When do the squid show up?

[wraithen]

I have fished for squid now for the last 5 years where I live, south sound area dock, and have the best catch numbers between Nov. - Jan. and as stated, the jigs at the local dept stores/ sports stores don't catch crap.  I get my jigs off S. Tac. Way at the Asian grocery store by HWY 512 and they work great.  The hooks are sharper and larger and brighter than the ones sold in dept. stores and they make all different sizes so you can fish with multiple jigs at a time.  Colors I use and have had luck with are ones that have pink/ red/ green, but if they glow they will work.  Also, a work light right off the dock helps to bring them in, but most pier lights will still attract them.  When I get home I will post up my setup and the jigs I use to give you an idea of what has worked for me.

WHICH STORE?! I was told the boo-han but they looked at me like I was some crazy whitey when I asked last year! If you can find the homemade ones, those are super extra lucky!

[magnanimous_j]

A light on the dock helps, right?  and do you drop the jig down just out of sight?

Pretty much critical. A 20 dollar shop lite from Home Depot works great. Aim it at the water. I find that putting your line just at the edge of the light works the best. If I'm using 3 jigs, I'll let it down very gently until the bottom one just touches the bottom and them reel in a few times. When you jig, you'll be covering 5 or 6 vertical feet, and when they're running hard, there almost is no wrong way to do it. When it's slow, your mileage may vary but I like to stay closer to the bottom because you can occasionally get octopus that way.

Any color of jig better than another?

Not that I've noticed. I like the sparkly ones.

[HuntNFish]

I have fished for squid now for the last 5 years where I live, south sound area dock, and have the best catch numbers between Nov. - Jan. and as stated, the jigs at the local dept stores/ sports stores don't catch crap.  I get my jigs off S. Tac. Way at the Asian grocery store by HWY 512 and they work great.  The hooks are sharper and larger and brighter than the ones sold in dept. stores and they make all different sizes so you can fish with multiple jigs at a time.  Colors I use and have had luck with are ones that have pink/ red/ green, but if they glow they will work.  Also, a work light right off the dock helps to bring them in, but most pier lights will still attract them.  When I get home I will post up my setup and the jigs I use to give you an idea of what has worked for me.

WHICH STORE?! I was told the boo-han but they looked at me like I was some crazy whitey when I asked last year! If you can find the homemade ones, those are super extra lucky!

Boo-Han is the store.  They are directly to the right when you step inside the far right door.  I have also noticed that you need to get them in the beggining of October because they sell out of them fast.  And maybe you are some crazy whitey

[highmuley]

We squid south sound (les davis pier). We normally start in late october and finish in january. We normally use a generator but, this year I'm using a suspended lantern. Does anyone else use this method? Has anyone noticed a productivity differance between the two?

[wraithen]

Suspended lantern wasn't bright enough to get that ring of light the squid hang out next to. We usually have a big lit area lit by work lights. Probably 3-4k watts of lighting going when season gets good. Seems to create a decent sized area the squid feel safe to ambush from.  Never had any luck with the lantern, even if it was only 2 inches above the water.

[highmuley]

Hmmm...thanks for the insite. Maybe I just stick with my generator. For jigs, I buy the hand made from sportco as well. Packaged, generic brand....no good! Never have caught a squid on BS jigs.....now I want calamari