How much time have you spent the past couple days thinking about Squid? Probably none right? Okay, how about Calamari? See, that’s the thing I always liked about Italians, they have these ways of making anything sound good enough to eat – anything! The French are talented at this aspect also. If you’re in a French restaurant and you like the pronounciation of a French dish, then I would recommend that you go ahead and order it, just order it. Don’t ask beforehand what’s in it, as you may be surprised, even shocked! Best practice is just keep your eyes closed… I’d rather they not tell me (in English) until after the fact? 🙂

On to Squid Pro Quo’s… Of course! I’ve been thinking all along that squids are not much into “quid pro quos”? It appears they take what they want even when they’re not particularly good at asking for permission. Squids are like that. Squids don’t cut deals, they are ferocious predators, and they don’t take any prisoners either, they prefer to eat prisoners on the spot instead. Squid are also known cannibals, they’ll eat each other for dinner when there’s nothing else around, I mean what are friends for right? 🙂

There was a time before sophisticated underwater camera equipment finally solved a big scientific mystery, the one that was previously considered nothing but folklore, that of giant squids living, no thriving deep in our oceans. How can that be you ask? They actually do, they have been spotted by cameras in almost every deep ocean water, including the Gulf of Mexico. Squids are considered by scientists who study such creatures to be among the most intelligent sea animals that exist. Turns out they have brains and they use them. Giant squid live in the deepest trenches of the ocean depths and only come up to feed on other unsuspecting things living not so deep in that same body of water. They feed at night, so anyone skinny dipping at night could be a meal? I’m not aware of any attacks on humans but don’t count that as a definitive please. Should your Aunt Mildred go missing during a nighttime swim, hopefully she kept her swim suit on? Aside from Sperm Whales who also occupy very deep ocean waters, giant squid have few true natural predators to concern themselves with.

There was a time when I was a youngster saltwater fishing where I came to the conclusion that those choosing to bait their hooks with squid were crazy, but after doing much more salt water fishing my attitude about using squid for bait changed. Afterall, some of the tastiest fish ever to graze a dinner plate prefer to bite on squid over all other baits. Red Snapper, found in the Gulf of Mexico, prefer squid as well as “the steak of the Sea” – Halibut. Both of these fish are caught mostly using squid as bait. If you’ve never fished for Halibut definitlely do it, it’s an interesting experience. Maybe lift weights for a few months before you try this – you’ll be glad you did. Halibut are badass, they’re plentiful in the Artic waters off the coast of Alaska at depths of at least 140 ft.. Halibut don’t mess around, when you hook one it’s going to be either you or the fish. This is especially true once they realize that your intention is to bring them up to the water’s surface. That’s when things can get a little dicey, Halibut get huge and they don’t mess around!

Turns out that Squid don’t mess around either. Socializing is not a squid-ish kind of exercise. I’m thinking that Halibut and Red Snapper prefer to eat them maybe as a sort of payback? Their own little way of appeasing the many ancestors who went missing in the depths of that ocean… last seen in the arms of a giant squid. 🙂