mike2153 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hey guys as the title says I've tried numerous times now to get squid using a patenoster at the spit bridge, I've even done all nighters there to get them. However I really struggle on an all nighter I would only get say 4 squid I know there are a lot more there. I'm using 8lb braid/fluro leader 3 jig patenoster with a small sinker at the bottom to get it on te bottom. Using yamishita 1.8 in pink and orange (the glow ones) I've tried various different jigs. I'm using a glow stick. My technique is drop it down to the bottom and drift around and give the rod a slow lift then slowly drop it down again every 5 seconds or whatever, I've tried every different style of technique I can think of and still coming up with nothing. I'm going on and out of the bridge covering everywhere within 20m of the bridge and still nothing!! Any help guys it's really frustrating it should be that hard there just squid !' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stephanb79 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 mate im in the same boat i dont know so hope we can get an answer aswell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisholb Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Mate im no expert on squid but I suggest u try just using 1 jig only...we have caught plenty that way...yama in pink that glows usually works...sometimes orange depending on d colour of d water...we found there r more squid after the new moon n clear water...d size of d jig plays an important part too...hope this helps...try using all sizes if u can...every 10/15mins...1.8 usually works...same with d 3.5... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydneyfisher12 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Try natural colours like browns, greens and even got down to a 1.5 the blue 1.5 yamashita egi sutte is great for that type if fishing and maybe down size the sinker so you get a more natural fall Cheers sydneyfisher12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Incredible Hull Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Everything you need is right here: http://www.fishraider.com.au/fishing-articles/spit-bridge-squidding.php The first few times can be frustrating... I've been fishing the area for over a year now and I'm still discovering and using new techniques which is producing for me. Put in the hard yards, move around and really get to know the area. Oh and try to avoid high tide or a tide change, you won't catch anything. Good luck buddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2153 Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Cool cheers guys, tried everything you have suggested haha I've read that write up in fishraider a few times now lol. I guess I'll just have to persist and see what happens cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oziodin Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Oh ! Glad to hear others have been in the same boat , tried & tied so many time it's no funny with the big 0 as a result. went out with a mate . and caught my fist Squid 3 weeks ago . now what was the Dif my mate is a good Squid Specialist . all I did was using one of his jigs & bingo . I used to big of a jig and it was only a cheep one . his was $20+ jig 2.5 small jig with result so I went out got one myself & when I went out the week after , I got two squid . so it defiantly matters the quality jig you use. (note that's only my experience) good luck ! Cheers Oziodin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked-Up Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 4 squid isnt too bad mate, sometimes youll catch 15 other times youll catch 2! Sounds like your doing everything right so just keep moving until you find one then focus on that area until your sure no more will bite then off to find another one. They seem to hang in a particular area for a while then move into another spot, like a game of hide and seek lol. Keep in mind that the spit gets absolutey hammered by squidders too so will pay to have a back up plan. I learned the best thing to do is learn how to catch calamari incase the arrows play hard ball. This may be against the norm but i use very heavy sinkers when fishing the spit as the current runs harder in places and softer in others, this way i know im keeping in contact with the bottom by bouncing the sinker up and down. Also i dont bother with glow sticks and get my share so not too convinced with that method although it doesnt seem to hurt. In regards to the paternoster rig i like to setup 2 rods slightly differently. 1st one i use small dropper loops to tie the jigs to so they are on a short leader and have a sharp action when jigging. 2nd one is rigged on longer loops that i cut open to get a long leader, this way its alot more subtle movement when jigging, be careful to lower your rig slowly with this method or else you WILL get tangles. i go for the sharp jigging action rig first then if having no luck try the slower one. Both rigs are fished with the same rod action but the jigs move very differently. Also have caught plenty on an unweighted jig just sitting in rod holder whilst jigging. Good luck mate. Hope this helps you out! Lee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stephanb79 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Oh ! Glad to hear others have been in the same boat , tried & tied so many time it's no funny with the big 0 as a result. went out with a mate . and caught my fist Squid 3 weeks ago . now what was the Dif my mate is a good Squid Specialist . all I did was using one of his jigs & bingo . I used to big of a jig and it was only a cheep one . his was $20+ jig 2.5 small jig with result so I went out got one myself & when I went out the week after , I got two squid . so it defiantly matters the quality jig you use. (note that's only my experience) good luck ! Cheers Oziodin hey mate ive seen you catch squid lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2153 Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 4 squid isnt too bad mate, sometimes youll catch 15 other times youll catch 2! Sounds like your doing everything right so just keep moving until you find one then focus on that area until your sure no more will bite then off to find another one. They seem to hang in a particular area for a while then move into another spot, like a game of hide and seek lol. Keep in mind that the spit gets absolutey hammered by squidders too so will pay to have a back up plan. I learned the best thing to do is learn how to catch calamari incase the arrows play hard ball. This may be against the norm but i use very heavy sinkers when fishing the spit as the current runs harder in places and softer in others, this way i know im keeping in contact with the bottom by bouncing the sinker up and down. Also i dont bother with glow sticks and get my share so not too convinced with that method although it doesnt seem to hurt. In regards to the paternoster rig i like to setup 2 rods slightly differently. 1st one i use small dropper loops to tie the jigs to so they are on a short leader and have a sharp action when jigging. 2nd one is rigged on longer loops that i cut open to get a long leader, this way its alot more subtle movement when jigging, be careful to lower your rig slowly with this method or else you WILL get tangles. i go for the sharp jigging action rig first then if having no luck try the slower one. Both rigs are fished with the same rod action but the jigs move very differently. Also have caught plenty on an unweighted jig just sitting in rod holder whilst jigging. Good luck mate. Hope this helps you out! Lee. Awsome thanks mate ill for it a go, might get a few heavier sinkers since the wind is up tonight as well. I'll let you know how I get on I'll try the method you stated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2153 Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 So last night I squidded from 7-11 and ended up with 7 which wasn't bad I thought on e I worked it out I started catching more and more then stopped at 7 deciding that was enough. Tips I could give for anyone is use 1.5 jigs in full glow body. Keep in contact with the bottom and just slowly lift and drop the rod bouncing off the bottom. Keep moving around. And work wht the current keep goog with you line so that it stays straight up and down not getting taken away in the current m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piss'n'Broke Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Last night my brother got 17 so they were obviously on the bite. We have spent 8hrs there from 8pm to 4am for a big fat ZERO Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Incredible Hull Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Last night my brother got 17 so they were obviously on the bite. We have spent 8hrs there from 8pm to 4am for a big fat ZERO Dan Thats an awesome effort! Tell Greg I'll see him on the water soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2153 Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 What boat was your brother in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsalty Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Hi, I did about 4 or 5 years of learning to catch squid in the harbour which eventually turned into regular captures of kingfish. I no longer live in Sydney. I did try the jigging at the spit in early mornings which normally proved successful, but the early starts are a killer. I found the bigger southern calamari are a much better bait generally for the fact that a big one is equal to 4 or 5 arrows if not more in size. I started off blind but found the key was to move around and identify good squid holding spots and use the casting and very slow retrieve method of 1 jig. try go as slow as u can without getting snagged and add in afew whips, if u read the forums you will find a lot of commonly mentioned squid spots like balmoral island, middle head and the shacks, these are spots that are in videos, but there are plenty more if you look closer. All you need is water deep enough to see some form of reef, could be 2 ft to 30ft ,sometimes broken sand but most of all weed, gardens of weed is where they live. the more of this territory the better. Now the key is to not spend too much time in one spot waiting for them to come on the bite, don't anchor, work out ur drift so you can float over the grounds from start to finish, half a dozen casts will tell u if they are there, don't wait for them to come on the bite as they may not be there. You have to go in for a close look for potential squid spots as you could be motoring past many squid and you wouldn't know. If I launched from middle harbour I wouldn't stop till I hit chinamans beach (caught my biggest squid here on a beat up kmart jig with the wooden underbody showing) , then onto balmoral island (mostly on the northern side even catching big squid into the swimmers area) , then Grotto point where the lighthouse is (on the point is a nice patch of broken reef dropping into deep water, I never seen anyone squidding here and have caught heaps at this spot), further north sees the shacks which ill try if no ones there already, but even more plentiful is Dobroyd reef just out from the shacks, its a big area of reef that is shallow at the front and drops off into deeper water, caught some whoppers here and aslo heaps of smaller ones. then you can head into north harbour where there are also many spots, the gas works is over fished but if you head closer to Manly you will find a stretch of shallow weed beds and reef out the front of the high rise units, plenty of squid here, and further towards manly around the skiff club pylons sometimes holds a lot of squid. After that you can head back into the main harbour where the inside of south head has huge stretch of squid grounds (just watch out for the nudists!) and then plenty more spots as you go further into the harbour. Just be willing to go in for a closer look, u cant tell a squid spot until u explore a little closer, and people don't wanna tell u where to look either. As for jigs the old standard 2.5 in the best u can afford is good, if its deeper water out the back throw out a 3.5, and ofcourse , cheap jigs sometimes turn up monsters, ive seen a huge 5.0 kmart jig catch a small squid in 2 feet of water, and I caught my biggest squid on an absolute piece of shit. Really though, I caught squid in all colours of jig, I had a brown and yellow jig In natural colors that was worn away with beak marks on it, it didn't really resemble its former self but still caught squid. So if you launch at sunrise then hit up as many spots as you can it usually takes 1 or 2 hours to get enough squid for a session, nothing wrong with squidding at the spit, but I hate early starts, so this is just what I did...................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2153 Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Very very informative post mate cheers. Last summer I had one spot that would produce nice size green eyes every session then just stopped and hasn't produced anything since then. Might have to try again once the water well and truly warns up . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsalty Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 No worries, afew other things I thought of too, Its easy to think your snagged over these grounds when half the time your hooked onto kelp. a lot of the time u can tear ur exspensive jig free by tightening up the drag and continuously whipping the rod at slightly tighter drag increments until the kelp breaks or is pulled of the bottom (as long as you use braid). And if you do break your line its not too hard to don the flippers and snorkel in shallow water and go in and get it! and if you come across a large cuttlefish (and have the heart to kill it) the guts sent down are like a giant smoke signal with ink perpetually sending a smoke signal to any kings in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piss'n'Broke Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Hey Mike. Greg was in his tinny. Don't worry Dave with the water temps on the rise we are surely more likely of catching up. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostproperty Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Hey mate a few tricks I try Single squid jig instead of the 3 jig rig you mention (let's face it 3 times the jigs isn't getting you the results with squid so might as well change!) Glow stick all good just above the drop loop, another thing I do is get a big glow stick in white and drop it down under the boat with some heavy sinkers, sometimes about 5m down. Works a treat ! Good luck man, we never used to catch squid at the spit until I started using the glow sticks now we get a few before the sun comes up but yeah larger calamari are better as you get way more, but it's handy having a few squid on the board from the beginning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnmn8r Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Oh and try to avoid high tide or a tide change, you won't catch anything. So would you generally target squid at low tide, or is this specifically for the spit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Incredible Hull Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Sorry by tide change, I meant as the tide is beginning to turn. I think the same goes with all types of fishing, no flow to no go. But specifically for the spit, yes there needs to be current for you to catch squid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest no one Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Hey mate a few tricks I try Single squid jig instead of the 3 jig rig you mention (let's face it 3 times the jigs isn't getting you the results with squid so might as well change!) Glow stick all good just above the drop loop, another thing I do is get a big glow stick in white and drop it down under the boat with some heavy sinkers, sometimes about 5m down. Works a treat ! Good luck man, we never used to catch squid at the spit until I started using the glow sticks now we get a few before the sun comes up but yeah larger calamari are better as you get way more, but it's handy having a few squid on the board from the beginning Red glow stick or Green/Yellow? Found the Red to be more productive for fish but not sure on Squid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaClH2OK9 Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 (edited) Where do you find the red starlights? I've not been able to find them in shops or fleabay Pms appreciated Edited November 11, 2014 by NaClH2OK9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostproperty Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Red glow stick or Green/Yellow? Found the Red to be more productive for fish but not sure on Squid? For the large glow stick I drop down under the boat I usually go for blue or white if I can get them at the shops by yellow will do the job as well. White will be the best as its the brightest of them all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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