Facts About Squid

I have been observing squid underwater for many years and I find them to be one of the most fascinating creatures in the sea. In my opinion they are both the ultimate predator and prey. As an angler, your knowledge of squid and their behavior can help you land more and larger fish. Here are some intriguing facts about squid:

Squid Facts

Squid are invertebrates in the phylum Molluska, a group that includes snails, clams and oysters. They belong to the Class Cephalopoda along with octopus, cuttlefish and nautilus. There are about 400 species of squid, all of which are marine and are found from the Arctic to Antarctic in all depths of water

The most abundant of the American squids are the northern squid (Ommastrephes illecebrosus), ranging from Southern New England to Newfoundland, and the southern squid (Loligo Pealii), ranging from Virginia to Massachusetts.

They are the second most plentiful animals -- after fish -- in the ocean.

They move by jet propulsion, allowing water into their mantle and forcing it out through their siphon. They use their siphon and fins to make quick changes in direction. Some can even fly through the air. They can move backwards or forwards with ease:

They have three hearts: one for their body systems and one located at the base of each gill so that they can pump oxygen to their muscles quickly, thus enabling them to swim fast.

Their nerve fibers are very large compared to human nerve fibers, enabling them to carry messages at 50 mph compared to 4.5 mph in humans. Scientist have been studying their neuron transportation system for many years.

Controlling color is another example of the finely-tuned nervous system of cephalopods. Squid can selectively control pigmented organs called chromatophores thus changing their skin color, pattern and even texture rapidly and on demand. These colors can range from a bright red, pink, and rust color to a greenish hue to almost translucent.

Here is a close up look at a pattern of color controlled by the chromatophores:

Squid normally feed at night. Here is an animation from video that shows a Loligo attacking a spearing or silverside. You will notice that the squid grabs its prey with its two tentacles, each equipped with suckers (only at the ends where they form pads) and then pulls the silverside into its eight waiting arms. Finally, the prey is held next to the beaklike jaws where pieces are bitten or torn off and then transported into the body cavity by a tongue-like radula.

Squid vision is polarized and therefore they can easily detect prey items that are transparent or semi-transparent like the spearing above. Squid have eyes on the sides of their head which give180 degree vision on each side, yet they are also equipped with binocular vision. They have the best vision of all invertebrates and it is twice as acute as humans, yet many scientists believe they are color blind.

The squid has the largest eyes proportionate to its size.

Fishing Tactics

In addition to their awesome arsenal of offensive weapons and tactics, squid are able to elude predators with jet propulsion, an ability to maneuver in any direction, change color in the blink of an eye, and even cloud the water with a smoke screen of ink. Almost every game fish in the sea enjoys a meal of “calamari” when they can get it. As anglers we can seize this opportunity by duplicating the size, profile, color and action of squid in our local fishing areas.

(Video segment from Secrets of the Striper Pros)

When imitating squid, I believe it is crucial to fish with flies and lures that feature huge eyes. I have found that the best colors include: white or pearl with subtle amounts of flash, hot pink and white with flash, and yellow with flash. The stripping action should be very fast. I recommend short fast strips with only an occasional pause. Any squid that is out in the open during daylight hours is particularly vulnerable and usually rocketing through the water.

In New England waters, May is an excellent month to use squid flies because there is generally an abundance of spawning squid off our coast. If there are squid in your area -- and no doubt there are -- give squid flies a try.

A pair of squid about to spawn - note the male is white while the female is pink/rust colored.

Seize the day. Go Fishing!

Mike Laptew
"The Diving Fisherman"