22-07-2016, 12:25 AM
 I am not sure about laws, but I see people using cast nets fairly often in MA. Some guys do OK but others do poorly. Often there is bottom junk near docks that snag the nets. The small mesh nets sink too slow and the squid escape, it takes a skilled thrower with a proper mesh and weighted net to catch them regularly. One thing for sure, if you use a cast net from a dock where people are jigging you will become very unpopular very quickly since the noise and motion scares off any squid that aren't in the net rather quickly. If you think you can get them with a dip net have at it, you will be amazed at how hard they are to catch that way. When you see hundreds in the water and think you could just easily scoop them up, it just ain't so. As soon as a handled net goes into the water they will disperse. There is a reason that jigging is a very effective and widely practiced method of catching squid---it works!!