How to cut Cuttlefish

[Stoaty]

I have been asked a few times how I cut cuttlefish for bait. Here is my guide to cutting cuttle. The cuttle below is a medium sized one.

 

 

I have used whole ones in the past with success for large cod but this is how I usually cut them up. Take a filleting knife and cut up one side of the hood from the bottom to the top.

 

 

Open the cuttlefish up and at the top of the hood you will see the ink sack, roughley it's a black ball about the size of a marble.

 

 

Now you can leave the ink sack in, but if you do, you, your boat if your on one, the beach if your on the beach, the bloke next to you, your car, your wife and kids and the house will all end up with hard to remove black ink stains all over the place.

 

You need to cut it out and the membrane to it without rupturing the sack and drop the lot into the sea.

 

 

Having got the dirty bit out of the way, grab hold of the head and while holding the hood down, pull the head and guts upwards and out all in one go.

 

 

Now at the back of the hood you will find the bone that pops out easily. You can discard it or give to a budgie to chew on. If you are going to give it to a budgie I am told it needs a quick boil or microwave to kill any bugs.

 

 

I like to fish the head and guts whole for big fish like cod, conger and bass. But here I have cut it in half so it can be used for rays and hounds as well.

 

 

You can cut the hood into big thick chunks if you like for big fish but I prefer to slice it very thin. I think you get a better scent trail like this. So slice it thin from top to bottom. It's usually about half to three quarters of an inch thick. It's good for smaller fish like this, whiting, bream etc. The big fish will still take it, I managed to catch a 25lb conger on a number 1 hook with a small sliver of cuttle meant for bream!

 

 

When I put the strips on a hook I try to get as many on as I think the target species can swallow. The thinking being the more strips the more scent. Another advantage especially for you beach fisherman, is that it stays on the hook well and can take a full power cast without flying off.

 

Here's a couple of hooks baited up, a 10/0 for conger with half the head and a 6/0 for whiting, codling and rays.

 

Edited December 2, 2006 by Stoaty

[Puffin]

Nice one Stoaty, great "how to" article.

 

I hope you give that board a wipe before making your sandwiches on it.

[Elton]

Stoaty, that is a brilliant post!

 

I would love to use it as an article on here and nesa.co.uk, if you'll let me. Forum posts tend to drift into the ether over time, but this is the sort of information that people look for all the time.

 

Thanks again, whatever you say!

[Norm B]

Stoaty, that is a brilliant post!

 

I would love to use it as an article on here and nesa.co.uk, if you'll let me. Forum posts tend to drift into the ether over time, but this is the sort of information that people look for all the time.

 

Thanks again, whatever you say!

Same here, please send it to me as an email and I'll use it in the January issue, tia,

[essexbuoy]

So where can we get cuttlefish from, I'd like to use it for bass, but can't find a supplier

[Stoaty]

So where can we get cuttlefish from, I'd like to use it for bass, but can't find a supplier

 

I am fortunate to know someone who works at Billingsgate Fish Market, He gets it for me by the stone. Some tackle shops sell it, fishmongers will get it for you if they don't stock it, I have seen it on sale in Morrisons. You could try your local commercials.

 

Somewhere to buy it here

[Davy Holt]

Hmmmm... what kinda size are the cuttles?

[Norm B]

So where can we get cuttlefish from, I'd like to use it for bass, but can't find a supplier

AMMO sell packs of small cuttles, just right size for most baits.

[Puffin]

So where can we get cuttlefish from, I'd like to use it for bass, but can't find a supplier

 

I don't know what the cuttle situation is like in your neck of the woods, whether they are abundant or not. They can be a pest around the Channel Islands in summer and autumn. I get a friendly charter skipper to bring ,me a few home for the freezer. Usually, when his anglers baits get cuttled they shake the cuttle off so as not to ink the boat up. Instead, he gets them in the landing net and drops them in a bucket for me. No mess and one less cuttle to nick his guys baits, everyone wins.

[Stoaty]

Hmmmm... what kinda size are the cuttles?

 

From four inches to a foot, that's body size.

 

20 Years ago when there was plenty of big cod about I was drifting a wreck off brighton. We was using cuttle. I had already had a 20lb plus fish on the whole head of a big one, so I though I would go down with a bigger bait. I used the whole hood, opened out from a cuttle about a foot long, on a size 10/0 hook. As soon as I hit bottom I had a bite. I dragged up a 32Lb Cod. The bait was still intact and I went straight back down. BANG! another 32lb cod. Since that day I haven't had one over 20lb.

 

Fish big for big fish