Octopus?

Has anyone ever targeted octopus? I have accidentally hooked two. One, while bouncing an 8 oz pink and white kings tackle bar on the bottom trying to disturb a ling, and the other while fishing for sand dabs. If you plan to keep them though its necessary to bag them due to the fact that they are squirrelly little guys

Use 1-1 1/2 inch PVC tubes in the intertidal around rocky areas.  Bait it with some anchovies. 

How do you use the PVC? I was thinking of bouncing some squid jigs off the bottom.I wonder if the divers spot these guys often.

I have caught four in crab pots that I had soaking for just an hour or two near the rocks, they were 30-40 lbs each maybe 4-5 feet wide layed out flat and a real mother to get out of the trap with suckers stuck to everything in the boat .But they will climb back into the water if left alone

By any chance do you have any pics?

yes I do but they are hard copies so I will need to scan them
I will get at least one posted up soon

I have caught lots of octopus, enough so I can even recognize their "hit" which is more like a slow pull.  I try to get them off the hook safely and then watch as they make their way back to the water, usually through my scupperhole.

Only problem is when they hide under my seat, that can be  a hassle.  They can squeeze through the smallest space.

Though i know lings love to eat them, I never use them as bait.

I just kinda like them and respect them somehow.

I've read some articles and seen some tv shows that where they demonstrate remarkable intellignence.  One researcher couldn't figure out why some of his live specimens were disappearing, until he set up an IR camera. the video caught an octopus from a tank across the room get into the plexiglass water pipe and navigate all the way to the other tank, eat the fish, then navigate back to 'his' tank.  Prettty incredible.

Allen

Here is one that came out of a crab pot,I am not sure if he's blending with my jacket or just really mad

Pretty interesting,Allen, thanks for the post. Now thats an octopus, Fishbutt21! Thanks for the info guys.

This is one of my favorite pics. I think MahiMahi was using a megabait when he caught this one last year in the SoC. It was amazing how fast it moved across the deck of the boat, but the real pleasure was watching it swim away after the release.