Catching the Humboldt in Monterey 12/31

Went out on the "Check Mate" this morning for Humboldt squid fishing.  Landed 3 of these "Red Devils" before the I broke the handle on the 4th one!  I can tell you now that it's tough to hand pulling the braid line with a 30+ pound Humboldt at the end of the line and about 500ft deep.  I was exhausted after pulled that monster up!  We went sand dabs fishing next, then pull 20 crab pots on the way back which yielded about 3 crabs per angler.  I'm going to have seafood feast for New Year.  Here are some pictures from this trip...

Leaving the harbor


Sunrise


Pelican


First one caught


Broken reel


Sand dabs


Pulling crab pot


What's it?

That eye pic is cool.  Were the squids not around or did you quit after busting your reel?

That can't be a squid eye. How big was that thing?  Thanks for the pics and report Andy

That eerie, its "them", they have planted eyes on our plant to keep watch on us  , wrap it in aluminum foil and throw it back.  The aluminum foil should prevent its view, and it may also help in blocking data uploads back to "them".

Great photos, thank you.

Looks like a cool trip, Sonny.  How far out did you guys go?

Nice pics as always.   

That eye pic is cool.  Were the squids not around or did you quit after busting your reel?

They are there but stay deep around 600ft -1000ft.  I stopped fishing for them after the reel was broken since my cooler was full with the 4 squids!

That can't be a squid eye. How big was that thing?  Thanks for the pics and report Andy

It's the Humboldt eye.  It's about 3.5" in diameter.  Here is another picture of it:

Nice pics! I especially like the "leaving the harbor" shot.
Is that really an eye?
Was the reel that broke an Accurate? It looks like a quality reel, why did it brake apart on you?

Looks like a cool trip, Sonny.  How far out did you guys go?

Nice pics as always.   

Thanks Eric.  The weather was nice and the boat ride to the Monterey canyon was about 40 minutes.

Pretty wild Sonny, did you save the eye for Mooch?!

Nice pics! I especially like the "leaving the harbor" shot.
Is that really an eye?
Was the reel that broke an Accurate? It looks like a quality reel, why did it brake apart on you?

Yes, it's the Accurate 870 which I bought used couple months ago but this's my first time using it.  I don't know why the screw/bolt came loose and the handle was fell off.  The screw/bolt fell into the water!

Pretty wild Sonny, did you save the eye for Mooch?!

I still have the eye on ice.  Tell him to give me a call if he wants it 

A few more pictures...

The boat ride


This Cormorant got hooked while trying to steal a sand dab


Cleaning the squid

Re: the EYE pic...very disturbing...eery...holy shit..wow.. can't say enough.
Sonny, thanks for sharing the experience..sorry to hear about the reel.

that sounds like a cool trip where you can hit squid, crab and sand dabs..
yummy at your house.

chuc mun nan moi.
dave

looked like a blast , im going tomorrow for them .

they pull pretty hard huh?