At the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, the Calamar d’Or has become an institution. It is, of course, an inshore squid fishing event.
In the Mediterranean, squid are most sought-after in winter. The event was launched in 2000 on the initiative of Patrick Piegts and Jean-Francois Marin, both members of the board of directors of the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez. They used to get together from time to time for fishing outings, which attracted other SNST members to join them in ever-increasing numbers. And so, little by little, several boats armed with all the gear needed to catch the biggest squid met on weekends in January and February on the waters of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.

The principle

Four weekends of two rounds, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Calamari fishing begins 1 hour before sunset and ends one hour after dark.
Calamari can be fished by trolling or by standing still, but with the indispensable “Turlutte”, a lure in the shape of a small fish loaded with barbless points.
This event is open to all. After each outing, participants weigh their catch and announce the day’s results to the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez. And, of course, there’s always time to get together for a glass of good cheer and friendship…

Ranking and awards

For each participant, the best catch of the weekend is selected. This establishes a ranking of 1st, 2nd, 3rd … which corresponds to the number of points. The winner of the Golden Calamari is the one who accumulates the most points over the 4 weekends. The prize is purely symbolic, with no other value than that of the good times had by all… There’s no shortage of anecdotes, or records!