There are many reasons as to why you should give squid fishing a try but the main two would have to be, one, It doesn’t cost a lot of money to get set up and two, it’s a very simple form of fishing. This means it is perfect for the family or for anyone that is just starting out with fishing.
But there is a third reason, and that is that they are great to eat. Not only for humans, who doesn’t love a little salt and pepper calamari? But a variety of fish too. Squid make excellent bait all around the country. Many a fish has come undone when presented with some fresh squid strips and even more have been landed on a live squid. There is almost no better bait.
WHAT TO USE
There are so many general fishing rods on the market right now and that can be quite daunting. When getting set up for squid, it actually becomes a little easier. There are rods specifically made for the job. This might sound silly, but the way they are designed makes a lot of sense once you start using them and catching squid. Basically, they will be quite soft and bend evenly through the whole blank helping take the absorption of a squids big pulsating lunges when you have hooked up, this will help stop you from pulling the tiny barbless squid spikes on the jig free.
Get your self any 2500 sized reel and make sure you use braid! Braid is much easier to cast and it has zero stretch, so you won’t lose any action when working your squid jig. If your local store has Egi braid, ask for that. Egi braid sinks allowing the action of your squid jig to be as natural as possible.
Put a rods length of leader at the end of your braid so that the squid can’t see your line, 10-15lb will do the job. Go lighter if the squid are finicky. When choosing a squid jig ask your local store what colour has been working in the area. Where I live down on the Mornington Peninsula my favourite jigs are the Majorcraft Egi Zo. In Melbourne the more popular colours are red foil, green with a gold belly and your more natural colours like your browns.
Just keep in mind that everyone you speak to will have their own opinion and mine is that you will catch squid on any squid jig you choose off the wall.
WHAT AREAS TO LOOK FOR
This is where it gets super simple! All you want to look for is reef or broken and weedy ground, you can even check this before you leave your home on google earth or maps on your phone and hit satellite. Because you will be fishing in shallow water, 2-6m the majority of the time, all of these reef areas will show up on these applications.
Squid hang around in these areas to feed because as we all know reef and weed beds hold a lot of life, so there is a smorgasbord of food on offer. Around October here in Melbourne is when squid will start to spawn. This means all the big breading squid will come into the bays to the more tidal areas to lay their eggs over the weed. The tiny eggs look like small white patches and are quite visible when drifting over them.
The big squid will hang around these areas in huge numbers protecting their eggs.
WHAT TO DO
Another great thing about squid fishing is that you don’t always need a boat, in fact land based squid fishing is just as good an option, especially early in the morning or late in the evening and even better at night arounds the piers that have lights as this attracts squid. Once you have found your area all you want to do is cast your jig out as far as you can, let it sink all the way to the bottom. You will get a good gauge of how long it will take to get there after a few casts. Once it has hit the bottom you want to give it around 3 good jerking actions ‘jigs’. This will imitate a prawn which squid love to eat. Keep repeating this process until you have hooked up.
Once you have hooked up you don’t need to fight it like a normal fish. Instead just wind slowly, making sure you keep the line tight and never let it go slack. Squid jigs have no barbs, so keeping pressure is the only thing keeping the squid attached. It’s always best to use a net because big squid tentacles can break when lifting them into the boat or pier.
Last and probably most important tip I can offer you is to point the squid head away from your face! Trust me! Squid have an ink sack that holds an impressive amount of black ink and they will shoot that out as a defence mechanism almost every time you get them out of the water.
It’s very funny when it happens to your friends though. Good luck out there but most importantly make sure you enjoy yourself! Tight lines
