The cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is a cephalopod mollusk widely spread in the Mediterranean Sea. Usually frequents areas with rocky seabed mixed with sand or mud and lives both in areas with very low water and in areas where the depths reach 150 meters. It is not particularly combative and is equipped with a single weapon of defense, emits an ink jet that frees in water before escaping to disorient the predator. The cuttlefish diet consists mainly of small crustaceans and molluscs but does not disdain the dead fish.
It can be up to 40 cm in length per 2 kilograms of weight.
It is fished using different strategies and, one of the most common techniques, consists in the use of a boat, both with natural and artificial bait and consists in lowering the bait from a boat and slowly pulling it on the line of the current.
Where and when
Fishing cuttlefish with the boat requires the selection of suitable spots for the prey and, usually, you can find outside the breakwater dams, outside the ports, on mixed seabed of rock and sand, the mouths of the rivers.
Contrary to many fish species, the Sepia is very active from late summer to early spring, with its maximum activity in the coldest winters. During the day, the most active part of the day is at night, when cuttlefish are usually fed. When fishing in the dark hours of the day, it is advisable to use natural or artificial baits equipped with light sources such as sieve or phosphorescent. Even if the sepia prefers night hours, it is not impossible to capture them even at dawn, at sunset or during the hours of the day, in the presence of covered sky and veiled waters.
Equipment
In order to catch a cuttlefish with this technique, it is necessary to repair a boat, any type of oars or motor can be good, provided it is sufficiently stable for the fishing action.
For the barrel, you have to choose a bolentino type whose action must be 80/100 grams combined with a good whirlpool proportionate and imbobinato with a 0.30 monofilament.
The barrel and reel facilitate the work but, according to tradition, you can safely use the classic line by hand consisting of about 100 meters of 0.60 to which the final will be connected. To avoid knots or entanglement, you can roll on a piece of cork.
In any case, weights of different weights are necessary to allow the trigger to descend to the bottom at the established depth, swivels and the usual small parts of the fisherman.
Completing the picture is a tightly knit gain for the hauling of prey.
Esche
The baits to be used, as already mentioned, are natural or artificial bait. If the choice is natural, you should bring small dead fish such as the Sardinian, Boga and the little Sugarello.
To trigger these small fishes, it is possible to use the special metal cages equipped with the crown of needles or, better, with only the steel rod also equipped with the crown of needles in which the bait is inserted from the mouth to the tail, where the terminal will be tied. Both the cage and the rod have an eyelet on the opposite side of the crown of needles to be tied to the terminal.
For some time now, many practitioners of this technique have been using artificial baits with the same results, mainly made up of very imaginative imitations of shrimp, all with double crowns of needles.
Usually they are artificial, piombati and coloured in a different way and, when you go fishing, it is good to take them in different colours and weights.
These are some of the combinations that are most used by fishermen:
Orange-Rose - In the afternoon/sunset hours - With clear sky
Green - Dawn/Morning hours - With clear sky
Light blue - Dawn/Morning hours - With cloudy sky
Red Vivid - Sunrise/Sunset/Night - With cloudy sky
Black and white - During the day - All weather conditions
During the fishing trip it is advisable to try more than one artificial by identifying which is best by attracting more prey.
Frame
Usually, when trying to fish cuttlefish from the boat, two frames are used:
Frame with lead terminal
Frame with sliding lead
Fisheries action
The first step is to find a fishing zone that is suitable for the conditions you have seen, so you go down the line with your chosen bait and let yourself be thrown out of the current. If the boat moves too fast you can use a floating anchor to limit the speed.
Depending on the current, it is also necessary to choose the most suitable seal that must allow the bait to work very close to the bottom.
When the bait is in place, it is time to move it up and down with its movement on the barrel or by hand. The movement will make the bait irresistible in the eyes of cuttlefish.
In addition, this movement will make it possible to understand when a prey has bent through the change of weight, so it is necessary to start the recovery and bring the cuttlefish near the boat to gain it. Keep in mind that the crown of needles does not have a barb and, if you stop recovering or allow the line to return to the bottom during recovery the prey can escape.
With the same equipment and bait it will also be possible to catch squid and squid sporadic fish, which will be more likely to fish a little further away from the coast and on larger seabed.
