and convieniently washed the gunnels a few times. We did a few bait stops along the way that were only able to produce a couple of fish at a time. The troll was a bit more productive with a triple at one point and a couple of doubles. The swell, wind chop, and wind made it tough to see any life. We managed about an additional 20 fish before the clock ran out and it was time to head back to port. The total was around 80 tuna and 3 Humboldt squid for the effort.
Some of the highlights of the trip were:
A school of Dahl's porpoises that thrilled us with their speed and grace.
Excellent group of fishermen who kept their head's up and never complained despite puny bait and rough conditions.
Two fine young men, Lance and Marshall, who were helpful, strong, and amusing.
Bonus squid!
Decent food and berths.
The gear that worked well included:
Cedar plugs in green-yellow, and black-purple.
Clones in red-black, orange-green, zuchinni, swimbaits cast and trolled.Swim bait colors were green-black and purple-black.
Although I would do it a bit differently if I had it do over again, it was still an educational and enjoyable trip.
Thanks to the Captain and crew of the Rampage as well as my friends old and new who shared the adventure.

Here are a few more pics to round out the story....


Mark with a nice albie.



Mark and Marshall showing off a couple of Humboldt squid.




Yours truly with a bigger albie caught on the troll just before nightfall on the first day.



Til next time.....
Beeeeeeeeee

[fishindude]

Nice job on the tuna. What do you do with the squid??

[Paddler]

Nice fish, Dave. Any idea on the weight?

[Chrome Bumper]

It was good to meet the Beee and Company. A great group of fishermen. Considering the sporty sea conditions very little chumming occured. Tough conditions but we scratched out a decent catch of 80 some. Next year I hope to get livelier live bait and a flatter ocean so we can plug the boat. Maybe find some tastier denziens of the deep during night fishing, like a thresher, BFT or a bill fish even.

Anybody eat a squid yet?

[Chrome Bumper]

The deck hand estimated 25#, looked a bit more to me.

[KillerBeee]

I ate some of the squid last night and Mark the night before. While it was edible, it gave off an ammonia smell while cooking and the overall taste was less than delicious. I have to talk to a buddy who has had success eating them and find out what he does to make them tasty.
It was a lot of fun catching them, watching them squirt big spurts of ink, and the colorful writhing show they put on when they hit the deck. Mark handled them with his bare hands but I'm a wuss and wouldn't touch them without gloves. Imagine how many you could catch with a true squid jig compared to a glow Tady like we used? They pulled pretty good too.
Mark saved the heads and tentacles for Halibut bait and the rest may end up that way too.
Beeeeeeee

[jigmaster]

Drop the cleaned Squid body (cut up) into boiling water for 2-4 minutes then peel off the skin, cut into steaks, then pound the meat like an AB...Abalone....Batter it up then fry it... Poor man's abalone... Those are the tenderized giant squid steaks you see in the supermarket..

[KillerBeee]

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try before it becomes bait.
Beeeeeee

[wthr4d]

ammonia smeel makes me think it is a cleaning problem and not a preparation thing. Shark and some fish when not gutted right away will leach toxins into their meat, tainting it for eating.

Paul