How-To: Rig Squid Tentacles for Swordfish

By Lee Green

If you ask 20 people what the best daytime swordfishing bait is, you will certainly get 20 different answers! To me the best bait is one that is perfectly rigged. In the last few years, however, the squid tentacle has gained massive popularity and for good reasons.

Squid tentacles are cut from giant or Humbolt squid, which are caught in areas of the Eastern Pacific like California, Chile, and Peru. Generally, they come in 30-pound frozen blocks that need to be thawed, trimmed and rigged. Some companies offer smaller packs with two tentacles per pack.

PHOTO 1-untrimmed tentacles

Shapes can vary so trimming these pieces into a tubular-shaped bait that will fit the hook and fit in the desired size skirt, 9 to 11 inches is necessary. The straight eel-shaped tentacles can simply be cut shorter, but some have a big hump that will need to be trimmed off as well.

PHOTO 2,3,4,5 trimming