Squid in Long Island, NY (NY Newsday)

• Pods of the colorful 10-armed creatures slid into Montauk early last week and eased into Peconic and Shinnecock Bays on Thursday and Friday evenings. So far, the action has been spotty but decent scores have been made on rising late-night tides. This year's crop seems to be holding some particularly large specimens.
• Many local anglers think of squid fishing as strictly an East End affair, but the soft-skinned cephalopods can be caught the length of Long Island if you spend the time to find them. The key is jigging softly on the graveyard shift, with multi-pronged squid jigs, where a light source shines brightly on the water (serious squid fans bring portable lights). Watch carefully at such locations and you'll spot squid cruising just below the surface in pods ranging from several to a few dozen. Glide the jig gently in front of a passing pack and observe as the nearest change color from light pink or soft green to angry red immediately before attacking. On the strike, simply lift the rod to entangle the squid's arms, and then dangle your prize above the water for several seconds to drain the ink before depositing in a bucket or cooler.
• Montauk, Shinnecock Bay and Greenport Harbor are among the perennial East End squid fishing hot spots. To the west, the Jones Beach Piers, Wantagh Park, the State Channel and Mt. Sinai Harbor also offer possibilities. When the schools are running thick, some open boats add special squid trips to their schedule on short notice. The Viking Fleet in Montauk will sail for squid both Saturday and Sunday.Finding access for squid fishing requires serious prospecting. You may need to search considerably before locating the right combination of illuminated water and public right of way.
• In Greenport Village, for example, fishing from the popular Rail Road Dock and Main Street Dock (behind Claudio's Restaurant) is prohibited for now, concentrating squid fans on the Mitchell Park dock directly behind the carousel in the middle of town. Don't expect to fish here in solitude.Squid are fun to catch, tasty, and great bait for sea bass and scup. They are also a primary food source for early season stripers, blues and fluke.
• In fact, it's the arrival of squid that usually awakens East End doormats. True to form, catches of legal-sized summer flounder swelled noticeably over the weekend along both the north and south forks. News came from Orient Point, where the open boat Prime Time III limited-out on Sunday, and from Montauk and the waters outside Shinnecock and Moriches inlets, where doormats to 8 pounds, plus significant numbers of smaller keepers, made it over the rails.
• The best bait for these first doormats of the season? You guessed it: Long strips of squid dragged slowly across the bottom. (TOM SCHLICHTER, NY Newsday).