Last winter was a banner season for squid jiggers, and Mike Chamberlain sees indications this may be another. “It’s beginning to look like last year, and that was the best squid fishing I’ve ever seen around here,” Chamberlain, owner of Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood, said. “There are already a lot of limits being taken at the Edmonds Pier, the Seattle area, Bremerton, and a number of other places.”
A nighttime incoming or high slack tide is usually best, although Chamberlain says you can occasionally find decent jigging during dark days as well. Some regulars bring generators and lights, as attractors, and the casual fisher can usually work around someone else’s light source.
The usual rig is a two-jig setup, a weighted one on the bottom and a smaller, unweighted one above. Colors run the gamut, particularly because a lot of regulars make and paint their own jigs, but pinks and oranges, always glow in the dark, are usually a good bet.
Get there early and observe. Watch how far the good fishers are casting, and count the seconds they’re allowing their gear to sink. Sometimes casting isn’t even necessary, but the up-and-down retrieve is always slow and easy.
Take a bucket, a hot beverage, and a $17.40 shellfish license, and you’re in business.
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