It’s no secret to say that it’s been an exceptional autumn for squid on the British south coast – that cat is already well out the bag.

Dad and I have made a couple of trips to Weymouth to get a piece of the pie, paying a visit to the Stone Pier in both late September and late October. We had a good haul both times, having around twenty squid and cuttlefish between us on both trips. I’ve now got a freezer full! I’m not a big bait fisherman, so we’ve six months’ worth of calamari to enjoy at our leisure.

The going tactic has of course been squid jigs (the subject of much popularity and ‘hot air’ in the UK right now – my favourite jigs are bright white, orange and pink, with loud rattles!) but float fished silver fish have also accounted for a good number of squid. Fishy baits for squid seem to have fallen out of fashion, but a squid spike is a consistent way to present a bait down deep when the weather’s rough.

Here’s my recipe for tempura battered squid rings (it pinches the Thai dressing from FISHING WITH CAL’s YouTube channel) – and for the cuttlefish, this slow cooked recipe from ‘Beans & Sardines’ is just gorgeous… The cuttle goes so sweet it’s making my mouth water just thinking about it!

… Enjoy!