Re: big Humbolt squid return to So Cal waters
I think the cattle boats are still doing night trips for them, and will for as long as they're around. Some winters they show up, others they don't. They weren't around for a long time, and then re-appeared a few years ago. At first there was a lot of fascination and interest in catching them.
Things have changed. In heavily pressured water to begin with, with MLPA threatening to close some prime fishing grounds on top of that, most of the fishing board posts now take a pretty dim view of the big Humboldts because they're such voracious and indiscriminate predators. So the feeling is go out there and hammer them, the more the better.
I've never eaten Humboldts. I heard they don't taste as good as the smaller market squid, but .....everyone seems to agree they are great bait, and just one or two squid and you're set for the season. And maybe next season too.
