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bledito
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humboldt squid
just watched a documentary about these squid in the sea of cortez prettty disturbing scences of them attacking in packs some divers, and where a
fisherman apparently fell out of the boat and was attacked as well. Has anyone had experience with these creatures? Are they found in the shallower
waters around cabo pulmo where folks dive alot. what are the chances of encountering them off shore in a boat while taking a dip. Is it all hype to
make the documentary gory and sensational to put fear into folks or is it a real and disturbing trend that is occurring.
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Skipjack Joe
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They are indeed extremely dangerous creatures. Great caution should be used when swimming in the Cortez, especially during early morning and late
evening hours, times when they are most active. They will often attack you from behind or your blind side giving little warning. Their suckers have
sharp claspers that will dig into your flesh once they adhere to it. Their attack behavior is to usually pin your arms tightly to your body making it
impossible for the unwary diver to gain access to a knife or tool to free himself. In such a situation the best thing you can do to free yourself is
to incapacitate it by damaging it's brain. You should bite it's brain mass between it's eyes as hard as possible, a move that can result in freedom.
But should you not be able to free yourself it will use those suckers to imobilize you and they eat your flesh with it's parrot like beak. Some
swimmers have the misfortune of being eaten while still alive. Every year we find human limbs, torsos, and other body parts washed on the beaches with
the telltale signs of those suckers. There is nothing left to do but to bury them. As you drive down you will see crosses all long the highway
commemorating these poor souls.
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willardguy
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I wouldn't worry about it but as tasty as they are you might think twice about eating them, you know, what comes around goes around!
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AKgringo
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I would not worry about them along the beaches in daylight hours, but I would not want to be swimming with them in the deep and dark!
I wouldn't want to be in a tall tale contest with Shipjackjoe either.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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Whale-ista
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Holy kraken! I thought this was a joke until I saw this video.
Those squid don't play around...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fkl312lldQ
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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woody with a view
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We saw them in but he had a Los Angeles last June out of the 7 mile reef in the middle of the day. We finally headed south a bit got entitled the
coast before I felt brave enough to go for a dip.
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Pompano
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Fair Warning. Never EVER go swimming with the SQUID! It's illegal to let them eat you.
Unfortunately it happens. These are some folks that Humboldt squid have eaten alive after crawling into our boats.
Being inked to death is a possibility if you dance with them.
Although they look flaccidly impotent when laid out dead on the deck, when alive in the water, Humboldt squid are powerful, vicious, meat-eating
predators, and they are very dangerous to swim near. Around Baja, more gruesome stories are told about people getting killed by squid than by any
other sea creature. Imagine a swarm of 50-pound animals capable of swimming more than 20 miles-per-hour, equipped with voracious appetites and over
1,000 suckers, each containing about 20 gripping teeth strong enough to tear human skin (correct, that's 20,000 teeth!). And, surrounded by that
cluster of four-foot long arms is a powerful parrot's beak the size of a small tangerine, snapping and cutting at anything pulled within its reach.
In Baja, the typical "diablo" squid story involves a hapless fisherman who is suddenly caught and pulled overboard while night fishing commercially
with lights. Within a couple of seconds, his entire body is literally covered with clinging, biting squid that quickly pull him down into the dark and
tear him to pieces before anybody can help.
And if they can pull down a sailing ship, imagine what happens to a kayak....
Getting serious, here's a good squid recipe from an old amigo..
"We've caught and cook many of the Humboldt squid, and they are delicious, if done correctly. They are easy to clean, using only the mantle. After the
mantle is removed, the thin, colored layer can be removed. I cut the mantle into steak sized pieces, and remove the rubbery layer from BOTH sides.
This is critical. The meat will curl and have a rubbery texture when cooked if this is not removed. This is best done with a very sharp and long filet
knife.
One of our favorite ways to cook them is to cut into 1/2 to 3/4" wide strips, dip in beaten eggs, and roll in saltines made into small crumbs with a
pie roller (or, Pacifico bottle). Fry in butter, and serve with favorite dips. One favorite is to take a small bowl of mayo, add the juices of a
couple limons, and curry powder. Sit back with a cold cerveza and enjoy."
[Edited on 3-1-2015 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Floatflyer
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I suppose that if you choose to worry about as many things as possible, these killers could be added to your list. One neighbor will not let his
85#lab swim in the SOC because of shark worries. For me, I wear a helmet to defend against ice falling from airliners. Different strokes!
From Wikipedia=
Humboldt squid are notorious for their aggression. In Mexico, they are known as diablo rojo (Spanish for 'red devil'): local fishermen's tales claim
that people who fell into the waters were devoured within tens of seconds by packs of squid. Wildlife filmmaker Scott Cassell made the documentary
"Humboldt: The Man-Eating Squid" for the Dangerous Waters series of the Discovery Channel.[5]
There is some disagreement on the veracity of Humboldt squid aggression. Some scientists claim the only reports of aggression towards humans have
occurred when reflective diving gear or flashing lights have been present, acting as provocation. Roger Uzun, a veteran scuba diver and amateur
underwater videographer, swam with a swarm of Humboldt squid for approximately 20 minutes, later saying they seemed more curious than aggressive.[6]
When not feeding or being hunted, Humboldt squid exhibit curious and intelligent behavior.[7]
Giant squid[edit]
In 2003, the crew of a yacht competing to win the round-the-world Jules Verne Trophy reported being attacked by a giant squid several hours after
departing from Brittany, France. The squid purportedly latched onto the ship and blocked the rudder with two tentacles. Olivier de Kersauson (captain
of the yacht) then stopped the boat, causing the squid to lose interest. "We didn't have anything to scare off this beast, so I don't know what we
would have done if it hadn't let go," Kersauson said.[8]
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Osprey
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I'll try posting a squid story (again)
Attachment: Poncho and the Giant Squid.doc (40kB)
This file has been downloaded 341 times
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Skipjack Joe
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This was an unusually large Cortez specimen. Even Nemo could not subdue it.
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motoged
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I have heard stories of them swimming up drains and attacking folks in their bathtubs.....
Don't believe everything you think....
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24baja
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Here is a pic of my Squid Kiss. He sure was tastey!
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redhilltown
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Looks pretty innocent to me...
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woody with a view
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Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view  | | We saw them in but he had a Los Angeles last June out of the 7 mile reef in the middle of the day. We finally headed south a bit got entitled the
coast before I felt brave enough to go for a dip. |
Note to self, do not use voice recognition software!
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Marc
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A few years ago at La Gringa we found several dozen of them washed up onto the beach. All with chunks of flesh ripped out of them. We figured it was
the larger attacking the smaller. I may find images of this and will post later.
BTW we brought one up from the depths near Mulege and had the gals at the El Patron serve it up with garlic & butter. The pounded the mantel like
abalone. Very good.
[Edited on 2-28-2015 by Marc]
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Pompano
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Turning the tables on the Humboldts. Great dinner fare!
We had the squid - calamari - many times at Ray's La Habana in Mulege. I'm assuming it is still being served after Ray's demise.
Here it is, along with some lobster. Delicious!
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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willardguy
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the key is drop the squid in a hot frying pan with a bit of water in it outer side down for just a second, the thin membrane will peel right off
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OCEANUS
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I was free diving off Isla Coronadita in LA Bay last summer and was approached by 6 med. sized Humbolts while underwater. They were swimming by and
changed course to come in and check me out. At first, I could not figure out what was coming at me because they approached head on. Once they banked
left, I could see their profile and made my way to the surface. We continued to investigate each other as I kicked my way back towards the island
(shallower water) The encounter lasted for about 2 minutes before they had enough and they left without incident.
Pompano - I have witnessed Humbollts feeding in an inverted manner much like your photo. They had pushed up bait fish to the surface and were
snatching them up one at a time.
Very cool animals indeed!
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Whale-ista
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| Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view | | We saw them in but he had a Los Angeles last June out of the 7 mile reef in the middle of the day. We finally headed south a bit got entitled the
coast before I felt brave enough to go for a dip. |
Often good fishing in But He Had a Los Angeles...
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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basautter
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Any hints on when/where/how to catch them? I want to start working on this problem as soon as possible!
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