Thanks You Eric For Being On The Ball

I would love to be on the boat with a little club, no, two clubs as the squid are brough out on board and I could bash their squishy heads in. Like 'wacking day' on 'The Simpsons'.

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Anglers up and down the California coast are scrambling to get their hooks into giant squid that are lingering longer than usual this year.

Some boats at the Monterey Wharf are reporting massive catches of the giant Humboldt squid.


The squid become massive because they are anything but picky eaters and they have plenty of food to chow down on in the Monterey Bay.

Todd Arcoleo, who works at Chris' Fishing at the Monterey Wharf, said boats are coming back with 250 squid that weigh between 30 and 60 pounds.


"It's exciting catching these big things. They love it." Arcoleo said. "People come back all dirty and with ink all over them. They always come back with a smile."

Arcoleo said the giant hauls started in November, and that his boats leave Monterey at 6:30 a.m. and return at about 2 p.m.

Tuesday's boat had room for 20, but only held about half that number of anglers when it departed.

The trip costs $65, but you can bring home all the calamari steaks you can eat.

Unlike a lot fish, there is no limit on the number of squid you can catch off the California coast.


The rush is also in full swing in Southern California. Sport fishing in Orange County has turned into a "free-for-all," wrote Gary Robbins in his OC Register Science Dude blog.

"Anglers aboard the Western Pride out of Balboa Peninsula caught 225 of them. The largest fish weighed 60 pounds (they can get up to 100 pounds). Chris Cunningham, manager of Davey’s Locker Sportfishing, said the catch could be a one day thing. Humboldt squid — which are also called jumbos — are a here today, gone tomorrow creature. Very mysterious, often elusive."

Not elusive enough. The Western Pride hauled in 300 squid Saturday night. Some were in the 30- to 60-pound range, according to Robbins' post.

More than 600 squid were caught Sunday night.