Squid/Octopus/Eels Weight Angler Location Date Squid (Diamondback) 33.8 lbs "Nikko" Nicholas Eterovich Hilo, Hawaii 02/02/2022 It was around midnight on the first of February. It was just another work night for me and my crew. The fish werent around, and there wasnt much action. While busy making leaders in the cab, I overheard my crew talking about something approaching the boat. They were throwing around ideas of what it could bemaybe a manta ray. Then I heard it could be a mizu ika. I immediately flew out of the cab and grabbed the nearest ika pole. The diamondback squid was about 15 feet away from the boat. I cast directly over the squid and hooked up! I was able to calmly bring the squid up to the boat. I told my deckhand to gaff it, but he misgaffed it in a wing. The gaff tore a 6-inch rip through the wing, and the large diamondback squid plummeted to the deep. I thought there was no way we had a chance of getting it back. I kept tension and gave it line and was able to fight it back up to the surface with my trusty homemade ika jig. I wasnt going to let it get away a second time. I grabbed the gaff and hit the squid with a perfect headshot. We went on fishing, not realizing what an amazing catch it actually was. We proceeded with our regular fishing routine and sold our nightly catch to Suisan Fish Market in the morning. Then I went home, ate breakfast and went to sleep. When I awoke, all the commotion started. What a catch of a lifetime!