Fishing for Octopus?!?

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Summer for Tokyo fishermen means octopus fishing by day, and night-fishing for Japanese conger eel. The octopus known in Japanese as “madako” (Octopus vulgaris, Common octopus) is cherished as a delicacy, eaten commonly as sashimi or served boiled as a celebratory dish for New Year’s.

To catch such octopus, one employs a special tackle comprising a hooked, weighted wooden board about eight inches in length, to which a crab is tied, upside-down. Octopi apparently have a great weakness for crab, particularly those with their vulnerable underbelly exposed to attack. The baited device is lowered into the water using a thick nylon/polyester line, and then jigged up-and-down by hand on the seafloor. Octopus usually feel the bait with their tentacles before launching themselves onto it, and this can be felt in one’s hands as a sort of ’sticking’ feeling. On feeling the ’stickiness’ on the line becoming much heavier, signalling the octopus actually attaching itself to the bait and starting to feed, a violent and large yank upwards on the line with both one’s hands sets the hooks into the creature and then it is a slow process of hauling in the line by hand to the surface.

 

[tydus]

Wow, now that's awesome.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

People do fish for cephalopods. up here in ny you can buy a glow in the dark Squid Jig. However it's unsuitable for catch and release because cephalopods can feel pain when legit-hooked in the mouth.

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Is there a way to safely catch and release them?

 

[Mr.Kiet]

i remember when i was younger i went to Vietnam and we went squid fishing at night time. it was a good time.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Is there a way to safely catch and release them?

With a net or crabtrap but they say cephalopods are as smart as a cat or dog so they might be able to find a way out. With a net, Octopus can walk or crawl out before you pull it in. I was fishing from a pier with my dad when I was 9 and we were using a yellow bucktail jig, and a bottom rig, each with a strip of clam and each time the bait would be gone, and come up with slime on the hook. Then a big brown thing swam up to the surface. OCTOPUS! Wouldn't surprise me, that pier is built on all kinds of structure: rocks, dead bodies, gataway cars, refridgerators (this is new york, people) But mostly rocks. Lots of big boulders were dumped there a long time ago when they built the belt parkway. It's local knowledge. Judging by Profile Details Mr. Kliet might know about the rocks and the belt pkway? it goes all the way from Brooklyn yo Maine.

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Thanks bottom.....

 

[oscarcrazy]

I live in Texas now, but used to be a fishing guide in south east Alaska. We would frequently catch octos while bottom fishing for halibut and lingcod. Some over 10 feet across. Not much fun for the catch and release though. They're kinda like bringing up a burlap sack. Great sushi, good bait... but we released most after a few pics.

 

[Druu]

Bottomfeeder, where in NY are you jigging for squid? As for the shore being rocky like the Belt Park, you just need to know where to fish!

 

[haynchinook334]

when i lived in hawaii, my dad and i would catch octopus with a barbless hook.