Simple Squidding – By Will Kitching
If you’re like me, the thought of salt and pepper calamari will make your mouth water. Squid are a weird, alien looking creature and it makes me wonder who was crazy enough to try eating one for the first time ever. Whoever it was, we should be thanking them – they discovered a true seafood delicacy! Tiger squid are a sustainable dinner option as they only live for around a year. In this time, they can grow to a whopping two kilograms! Apart from their eating qualities, squid are a fun target for anglers and it is basic to get started.
The author was fishing shallow reef around an island to find this squid.
Tiger squid are found across the northern part of Australia from northern New South Wales around to Shark Bay in Western Australia. When you’re lucky enough to see them in the water, you’ll notice that they change colour anywhere from an opaque white (almost translucent) to a dark brown with beautiful patterns. Squid use this as camouflage depending on the type of structure they’re on.
I first started chasing squid with my father and brother a few years back. While casting some soft plastics around shallow reef, I noticed a distinct bite mark in my plastic just behind the jig head. This is typical squid behaviour; taking a bite right behind their prey’s head with their sharp beak. Yes, you read that right – squid have a beak like a bird. We deployed a squid jig for the next drift and sure enough we started hooking up to some good size tigers.
Squid are a viable land-based option in places with the right structure! Photo credit: Peter Herbst
Squid love broken ground with a mixture of sand patches between structure such as reef, rock, and seagrass. We’ve had our best results fishing shallow reef up to around 12 metres deep. They can be caught in ultra-shallow water too at times though, around a metre deep.The key to catching squid is finding extremely clean water. Therefore, the cooler months in South East Queensland are best, as well as periods of southerly wind which results in clear water along the coastline. Fishing around high tide can also help!
We find the easiest way to locate squid is by drifting over shallow reefs and broken ground, covering a range of depths until you locate where they are holding. Once you find one squid, there is usually more in the same area. Often you’ll see them following their mate to the boat once you’ve hooked one, so it’s always handy to have a second jig ready!
A couple of large squid taken home for a delicious feed!
Sometimes we use quite unconventional tackle when squidding. We often stop in at a shallow reef to chase squid on the way home when we’ve had a rather unsuccessful day on the fishing front. This means we grab any spin rod available, tie on a squid jig, and try our luck. We catch them on 14lb, 20lb and even 30lb leader at times, but we usually get the most bites on the lighter leaders. There are rods made specifically for squidding known as egi rods, however you can use a regular flathead setup and have plenty of success. I’d suggest 8-10lb braid and fluorocarbon leader, but beware – the big ones are powerful and take plenty of line!
The fight from a squid is unique, with large lunges on your rod as they propel themselves backwards. They attack their prey head on, grabbing it with their tentacles before pulling it in towards their beak (mouth). They move backwards by shooting a solid jet of water out of a spout at the base of their ‘hood’ (body). This is also where they shoot their thick, black ink from. The cloud of ink they produce is a defence mechanism to help them escape predators. At some stage in your squid fishing ventures you will experience all of this in action as they viciously attack your jig in clear view, realise they’re hooked, expel their ink, and then start to fight. It’s very fascinating, and the fact that they’re a sight fishing option at times makes them even more appealing!
A good way to land squid is by grabbing them firmly behind the head.
When it comes to lures there is a large range of colours, sizes, and price ranges. The main diet of squid is prawns and small fish. Squid jigs imitate these food sources and are made to dart erratically with a slow sink rate. It pays to have a range of sizes to suit different depths and conditions. We often fish in 4-12 metres of water and mainly use 3.5 or 4.0 sizes, however it’s also handy to own some smaller jigs. Our favourite colours have been pink, orange, yellow, and white so far.
The jigs we use are by far on the less expensive side. In saying this, the better quality jigs would probably be more effective if the squid were being fussy. The areas of rocky reef that we tend to fish often leads to snags and jigs being lost, so for that reason we prefer to use the less expensive lures. It can be a good idea to start your session with cheaper jigs to see if the squid are hitting them, and work your way up to the more expensive jigs if the squid are playing hard to get.
The technique we use is very simple. If you’re fishing inshore waters you can creep your boat up into quite shallow areas at times, however the places we fish are usually offshore where swell is a factor. For this reason, we position ourselves in around 4-5 metres of water to begin our drift. We cast our jigs and let them sink before applying a couple of sharp flicks up away from the bottom. To help the jig dart side to side, leave a tiny bit of slack in your line before you flick your rod tip. Attaching your jigs with a loop knot also helps improve their action.
It’s amazing that such a strange looking creature can taste so good!
As we drift into deeper water up to 12 metres, we simply let the jig drag behind the boat, free-spooling it every now and again to let it sink back down closer to the bottom. Once you hook one, make sure you take note of the depth and your location because there will usually be more squid there. A lot of the strikes come as the jig is slowly sinking, and you’ll feel the weight of the squid when you lift your rod tip again. Other times, they just smash it and take off.
It’s important not to strike hard like you would with a fish. The most you’ll need to do is a short, sharp strike. The squid often hook themselves when drifting anyway. Squid jigs don’t have hooks, but rather barbless prongs at the rear. These can be lightly pinned in the squid’s tentacles, so it is important to wind slowly and steadily once a squid is hooked. You should also have your drag set lightly so you don’t rip the jig out when the squid suddenly lunges and propels itself backwards.
Landing squid can be a messy affair if you’re not careful, with their ink spout pointing directly at you as they approach the boat. I suggest bringing them parallel alongside the boat before either grabbing them firmly at the base of the head or scooping them up from behind with a landing net. Just make sure the net has small holes or they can slip through and escape. Been there, done that! Having a wet rag on hand helps to clean any stray ink off the boat.
Squid will shoot their ink when they feel threatened.
You can also target squid land based where there is a good amount of rock, reef, or seagrass close to shore. The same techniques apply, with a couple of sharp flicks of the rod tip before letting your jig sink again being the most effective. Sometimes you can sight-cast squid from the shore, and using a spotlight at night time is another fun option. One of the best ways to find squid land based is by fishing around bright lights at night time such as jetties, bridges, and boat lights.
The best way to look after squid for the table is to kill them instantly with a sharp blow to the head, or by brain spiking them. After this they can be put straight onto ice. The head, tentacles, and smaller squid kept whole make for great bait. Personally, I keep the tentacles for a feed as it’s amazing how much more calamari you end up with, and they are simply delicious!
Squid are a great target if you’re looking for a feed, a new challenge, or just some fun lure fishing. Make sure you grab some squid jigs and go try to land some calamari for yourself this season. Watch out though, it’s addictive, and so is their flavour! Don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel ‘Will Kitching’ for plenty more tips and action. Tight lines!
Keep it simple – a box with a few colours of jigs is all you need to get started!
