Northwest Reel Life January - February 2024 Volume 3 Issue 4 - Flipbook - Page 12
fishing
Razor clam
With the arrival of each
new season here in the
Northwest, it’s hard not to
feel like a kid in a candy
store. Whether it's fall,
winter, spring, or summer,
these annual intervals of
changing weather and
day length always seem to
provide new opportunities
for the men and women
who choose to reap the
spoils of the outdoors. If the summer and their numbers
desire is there, the fun and tend to peak in the Puget
the food is at our doorsteps. Sound around December
and January. The fishery
A commonly overlooked
is often fickle, with some
opportunity that starts
years falling short of
up in Neah Bay during
anglers’ expectations, while
late August and ends
other years the fishery can
down in the south Puget
prove to be quite robust. On
Sound towards the end of
these years when the squid
winter, is the squid fishery,
specifically the Pacific coast are plentiful, the hardest
working anglers can find
squid, also known as the
themselves heading home
California market squid.
with their limits, which,
The Pacific coast squid are
as of January of 2023, the
relatively small, averaging
Washington Department
about 8 inches. They have
of Fish and Wildlife has set
short lifespans and spend
at 10 lbs or a five-gallon
most of their time in the
bucket filled to the halfway
Eastern Pacific Ocean—
point. Now that is a lot of
between Baja California and calamari!
Southeastern Alaska. They
Jigging from a boat or a
move into the straights of
pier is the most common
Juan De Fuca during late
way to procure these
22 | NWFISHING.net
season is here!
saltwater delicacies, and
during the winter you
will often find the docks
from Everett down to the
south Puget Sound alive
with folks chasing the
Pacific squid. Squidding
is a minimalistic endeavor.
A fishing rod, a spinning
reel, and a squid jig are
essentially all that is
needed.
Squid jigs find their origins
in Japan. They are usually
torpedo or bullet-shaped
jigs with several spines
at the bottom that point
upright. These spines don't
serve the same purpose
as a typical fishing hook.
Instead of puncturing or
penetrating the squid, they
create a bit of a platform
for the squid to become
Rar
Cm
Get all the info
JAN - FEB 2024 | 23
