Northwest Fishing Reports

So I went on my first Saltwater journey today. I caught tons (7) of what the locals were referring to as Bull head . I caught a few (3) Red Rock crab and then I came upon this feisty Guy, A octopus. Any thoughts? Tips or suggestions. Do they frequent the area. I originally went out for squid but instantly saw that wasn't happening even though I was there early morning.


Thanks Gents


Geo


<((><

Make sure you check the regs on them. There's a lot of people that get really emotional about Octopi so I'd be careful who you talk to about it.
Regardless, good job on your first outing.

Everything was Released I did retain this one octopus which is allowed in Marine area 11 Retained on hook and line at no size limit and only one per angler. Everything was caught on squid. The octopus was caught on smelt. And I must say very delicious. Thank you for the information . I don't intend on upsetting any area anglers . I respect all aspects of the lifestyle. In Chicago I was all catch and release. And it will remain so here for the most part. Those i do retain will of coarse be of correct regulations and I do have my combination license with all correct endorsements.


Thank you again.

Happy Fishing


Geo

If I remember correctly, my folks used to cut off and keep half of the tentacles (every other one) and release them to regrow new ones. The memory of severed octopus extremities crawling out of the cooler forever burned into memory...

Not sure about the legality or effectiveness, but since then, ive heard that there is a sex organ in one of the tentacles.

Sideburns wrote:If I remember correctly, my folks used to cut off and keep half of the tentacles (every other one) and release them to regrow new ones. The memory of severed octopus extremities crawling out of the cooler forever burned into memory...

Not sure about the legality or effectiveness, but since then, ive heard that there is a sex organ in one of the tentacles.

Very interesting but Octopi are not star fish and are very sensitive creatures. Pretty sure they all died.

I've done some research on octopus, and almost certainly an octopus with multiple arms cut off will die. True you will find them in the wild regrowing an arm, but these have not been cleanly cut off, but lost in a battle. Octopus have blood, which is clear, but turns light blue when exposed to air. Very limited experimentation shows a clean cut will allow the blood to flow out more rapidly than a battle cut. Octopus are very intelligent and are extremely sensitive to pain. If they must be killed, please try to do it humanely. It has been a while, but I recall that it is the 3rd arm (can't remember left or right) that differs in males, for sexual purposes. The tip lacks suckers and is used to place a sperm packet into the mantle of females.

Thanks for the info! Kinda depressing about the quadrapus mortality likelyhood, but we all know better now!

Used to catch alot off pt defiance, les davis and old town docks before the last one was closed. Never kept them. Guessing thats pt defiance in the pic. Reeled in a few old beer bottles with small ones in them from there.

What is the best way to cook these guys up?

Emotional about keeping an octopus that is caught using a legal method and within the regs? Why would anyone get all bent out of shape about that?

Because they are highly intelligent animals.

I have caught many for research, diving. All were safely returned to their dens. Regarding the small ones in old beer bottles I would strongly advise against handling them. They are likely a different species, which is very prone to biting, unlike the large ones. Be careful of them.

Google Octopus killing in Puget Sound. Divers have gotten death threats for killing them and posting it on FaceBook. Not kidding. People do get very upset.

I would worry more about my fellow man coming after me than getting bitten!

AJ's Dad wrote:Emotional about keeping an octopus that is caught using a legal method and within the regs? Why would anyone get all bent out of shape about that?

LOL ask your buddy you were fishing with last spring when we were up there. He got very upset thinking we might keep a pike and eat it just because we had a livewell on the boat!

Ya I hear ya Larry. He told me about that conversation and I scolded him. I told him anyone should have the right to keep anything caught within the regs if they so choose. I always recommend releasing the bigger fish for repopulation but to each their own. If it's legal and an angler wants to keep it. So be it.

Thats the way I feel about it too. If its legal, its legal. If you dont like the regs, work on getting them changed.

That said, I dont mind someone sharing their opinions on any subject or advocating for a change in the rules or recommending a 'voluntary' change in how you are fishing - such as C%R - if they can do it politely and respectfully.

Some people do get very upset though, and its probably a good idea to keep that in mind - especially if they are making death threats!!

Octopus seem to get people a lot more riled up than pike