Remember that post a couple weeks ago about shiploads of giant squids plying our local waters? And how this had revived the sportsfishing business during what's usually its offseason? And how much I crave giant calamari with a side of marinara right now?
Well, they're still out there. The squid, not the marinara.
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Dana Wharf Sportfishing in Dana Point reports that anglers on its boats are still reeling in giant squid, more formally known as Humboldt Squid.
“They are everywhere,” says Dana Wharf Capt. Corey Lieser of the mollusks that each typically weigh 20 to 30 pounds.
The preponderance of squid has fishers from all over Southern California booking spots on boats in what's usually the offseason–especially for the cruises on chilly nights. That's because Dana Wharf captains flash lights on the water to lure the giant squids up to the surface.
“The light causes the plankton (consisting of drifting organisms) the squid feed on to shine, which causes the squid to rise to the surface to feed; making them easier to catch,” explained Lieser.
It's the same theory that lures hungry motorists to illuminated Golden Arches nightly.
The Humboldt have been showing up in local waters since 1983, according to the fine folks at Dana Wharf, which will continue running special squid trips departing at 5:30 nightly as long as they are out there. The cost is $25 per person and you can book online or call (949) 496-5794.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.