Squid Upper Middle Harbour

[Spud._.]

Hey all,

One thing I've struggled with in terms of fishing middle harbour has been squid. I know it isn't because they aren't there because from all reports they have been fine, but I just can't seem to be getting them consistently. I have a small tinnie and am generally restricted to the upper reaches of middle harbour launching at roseville, defo no further than spit. I know getting em east of spit is way easier for consitent results but the upper reaches is where im restricted to atm. I've tried all the usual spots, weed beds, differentiating depth, different jigs, different retrieves, etc and can't seem to get more than a couple in a few hrs. Is it even possible to get em consistently up there? If so what do I do? What do I need to change with winter coming up? I'm not asking for exact spots but general areas and tips would be awesome bc i've been getting pretty frustrated recently, often with days with not one. Cheers.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Jacob Harper

[campr]

There's many a day I would be happy with a couple per hour.  What do you get there, calamari or river/arrow squid?

If arrows I would add a set rod with 2 small jigs set from a posternoster rig.  Ron

[Spud._.]

16 minutes ago, campr said:

There's many a day I would be happy with a couple per hour.  What do you get there, calamari or river/arrow squid?

If arrows I would add a set rod with 2 small jigs set from a posternoster rig.  Ron

Yeh mostly arrows, but u can still catch calamari depending on how dirty the water is. Cheers for advice.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Jacob Harper

[little fisho]

there are arrows and cuttles around northbridge baths/sailing club area, so i don't see why they wouldn't be in the area around there

[PaddyT]

There are plenty of deep water weed beds around the inside of the spit-caught them on the bottom in 90 ft of water there with a paternoster

[Tunastrike11]

21 hours ago, Spud._. said:

Hey all,

One thing I've struggled with in terms of fishing middle harbour has been squid. I know it isn't because they aren't there because from all reports they have been fine, but I just can't seem to be getting them consistently. I have a small tinnie and am generally restricted to the upper reaches of middle harbour launching at roseville, defo no further than spit. I know getting em east of spit is way easier for consitent results but the upper reaches is where im restricted to atm. I've tried all the usual spots, weed beds, differentiating depth, different jigs, different retrieves, etc and can't seem to get more than a couple in a few hrs. Is it even possible to get em consistently up there? If so what do I do? What do I need to change with winter coming up? I'm not asking for exact spots but general areas and tips would be awesome bc i've been getting pretty frustrated recently, often with days with not one. Cheers.

believe it or not squid respond to berly anchor up and berly and throw jigs out in the trail good luck.

[blaxland]

I am not the gun but squid fishing is like that in sydney. 4 in five casts or 1 in hours. If you can get to the spit bridge you can fish all the way to balmoral conditions do not change that much. Give the area around mosman rowing club ago.

[Spud._.]

On 6/2/2021 at 3:41 PM, PaddyT said:

There are plenty of deep water weed beds around the inside of the spit-caught them on the bottom in 90 ft of water there with a paternoster

Damn thats crazy. With the paternoster rig do u use any action or just set and forget and at which depth? Do u reckon its worth targeting em using this method. Cheers

[Spud._.]

On 6/2/2021 at 4:37 PM, Tunastrike11 said:

believe it or not squid respond to berly anchor up and berly and throw jigs out in the trail good luck.

Wow I'll try that. What burley u reckon just like pillies chopped up or what?

[Tunastrike11]

23 hours ago, Spud._. said:

Wow I'll try that. What burley u reckon just like pillies chopped up or what?

yeah mate drop a burley bucket over the side or boat has a burley bucket. what i use is any fish frames pillies bit of tuna oil with bread works great also i keep all the oil out of tins of tuna i eat and freeze it you will get hundreds of yakka,s around the boat but squid will be there to good luck.

[Spud._.]

19 hours ago, Tunastrike11 said:

yeah mate drop a burley bucket over the side or boat has a burley bucket. what i use is any fish frames pillies bit of tuna oil with bread works great also i keep all the oil out of tins of tuna i eat and freeze it you will get hundreds of yakka,s around the boat but squid will be there to good luck.

Cheers

[DerekD]

Hi Spud,

 I think I am pretty good at catching squid (see articles section in library for the post I put together) and have helped a fair few people over the years improve their catch rate. I've fished Middle Harbour for a long time too so the following is from personal experience.

Firstly, I'm assuming you are fishing daylight hours so if you are getting a few in a couple of hours I'd say you are doing pretty well. I have several spots which produce reasonably consistently but I usually have to hit each one (and sometimes several) to get sufficient squid for a fishing session.

Just some things to think about. Squid move around. 15 minutes could make all the difference between catching some and the dreaded donut. While I've heard of people who have found some locations where on a particular time of the tide their success rates goes up I haven't found one of these so called consistent spots yet. I also catch squid for fun so I'm not always desperate to catch them quickly.

What is important is covering ground and effectively. When there are two of us on the boat we will cast in different directions (say one towards the shore and dropping it down the water column and the other parallel to the shore). Most importantly, when someone hooks up get a second jig very close to where you think the squid is. They often travel in twos and threes so you can usually pick up multiple squid. Seaweed in Middle harbour only seems to grow in the upper section of the water column (say top 3-5m). I find the edge where it stops growing then send long casts out parallel to the shore and a meter or so out from this line. I have some faster sinking (not to be confused with size) jigs if I need to cover ground quickly.

The paternoster rig is another way of covering ground and you can send down multiple jigs. Do this on dusk with glow in the dark and your advantage increases. Spit bridge is a popular place for using this method and especially at night. Give some of the suggestions from the other Raiders above a try.

If I'm fishing Middle harbour and really needed squid I'd hit a few shore based spots the night before and then zip lock bag them and put them in the fridge (not freezer). I'll try for fresh the next day but generally use the pre-caught ones first and if I don't get to the freshly caught ones I can save and freeze them for next time. This way I keep a rolling stock of pretty fresh squid.

Regards,

Derek

Edited June 7, 2021 by DerekD

[Spud._.]

14 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi Spud,

 I think I am pretty good at catching squid (see articles section in library for the post I put together) and have helped a fair few people over the years improve their catch rate. I've fished Middle Harbour for a long time too so the following is from personal experience.

Firstly, I'm assuming you are fishing daylight hours so if you are getting a few in a couple of hours I'd say you are doing pretty well. I have several spots which produce reasonably consistently but I usually have to hit each one (and sometimes several) to get sufficient squid for a fishing session.

Just some things to think about. Squid move around. 15 minutes could make all the difference between catching some and the dreaded donut. While I've heard of people who have found some locations where on a particular time of the tide their success rates goes up I haven't found one of these so called consistent spots yet. I also catch squid for fun so I'm not always desperate to catch them quickly.

What is important is covering ground and effectively. When there are two of us on the boat we will cast in different directions (say one towards the shore and dropping it down the water column and the other parallel to the shore). Most importantly, when someone hooks up get a second jig very close to where you think the squid is. They often travel in twos and threes so you can usually pick up multiple squid. Seaweed in Middle harbour only seems to grow in the upper section of the water column (say top 3-5m). I find the edge where it stops growing then send long casts out parallel to the shore and a meter or so out from this line. I have some faster sinking (not to be confused with size) jigs if I need to cover ground quickly.

The paternoster rig is another way of covering ground and you can send down multiple jigs. Do this on dusk with glow in the dark and your advantage increases. Spit bridge is a popular place for using this method and especially at night. Give some of the suggestions from the other Raiders above a try.

If I'm fishing Middle harbour and really needed squid I'd hit a few shore based spots the night before and then zip lock bag them and put them in the fridge (not freezer). I'll try for fresh the next day but generally use the pre-caught ones first and if I don't get to the freshly caught ones I can save and freeze them for next time. This way I keep a rolling stock of pretty fresh squid.

Regards,

Derek

Cheers

[anthman]

On 6/7/2021 at 6:06 PM, DerekD said:

Hi Spud,

 I think I am pretty good at catching squid (see articles section in library for the post I put together) and have helped a fair few people over the years improve their catch rate. I've fished Middle Harbour for a long time too so the following is from personal experience.

Firstly, I'm assuming you are fishing daylight hours so if you are getting a few in a couple of hours I'd say you are doing pretty well. I have several spots which produce reasonably consistently but I usually have to hit each one (and sometimes several) to get sufficient squid for a fishing session.

Just some things to think about. Squid move around. 15 minutes could make all the difference between catching some and the dreaded donut. While I've heard of people who have found some locations where on a particular time of the tide their success rates goes up I haven't found one of these so called consistent spots yet. I also catch squid for fun so I'm not always desperate to catch them quickly.

What is important is covering ground and effectively. When there are two of us on the boat we will cast in different directions (say one towards the shore and dropping it down the water column and the other parallel to the shore). Most importantly, when someone hooks up get a second jig very close to where you think the squid is. They often travel in twos and threes so you can usually pick up multiple squid. Seaweed in Middle harbour only seems to grow in the upper section of the water column (say top 3-5m). I find the edge where it stops growing then send long casts out parallel to the shore and a meter or so out from this line. I have some faster sinking (not to be confused with size) jigs if I need to cover ground quickly.

The paternoster rig is another way of covering ground and you can send down multiple jigs. Do this on dusk with glow in the dark and your advantage increases. Spit bridge is a popular place for using this method and especially at night. Give some of the suggestions from the other Raiders above a try.

If I'm fishing Middle harbour and really needed squid I'd hit a few shore based spots the night before and then zip lock bag them and put them in the fridge (not freezer). I'll try for fresh the next day but generally use the pre-caught ones first and if I don't get to the freshly caught ones I can save and freeze them for next time. This way I keep a rolling stock of pretty fresh squid.

Regards,

Derek

Don't forget the luck factor - I've had the (dis)pleasure of being the other person when squidding off the boat with Derek and he seems to always pull up the squid when I'm drawing blanks.... 😛

[GordoRetired]

I have never tried it but was talking to some guys who reckon that they catch heaps of squid off the jetty at the Roseville ramp. I think they fish it in the dark, but the lights there may well attract the squid. If you try it let me know how you go.

[DerekD]

15 hours ago, anthman said:

Don't forget the luck factor - I've had the (dis)pleasure of being the other person when squidding off the boat with Derek and he seems to always pull up the squid when I'm drawing blanks.... 😛

You just do it to make me look good. I appreciate how considerate you are when I am a guest on your boat.

Edited June 9, 2021 by DerekD

[Spud._.]

On 6/9/2021 at 4:45 PM, GordoRetired said:

I have never tried it but was talking to some guys who reckon that they catch heaps of squid off the jetty at the Roseville ramp. I think they fish it in the dark, but the lights there may well attract the squid. If you try it let me know how you go.

Will do

[Spud._.]

One last question what technique do i use for paternoster like depth action ect.

[DerekD]

I'll try and find it later but there is a video on youtube of someone using a paternoster rig for squid in Sydney. Landbased from memory.

[savit]

21 hours ago, Spud._. said:

One last question what technique do i use for paternoster like depth action ect.

You can go under Spit Bridge or Harbour Bridge (Piers) - whatever is closest to you - in the evening / on weekend. Plenty of people to watch using that technique as well as results.