Squid Jigs

[fisherman1994]

Hey Guys,

As its getting to that time of year when the kings start to come on i am keen to start gettin ready to catch myself some squid for bait and also for a nice feed

I know that the gun brands that most raiders mention are the yamashita's and yozuris but i was wondering exactly what sort of jig (i.e colour, size, brand name etc etc) would be the best for targetting squid in sydney harbour??

I know that the answer to that question varies greatly on water clarity and conditions and even just what squid are hitting at the time but do any raiders have certain models that they greatly favour, or just produce more often than others?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys,

Cheers

JB

[Wantingaboat]

2.5g in pink and orange by the brands you mention. Cheers and good luck. I must say a good squid fisherman will catch squid with a crap jig and a not so good squid FM will still catch nothing with the most expensive jig going. Time and practice pays off.

[fisherman1994]

Thanks for that man cheers, well then looks like i got a lot of practice before i can catch a few.

Oh well i'll get there soon enough

[jlloyd]

I swear by the Yamashita natural range in a range of 2.0-3.0 and have several of each. The smaller jigs work better for bait squid but if windy or tidal they don't drop down to the strike zone or cannot be cast. There are new jigs avaliable in a 1.8 size (yamashitas) which are heavier and should sink quicker which have been recommended for bait sized squid in Sydney harbour (I think they are the range hunter series). The other difference is sinking rate, shallow water is better with a slow sink rate while deeper water requires a faster sink rate. but it also comes down to experimenting with retrieve methods which can turn a crap day into lots of kingy candy

[southerly]

As most of my squidding is done for southerns in <3mtr of water I use 1.8 pink yozuris in the classic cloth pattern, there is a new one out with a darkended eye and glowing belly strip that I am trialing. They have a very slow sink rate which suits my style (dead sticking) of squidding.

In stronger current or wind I use the 1.8 Daiwa Esmarelldas which sink much quicker. If they fail I root through my squid jig box and use whatever. I only use the cheap jigs in conditions where I am likely to loose them.

I usually get about 10 tips out of a jig untill it is chewed up and cover in black muck and the cloth fabric rots.

David

Thanks for that man cheers, well then looks like i got a lot of practice before i can catch a few.

Oh well i'll get there soon enough

Find yourself a well lit warfe and sight fish for the squid, you will learn more about squid behaviour in 1 hour, than a years worth of casting jigs blind.

David

Edited September 6, 2009 by southerly

[mako1]

I use the Yamashita jigs in size 2, 2.5 or 3.

I have stocked up on the natural colours

and they work really well.

I also use the pink and orange ones.

I have just bought some scent and am

keen to give it a go to see if it makes

any difference.

[monch]

I agree with Southerly, being able to see the squid stalk and finally attack the jig is a really good way to learn about their behaviour and what switches them on. I have limited experience but in my opinion these are the important points, in order of significance:

Finding the spot holding the squid

Presenting the jig at the right depth

Retrieve technique and jig sink rate

Physical size of jig (not weight)

Colour (which i am still undecided about whether it is important or not).

So in answering your question, i think that any jig will work provided you can tick off the boxes for the points i have listed. I find that all squid will attack a smaller jig, but not all squid will attack a large jig. So if you want the tiny ones to use as whole, i would thus recommend the smallest jig u can find, with a fairly slow sink rate as the smaller squid usually live in the shallower water. I have found that tiny squid will still try to attack large jigs as big as themselves, but because of the large distance between the point they grab the jig (the back of the head) and the barbs, and also because of their short tentacles, it is hard to actually hook the small squid on large jigs. In saying this, if you want to specifically target large squid, although large squid will attack tiny jigs, the small barbs on them may not get a good hold on the tentacles of a large squid and you may lose the squid.

I have found that the yamashitas and yozuris work well because of their slow sink rates (but then again i have not been game enough to try out other brands), because i am landbased and work shallow water <4m i usually use size 1.8 and 2.0 and if you look on the packet, some of them say the actual weight of the jig, i have found size 1.8 and 2.0 in 5-8g varieties.

I'm not too hyped up about the flashy range of squid jigs with all their shine etc, since none of that will be anymore effective at night than a normal squid jig. I have found that squid are able to find my jig in total darkness, and i would have expected them to have evolved to be specialised in that regard. However, you could use the glowing jigs if you wanted, i would guess it would draw more attention and follows, but whether that will result in more hookups i'm not sure.

Despite all that, i mostly use Yo-zuri Aurie-Q's because they are available at my local tackle shop in a great variety and at comparatively reasonable prices

[customcasting]

I use the Yamashita jigs in size 2, 2.5 or 3.

I have stocked up on the natural colours

and they work really well.

I also use the pink and orange ones.

I have just bought some scent and am

keen to give it a go to see if it makes

any difference.

dont use the sent on any good jigs as it will stain and discoulour them ,it works well when they are laying on the bottom and lazy ,I found out the hard way $,CC

[mako1]

dont use the sent on any good jigs as it will stain and discoulour them ,it works well when they are laying on the bottom and lazy ,I found out the hard way $,CC

Thanks for the warning.

[Brooker435]

Hey there,

I'm only new to squidding and have managed a few and my skills are constantly improving.

All that I can say is no matter what jig you are using if they are there you will find them.

I have been most successful using Green & orange colored jigs but have heard that color does not really matter so perhaps its my personal preference but Ive managed catches anyway.

I am armed with the scent spray and a couple of yo-zuri jigs but have only caught squid on the Ecape with Et Brand ones from Big-W you can buy 2 for $6 I guess im a little scared to use the $20 jigs until I know what I am doing.

I think the thing most people struggle with when it comes to catching squid is the way they retrieve the jigs well that's what I think I was doing wrong at the beginning and have found that unless the jig is that close to the bottom that it drags across the weeds at a slow pace I don't seem to find them.

Feel free to correct me guys as I am purely speaking from my experiences and have also been told by other fisherman that when the squid are on you only have to just drop the jig in and they will show and I personally am hoping for that one day so I don't have to work as hard!!!

Regard's

Nathan

[DerekD]

I've found the problem with getting more expensive jigs like the Yo-Zuri's is that I get kind of attached to them. It is that bad that I have gone free diving for at least three of them when I lost them. Got two of them back though. Was far quicker and cheaper than a trip back to the shop.

I find in Sydney harbour a size 2.5 in pink or orange is a good all round lure. I have also done very well with a green yo-zuri in 3.0. Gets some really good casting distance.

With the 1.8gm Yamashita's try tying one on to a 60cm 10lb leader and then have a small ball sinker on the other end of the leader and a small swivel. The ball sinker helps it get down to the bottom quicker and then the 60cm line allows the slow sink rate of the squid jig to take over for the last 30cm or so.

Edited September 8, 2009 by DerekD

[jlloyd]

I agree with monch but believe colour is very important I have three similarly coloured jigs (all naturals) which catch all of the squid (I think they replicate local food sources for the squid)whereas I have other jigs which are identical models but in other colours which have never had even a hit (and using them alongside the above jigs). I also find that a 2.5 is a good size if cost is an issue, smaller squid will still attacka nd be caoght with larger (I have caught squid up to 2.5 kg this winter with 2.0 and 2.5 size jigs and perfect kingy candy in late summer autumn). Considering sight is extremely important for squid when hunting I believe the colour is extremely important.

[A.dawg]

yama 1.8 pink and yama 2.0 natural color blue and orange... also 2.5 gold also yama....

Yo-zuri... 2.0 blue and orange do well

[fisherman1994]

Thanks guys this is all greatly appreciated

From what i have read i am assuming that because i am a fairly low budget, i will invest my money into a better jig such as the yamashita or yozuri. I thinik I'll get the 2.5 size as it is a middle-of-the-road size, big enough for larger squid but small enough for kingy candy.

I'm thinking either a gold or natural sort of colour??

Thanks again guys,

JB

[sportfish]

I went to a talk the Yamashita reps gave about squidding.

Their " range hunter" series sounded impressive, they have slow sinking ones (blue eyes on jig 10 - 12 seconds to sink 1 mtr), fast sinking ones and an in between one (Basic - black eyes on jig 3 secs to sink 1 mtr).

Different sizes (1.8 and 2.2) and colours

I got a slow one to try in the weed beds that are only 2 or so metres deep

Havent been out yet to try it

Edited September 8, 2009 by sportfish