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How to Catch Squid - Port Phillip Bay
By Philip Dickson
Southern calamari are in abundance in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria throughout the whole year and are a very popular and tasty target species. In this article we look at five tips to help with bag limit squid captures on a regular basis, including plenty of information that can be applied when chasing squid in other regions.
Water Conditions
Clear water is definitely a must for successful squid fishing. If there has been strong winds, especially from the north or the east when fishing Port Phillip Bay, the water will discolour quickly and stay discoloured for a few days. These conditions will generally mean it will be tough going on the squid. This is also the case if there is a large swell in Bass Strait, often discolouring the water on a flood tide and especially down the southern end of Port Phillip Bay. Find the clear water conditions and you will often find a more productive squid bite.
Tides
Fishing at the right stage of the tide is another key factor to bag limit catches of squid. The end and the start of the tides are always the most productive, especially when the tides a large. My favourite time to target squid is the end and the start of the flood tide, which always seems to be very productive. Fishing around the full moon period, when the tides are small, with around point four of a metre difference between high and low, you will often catch squid right throughout the whole tide cycle.
Times
First and last light are definitely the best times and generally most productive times for targeting squid. My favourite time of day is first light. Just when you start seeing the first signs of light at dawn, through to up until when the sun pokes its head above the horizon, these tasty little creatures feed with vigour and bag limit captures can be achieved in a very short period of time. Squid fishing is definitely a case of the early bird catches the worm.
Ground
As with King George whiting fishing, finding the right ground for squid is a must and they are often both found in the same areas. Generally we fish in 2.5 metres to 6 metres of water. Finding ground that has patchy weed, or even better heavily weeded bottom, will produce the results that you are after. Over the years I have found that squid will venture onto sand during the night and as I mentioned earlier, if you are out there as dawn is breaking you are always a chance of catching them on the sand around the edge of the weed.
Jig Selection
After working in a tackle shop for several years and speaking to customers I have found that everyone has their own idea of what their favourite jig and colour is. Jig selection is probably the most important thing to successful bag limit catches, whether it be size or colour, making the right choice at the right time is critically important.
There are numerous different brands of jigs on the market, with varying prices. Personally I use the Fish Inc. Egilicious jigs, which are a mid-price range jig with quality cloth and a great selection of sizes, weights and colours.
When fishing the end and the start of the tides I often use a size 2.5 jig as with the reduced tidal flow the drift is a lot slower and I find that the larger size jigs sink too fast, fouling the prongs with weed. When fishing the middle stages of the tide or fishing when there is a little bit of wind about, a size 3.0 or 3.5 is my preference, getting the jig down to the strike zone close to the weed even with the increased speed of the drift.
At first and last light I use a dark jig, such as red or green. My favourite jig to use in the low light of the morning is green, such as the Egilicious Neo Glow or Fluoro Green, and this is by far a standout colour at that time of the day. In bright sunny conditions during the middle of the day, I tend to use white jigs or a neutral colour, such as the Egilicious in Flash Back colour.
These creatures are great fun to target and great for the whole family to catch. Kids will have a ball whether bag limit catches are achieved or just one or two are landed. So get out your spinning combos, grab a handful of jigs, make note of the above five tips and get stuck into a tasty feed of squid, whether fishing the squid Mecca that is Port Philip Bay or exploring your local squid grounds.
Squid on!
Phil
Gearing Up:
Fish Inc. Egilicious Squid Jigs
Okuma Inked Egi Special Squid Rod - INK-822 8'2" PE 0.6-1.2 Jig: 2.5-3.5
Okuma Helios SX Spin Reels