SydneyIsSkyBlue

Hi Raiders, Had the afternoon off work today so decided to venture south and try to regain my mojo with squidding. Having worked very hard on trying to refine my technique and understand squidding over the past year or so I was finally starting to really get some results prior to leaving for a holiday to Japan about 6 weeks ago. I returned 3 weeks ago (and having spent a fair bit on some more jigs - this stuff gets out of hand) only to find that my ability to catch squid seemed to have been left in Japan. Over the past 3 weeks, I'd ventured out for twice a week to solely target squid and have ended up with nothing apart from losing 6-7 of my new jigs to the rocks and kelp. Alas, today I headed to the Hacking and as they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results. I was really starting to get fed up with the situation and early doors it looked like it was just going to be another day. Tried my first spot (which had formerly produced a number of times) for about an hour and nothing so I thought I'd take my gear and have a little walk around to see what else was around. On my travels, I came across a designated fishing platform I guess you'd call it, which sat just over some kelp beds and thought it'd be a good spot to try. How wrong I was! Within 5 minutes the place got bombarded by about 10 people (in a space no wider than about 20-25m) so decided to pack up again as I wouldn't be able to fan my casts and I found myself a perfect little spot down on the rocks. Got the live search rattle jig out and within 10 minutes that feeling of hooking up which seemed so distant to me was back! I hooked up to the smaller squid (on the right) whose hood measured 20cm. From there, I had the wind in my sails and the other two followed in quick succession (26cm and 23cm hoods). All in all, it's great to finally have that confidence back - I was really starting to think it was me doing something wrong.

I'm back! Got on to 3 this afternoon.

I'm squidding land based mate so that may explain a few things... (Well at least that's what I'm hoping 😂)

I've had an absolute nightmare with squid the last 4-5 times I've gone out. Have come back with nothing every time and it's starting to get a little frustrating after going on a good run for a while. Starting to think the trip overseas has killed all the momentum I had 😅 It's nice to hear fellow raiders are helping each other out though. Hopefully I'll get to bump into some of you out there one day!

Keen to hear others feedback on this who are more familiar with these areas. I was actually around the northern beaches today chasing squid and really struggled. Lost 3 jigs at Fairlight beach and nothing at Collaroy beach off the rocks. Also tried the Spit Bridge with no success.

Thanks mate, really appreciate the detail. It's funny because I've caught myself a fair few calamari in recent months but I guess my initial question was generated on the basis of wanting to improve returns and thinking I was missing something when it came to the feel/lack of sight during my first night session where I felt there was a much greater reliance on feel. From what everyone has said, it seems to confirm that what I've labelled as "luck" is purely lifting the rod and setting the jig!

Glad you enjoyed it mate! @61 crusher

Would definitely be keen Derek. Will be overseas for the next month but once I'm back I'd love to tee something up if you're free. A lot of this makes sense and I feel I can relate to when squidding. It seems as though my retrieval technique may be a little be too aggressive (and probably too fast) as well as not really trying to gauge the depth I'm fishing.

Is there a way to estimate the depth of an area you're fishing if you're land based?

If you go to the 2 minute mark in this video, this is what I refer to when talking about the whipping motion

It seems that the common theme amongst you guys is that the very slow wind is important - I'm guessing for line tension? I tend to give the rod a number of whips and take the slack line then wait (occasionally take line slowly during this period).

I'm always chasing green eyes and tend to use 3.0, but sometimes I'm going to 2.5 jigs if I'm mixing it up a bit. I'm fishing with a 7 ft 6 rod (for further casting purposes being land based).

Yeah mate - do all of my squidding land based at the moment. I guess what I'm finding hard to distinguish is the tension of a squid as opposed to the current or dragging through the weeds. Another thing I find is it's hard to keep significant tension on my line (find I'm constantly slowly winding to try and keep tension). Is this a drag issue or possibly the fact that I'm using primarily braid - more buoyant etc?

Hi Raiders, A bit of a weird one here considering that I have caught myself a number of squid (all land based) over the last few months. However some how I feel like I tend to catch them by "luck" when I'm whipping the rod to impart movement on the jig rather than by feel. I'd like to hear what you guys think regarding the "squid strike" or "bite". Those that do chase squid, are you actually feeling the strike or is it more of a visual thing for you (i.e.: watching the rod tip bend, line straighten etc)? For those that ask about technique, I tend to hold my rod down towards the water in the 8 o'clock position and whip from 8 to 11 with the occasional sideways whipping motion. This was none more evident than last night during my first night squid session where the visual aspect was diminished due small amounts of light and not being able to see the rod tip meaning that I had to rely on what I perceive to be the feel. It produced one squid for the night but again, I put it down to being in the right place at the right time and lifting my rod just as the squid was on it. The thing that baffles me is I do think I felt some sort of weight on the line which convinced me that it was the right time to lift but then found it hard to separate that sensation to the tension on the jig when dragging through the weeds down the bottom. There were also numerous moments where I was letting the jig sink and felt increasing tension on the rod tip, yet I would wait 2-3 seconds to let it build then strike for no result. I guess what I'm trying to ask in my usual long winded way is, can someone help me out with knowing when a squid is hanging on to your jig?

Personal preference is to have them a bit more tender. I hear what you say on the textural component to fresh squid though.

@61 crusher This was just done on a normal BBQ but also really nice over charcoal if you're bothered with the extra bit of trouble! Keen to hear what you think once you try it mate!

Thanks mate!

Very easy @61 crusher. Once I've cleaned the squid, I soak it in milk for 24 hours or so (can also be kiwi fruit or any of the other things most people use to tenderise squid). Then open the hoods up and score them in a cross pattern, keep the tentacles for BBQing also. I then take them out of the milk and marinate them in extra virign olive oil, dried oregano leaves, grated fresh garlic and cracked pepper until ready to BBQ. The BBQ has to be super hot - I slap them on until they're slightly charred like the photo and then finish them with a squeeze of lemon, salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Hope you enjoy!

The end product! 👍

Thanks guys. Was a good few hours out there! Got home late tonight so they'll be tomorrow's dinner now.

Hi Raiders, It's been a while since I've been on here (and also a while since I could get near any water to throw a line in) but thought I'd provide my first report. Headed down south today to the Hacking after having the afternoon off work and decided to chase some squid. Got down there just as the tide was starting to roll in, turned out to be some very windy and rainy conditions which wasn't anticipated given the forecast I'd read this morning. Casting straight into the wind for the first 10-15 minutes was proving a problem to get any sort of distance, so I moved around to try and get some shelter from the rocks and on my second cast the first one struck. The guy on the left of the photo measured a 25cm hood - thought I was snagged initially until it start to peel some line. From there on, things quieted down for about an hour before I got my second squid (the small one on the right). The other two in the middle followed about 15 minutes later in quick succession with one of them coming out very angry and tried to paint my clothes black as soon as it hit the surface of the water and got close enough to see me. Had me questioning why I was wearing a white top (idiot!). The red jig seemed to really do the trick today! Anyway, dinner sorted for tomorrow. Most likely going to quickly sear these guys on a super hot BBQ and cook them Greek-style. Olive oil, lemon, dried oregano and garlic!

Hi Raiders, I'm heading down to Shellharbour for a few days with my girlfriend's family over the new year period and was just wondering if anyone could recommend some spots to try? I'm also keen to target some squid so any recommendations on spots down that way within 10-15 min of Shellharbour would be awesome as I don't know how far they're going to want to travel. All the best to everyone over the holiday period and hopefully I can come back with a few reports! SSIB

Yep, dispatch them (obviously they immediately turn white) and then leaving them in a little bit of water in a bucket but changing that water every 15-20 min. It's more the texture of the body that goes quite rubbery over the next hour rather than that typical soft fresh squid feeling.

Thanks mate - will try that! Any ideas why the arrows react that way once dispatched?