When you think bait fishing, you don’t think overly complex tactics that result in a better way to get more fish. I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. The squid condom is the perfect example of an evolution in bait fishing, crafted by reason and necessity. It’s tough on the outside, chummy on the inside. It’s a cut-bait fish inside of a squid cap – the Turducken of baits.

How To Make a Squid Condom

As mentioned, the squid condom is simply a bait fish, sometimes cut, stuck into the cap of a squid. Squid is a favorite amongst bait fishermen due to it’s resilience and toughness. It lasts for many casts and more often than not, if nothing has chewed on it, it’s coming back in tact when you reel it in. Take that toughness and stick a cut and oily bait fish inside. The combination of a tough bait, great on it’s own, and an oil releasing chum bag of fish is sure to delight anything in sniffing distance.

The nice part about this bait combination is that it can even be used to cast distance from the surf. While dropping bait below the boat isn’t a test of toughness, casting into surf usually is. When pitching something less tough than squid, I find myself praying that the sinker and hooked bait travel in the same trajectory. Often, the bait and sinker will head opposite directions, warranting a quick reel in to rebait.

The squid condom, while seemingly primitive, works well enough to reduce these types of failures. As mentioned, it’s probably one of the few times bait fisherman have done something to elevate bait fishing. We live in crazy times!

Keep a squid condom combo in one pocket and a Plan B survival fishing kit in the other for a real good, lonely day.

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Jon Hoan

Writer and personality exploring the natural world by means of survival, bushcraft, hunting, fishing, and general outdoor adventures.

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