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May 19, 2005 - Shining the light on squidI OA • The Suffolk Times • May 19, 2005 Shining the light on squid I'vt nowt A urr or things in my life, but when Larry called the other day and asked if I'd ever been squid fishing I had to admit that would be a new one for me. The only association I'd ever had with squid was using it for bait. It's one of my favorites, for it stays on the hook well while luring a wide variety of fish to my fine. Looking back, Barbara and I once found a mop-like cluster of two-inch, banana - shaped FOCUS gelatinouscap� rules on the ON Sound beach at Duck Pond. NATURE Always being b Paul curious, we had Y to bring it home Stoutenburgh and check it out. It was then we found that the cluster contained hun- dreds and hundreds of squid eggs Usu- ally the egg mast is attached to rocks or something solid but, like everything else, nothing is perfect and so occasion- ally these egg masses break loose and come ashore, which is what Barbara and I had found. The other experience I had with squid was on a calm night when my son and I were eeling with a bright light. Out of nowhere came five squid swim- ming toward us They seemed to move through the water almost as if there were no force moving them. All I could think of was that they looked like some alien species We couldn't get over how effortlessly they moved in their tight formation. It was a beautiful experience in the quiet of the night. To get back to our recent squidding experience — not knowing the first thing about this unusual type of fishing, I left the details up to Larry. He said all I'd need was a fight pole and he'd do the rest. Seeing the fishing didn't start until after dark I had plenty of time to get my pole and break out some warm clothes, as Larry said even though it seemed relatively warm now it would gel real chilly as the night wore on. How right he was The witching hour was soon upon us and we were off to Greenpon with Larry.I thought I knew the back roads of Greenport but he was taking us to a place I had never been before. When we stopped we found ourselves in the back- waters of the harbor where large secu- rity lights lighted up the water, which we found out later attracts the squid. t. Tlmes/Revlew photo by adrbara Stoulenburnh Photo by Paul Stoutmburgh Left: Found 32 years ago on the Sound beach at Duck Pond, this odd - looking mass of finger -like egg cases belongs to the long -finned squid. Usually attached to rocks at the bottom, this mass evidently broke away and came ashore. Right: Fresh out of the water, this 104nch squid is still attached to the special squid jig It was caught on. It has already discharged Its black ink that helps it escape from predators. If you're not careful, you can become the target of this efficient squirting machine. The dock was crowded with bundled -up fishermen. I thought we were going to fish at the Greenpon town dock, which I was told was crowded with fishermen, all after the squid below. It seems any dock with lights attracts the squid and will prove good fishing. Larry proceeded to rig my pole with a special squid jig. It resembled a small, colorful plug with a cluster of small, unbarbed hooks at its end. With our poles rigged we were off to find a place along the dock.I was dumb. founded to see so many en- thusiasts, all with their color- ful squid jigs dangling from their lines Larry seemed to know everyone along the dock so it wasn't hard to ford an opening where we could drop our lines in. Many of the "squidders" had brought their own lights to shine down in the water below. "Well, let's get at it!" Larry said and out went our Lines right alongside the dock. The idea was to let the line with its fight sinker touch the bottom and then give a little series of jerks to the line. This is repeated until you feel something sluggish on your line. You reel in, pull- ing up a 10- to 12 -inch long squirting squid to the surface. Here you leave it, where it empties itself of its black pro- tective liquid. The trick is to hold your squid just at the waters surface until clean water is squirted out, telling you its safe to bring the squid the rest of the way up. Otherwise, if you bring the much -agi- toted, squirting squid up without letting it clean itself out of the black They looked ink, you or those nearby like some could be sprayed with a mess of the black stuff. This hap - alien species. pened once and Barbara's coal was splattered, but quick action with a Handi Wipe and it was gone. You have to see these squid as they are pulled in.They make a continuous series of black squirts and then as they run out of their black deterrent they take up bay water and squirt that at random, which, by the way, occasionally fords its mark. Then there are the chuck- les and laughter from those around. Even though we had dressed with extra sweaters, coats and hats, the cold wind seemed to know how to get to you. After about an hoar and a half we .�.+ ' ��La';is�= �� ram . _r � � 6"'•!% :� J _ Y r� From Manhattan to the East End ... i gardens and landscapes w � v' }IL'0 GLENN SMITH DESIGN INC. www.glennsmithdesign.com !� �.. _•� ! 718.788.2136 631.765.5803 Dudley - I'm a very l6endly indoor /outdoor cat who will love you beyond all reason. Come and see me. maybe you can be my new best friend. DUDLEY IS lust ail eF sY9 A CATS AHD KMEHS HtaE- 11MA M had caught enough (45) and decided to call it a night. Back home I asked Larry how many squid he wanted and his reply was none. He'd gotten a bucketful the night be- fore so he said the catch was mine. In the kitchen I washed them in the sink, put them up in Ziploc bags of five or six each to be frozen for bait. I set five or six aside to be cleaned for calamari the next day. We had never done anything with squid before, so this would be an- other flat for Barbaro and me. I'd cut up squid for bait many times, but there was little rhyme or reason in what I was doing, so long as the piece cut was big enough to lure a fish to my hook. Now I was cleaning my squid for what we hoped would be a great meal the next night. I'd done a little research on how to clean them, so I wasn't com- pletely in the dark. Some books said to skin the squid; others said it wasn't necessary. I liked the idea of skinning but soon found out it was a pretty slippery job.The book said to pull the head out along with the 10 tentacles, two of which are longer — the ones the squid uses to catch its prey. All these tentacles have tiny suc- tion cups that help capture and hold the squid's future meal.These tentacles were cut free from the head, as I was told they were the best part when cooked. I opened the squid with one brig swoop of my fish knife and pulled out the jelly -like mass, which came out clean.Then I remembered there was a clear plastic-like backbone that had to be removed. With this done I was ready to cut my quarter -inch strips of squid. We had no idea how to cook it but that didn't faze Barbara, who went straight to her computer and, sure enough, came up with a recipe that we could make sense out of. Basically it called for dipping the squid strips in a special batter, then in bread crumbs and into deep oil to fry. Need I say more? They were delicious From now on I'll look at squid in an entirely dif- ferent way. e Suffolk Times • May 19, 2005 Shi In the light ron sa Uld K s. Times /Review photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Left: Found 32 years ago on the Sound beach at Duck Pond, this odd-looking mass of finger -like egg cases belongs to the long- finned squid. Usually attached to rocks at the bottom, this mass evidently broke away and came ashore. Right: Fresh out of the water, this 10 -inch squid is still attached to the special squid jig It was caught on. It has already discharged its black ink that helps it escape from predators. If you're not careful, you can become the target of this efficient squirting machine. I'VE DONE A LOT OF things in my life, but when Larry called the other day and asked if I'd ever been squid fishing I had to admit that would be a new one for me. The only association I'd ever had with squid was using it for bait. It's one of my favorites, for it stays on the hook well while luring a wide variety of fish to my line. Looking back, Barbara and I once found a mop -like cluster of two -inch, banana - shaped FOG V $ gelatinous cap- sules on the ON Sound beach at Duck Pond. NATURE Always being curious, we had by Paul to bring it home Stoutenburgh and check it out. It was then we found that the cluster contained hun- dreds and hundreds of squid eggs. Usu- ally the egg mass is attached to rocks or something solid but, like everything else, nothing is perfect and so occasion- ally these egg masses break loose and come ashore, which is what Barbara and I had found. The other experience I had with squid was on a calm night when my son and I were eeling with a bright light. Out of nowhere came five squid swim- ming toward us. They seemed to move through the water almost as if there were no force moving them. All I could think of was that they looked like some alien species. We couldn't get over how effortlessly they moved in their tight formation. It was a beautiful experience in the quiet of the night. o; the light ron sa Uld K s. Times /Review photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Left: Found 32 years ago on the Sound beach at Duck Pond, this odd-looking mass of finger -like egg cases belongs to the long- finned squid. Usually attached to rocks at the bottom, this mass evidently broke away and came ashore. Right: Fresh out of the water, this 10 -inch squid is still attached to the special squid jig It was caught on. It has already discharged its black ink that helps it escape from predators. If you're not careful, you can become the target of this efficient squirting machine. I'VE DONE A LOT OF things in my life, but when Larry called the other day and asked if I'd ever been squid fishing I had to admit that would be a new one for me. The only association I'd ever had with squid was using it for bait. It's one of my favorites, for it stays on the hook well while luring a wide variety of fish to my line. Looking back, Barbara and I once found a mop -like cluster of two -inch, banana - shaped FOG V $ gelatinous cap- sules on the ON Sound beach at Duck Pond. NATURE Always being curious, we had by Paul to bring it home Stoutenburgh and check it out. It was then we found that the cluster contained hun- dreds and hundreds of squid eggs. Usu- ally the egg mass is attached to rocks or something solid but, like everything else, nothing is perfect and so occasion- ally these egg masses break loose and come ashore, which is what Barbara and I had found. The other experience I had with squid was on a calm night when my son and I were eeling with a bright light. Out of nowhere came five squid swim- ming toward us. They seemed to move through the water almost as if there were no force moving them. All I could think of was that they looked like some alien species. We couldn't get over how effortlessly they moved in their tight formation. It was a beautiful experience in the quiet of the night. 10 get back to our recent sgtudding experience — not knowing the first thing about this unusual type of fishing, I left the details up to Larry. He said all I'd need was a light pole and he'd do the rest. Seeing the fishing didn't start until after dark I had plenty of time to get my pole and break out some warm clothes, as Larry said even though it seemed relatively warm now it would get real chilly as the night wore on. How right he was. The witching hour was soon upon us and we were off to Greenport with Larry. I thought I knew the back roads of Greenport but he was taking us to a place I had never been before. When we stopped we found ourselves in the back- waters of the harbor where large secu- rity lights lighted up the water, which we found out later attracts the squid. The dock was crowded with bundled -up fishermen. I thought we were going to fish at the Greenport town dock, which I was told was crowded with fishermen, all after the squid below. It seems any dock with lights attracts the squid and will prove good fishing. Larry proceeded to rig my pole with a special squid jig. It resembled a small, colorful plug with a cluster of small, unbarbed hooks at its end. With our poles rigged we were off to find a place along the dock. I was dumb- founded to see so many en- thusiasts, all with their color- ful squid jigs dangling from their lines. Larry seemed to know everyone along the dock so it wasn't hard to find an opening where we could drop our lines in. Many of the "squidders" had brought their own lights to shine down in the water below. "Well, let's get at it!" Larry said and out went our lines right alongside the dock. The idea was to let the line with its light sinker touch the bottom and then give a little series of jerks to the line. This is repeated until you feel something sluggish on your line. You reel in, pull- mg up a iu- to iL-incn iuiig zyuu ­11g squid to the surface. Here you leave it, where it empties itself of its black pro- tective liquid. The trick is to hold your squid just at the water's surface until clean water is squirted out, telling you it's safe to bring the squid the rest of the way up. Otherwise, if you bring the much -agi- tated, squirting squid up without letting it clean itself out of the black ink, you or those nearby could be sprayed with a mess of the black stuff. This hap- pened once and Barbara's coat was splattered, but quick action with a Handi Wipe and it was gone. You have to see these squid as they are pulled in. They make a continuous series of black squirts and then as they run out of their black deterrent they take up bay water and squirt that at random, which, by the way, occasionally finds its mark. Then there are the chuck les and laughter from those around. Even though we had dressed with extra sweaters, coats and hats, the cold wind seemed to know how to get to you. After about an hour and a half we — ­­h* r>nnnah (45) and decided to They looked like some alien species. call it a night. Back home I asked Larry how many squid he wanted and his reply was none He'd gotten a bucketful the night be- fore so he said the catch was mine. In the kitchen I washed them in the sink, put them up in Ziploc bags of five or si: each to be frozen for bait. I set five or six aside to be cleaned for calamari the next day. We had never done anything with squid before, so this would be an- nthar firer fnr Rarhara and me. I'd cut up squid for bait many times, but there was little rhyme or reason in what I was doing, so long as the piece cut was big enough to lure a fish to my hook. Now I was cleaning my squid for what we hoped would be a great meal the next night. I'd done a little research on how to clean them, so I wasn't com- letely in the dark. Some books said to skin the squid; others said it wasn't necessary. I liked the idea of skinning but soon found out it was a pretty slippery job. The book said to pull the head out along with the 10 tentacles, two of which are'longer — the ones the squid uses to catch its prey. All these tentacles have tiny suc- tion cups that help capture and hold the squid's future meal. These tentacles were cut free from the head, as I was told they were the best part when cooked. I opened the squid with one big swoop of my fish knife and pulled out the jelly -like mass, which came out clean. Then I remembered there was a clear plastic -like backbone that had to be removed. With this done I was ready to cut my quarter -inch strips of squid. We had no idea how to cook it but that didn't faze Barbara, who went straight to her computer and, sure enough, came up with a recipe that we could make sense out o£ Basically it called for dipping the squid strips in a special batter, then in bread crumbs and into deep oil to fry. Need I say more? They were delicious. From now on I'll look at squid in an entirely dif-