How to catch squid
 

If this thread has been done many times just point me to one but I am looking for tips. I have a squid jig. Can see squid on fish finder or other people making them. Put 6 oz weight on it to get it down quick. Bounce it off the bottom a few times and usually nada.

I use the smallest jig they sell at Squidco and one bit of advice I got was to get the smaller jig at Anglers Choice. Anything else to improve my catch rate?

If your not using spectra start, you can feel the squid latching on alot better. When you hook one just strait wind dont pump, dont stop until you get to the surface. Squid jig gangion works well, also i would reccomend you use the squid jig/sinker instead of just a sinker.

Are you using a gangion, or just a squid jig? Successful Squid catching is mostly about feel as Tony said. 6oz sinker is probably too big for good feel. I prefer a gangion with a weighted Squid jig (about 4") on the bottom. If the Squid are not thick, give them a few seconds to locate and attach to your setup between jigs.

Squid Jigs do not have barbs so if you move the jig up and down aggressively you just unhook the squid as fast as they grab on. I drop the jig to the bottom, give a few slow rod lifts, wind a few slow cranks, jig a few times, then repeat. Like Greg and ful-rac said, its about feel. Squid wont pull or tug like a finbait but you will feel the jig getting heavier. When you feel a bit of wieght wind the jig up at a steady medium speed. Any pauses or pumping can allow the squid to get off the jig. I've been using a 4oz glow back iron as a wieght and I like the results. And what the hell, I might hook a wsb or yt on it. Some times the squid will hit a glow bead sibiki better than a squid jig. Its worth trying if they're a bit shy and there isn't much finbait or lizard fish around. Mike

How about something different.

First off squid are not mackeral. They aren't going to chase down fast moving baits, and they aren't going to slam your jigs. You're not on a party boat, you're not fishing Iron either. Your six ounce weight is too heavy, it makes your rig sink too fast, it also keeps you from feeling the squid.

Often when I'm out making bait I'll see squid on the meter when I'm not rigged up for them. Instead of using a squid setup I just take my weight off my sabiki rig and put a old school 3 ounce squid jig in it's place. I then let it sink down relatively slowly to the level the squid are. I don't want it going fast because I want the squid to be able to grab the sabiki jigs on the way down. Often a squid grab one of the sabikis and stop it. When this happens I just let it sit for a minute or two and let them load up then bring them up.

The advantage of a sabiki is it works on the sink, and once the squid is hooked it's hooked.

If I don't hook up on the sink I watch the meter and move my rig slowly up and down at the depth they are at. Less is more. Don't jerk it all around.

When I feel the weight of a squid I just start reeling it towards the surface slowly. This keeps any squid that grab the squid jig on the tines, but I'm in no hurry to get it to the surface, there are more squid down there, if you hook one you're likely to get more.

Personally I catch more squid on this jig sabiki rig setup then on the multi bait squid gangion rigs they sell for squid. I think that is true for a few reasons. One I catch a lot of squid in the daytime, sabikis have much lighter leader material so they are less visible. I catch lot of squid when it's not wide open or slow and I use other techniques that work for less aggressive squid then you use with a standard squid rig. I think squid like fish go through feeding behaviors. When it's wide open and they are competing in a big school they will grab big stupid looking stuff. When there are only a few of them down there they will be far less aggressive, and more responsive to something that looks like something they would actually eat..

Think about this for a minute what would a squid likely eat a big thing like a squid jig or small like a sabiki jig? It's kind of a no-brainer.

Squid jig rigs are designed to catch squid from massive schools under lights from a boat. They are designed to help you bait up a party boat fast. They only hook squid when you are pulling them up. So to use them you drop them fast through the squid then slowly reel them back up through the squid. That is how they are designed to work. They are a specific tool designed for a specific job and you know how it is if your a hammer everything looks like a nail so everyone tends to fish them like they are on a boat.

I want to get squid even when there are only a few down there, often in the daytime, I want to be able to get them on the sink etc.... it's just more of a finesse thing, but the sabiki setup works for me.

What do the squid actually look like on a meter? Heard like red fuzz?

Some good input posted, gotta try that jig sabiki rig setup.

What I was taught about squid jigs/ganions is they mimic egg sacs that float off their beds. This causes a reaction for squid to grab and reanchor them to the bottom. Not sure if they resemble anything in their diet. When they're not wide open I slow it down to mimic that egg floating action and usually hang at least one. But yes when wide open under lights snag away!

Right on.

I catch a lot of pre-spawn squid with the sabiki. Smaller immature 3 to 5 inch ones. They work great. I got my largest Yellow on pre-spawn a four inch squid.

You're right on about the egg sack idea. Scientists have observed that some female squid protect their eggs, there are some species where the females carry around the egg sacks for months. I've caught a lot of squid during the spawn by dropping a jig right down to the eggs then slowly reeling it up like it's a eggsack drifting away, it definitely works.

The first squid jigs mimicked eggsacks, now they are also making jigs that look like shrimp and other things squid will eat. The sabiki works when they are not spawning I've caught squid with them far away spawning areas sometimes from balls of squid suspended just under the surface or way off the bottom. The sabiki works on spawning squid as well but I'm not sure if that's because they are trying to feed or just kill anything that might be trying to eat their eggs.

I first used a sabiki jig combo because I was in a hurry, and did not want to take the time to rig up a squid ganion, but it's now become my go to setup, and the only times I'll go to a ganion is when I can't get them with a sabiki jig combo, or if they are so thick it's too much trouble using a sabiki.

I guess I should add that I remake my ganions replacing the standard stiff heavy mono with 30lbs fluorcarbon. I know it sounds stupid but squid are extremely visual, just look at the size of their eyes vrs the rest of thier bodies. I know it makes a difference because I've had days where my fluoro ganions outproduced stock ones by maybe 6 to 1 or more.

Once you make a Squid, pin it on and send it down. Other Squid like to gather around pinned ones. That will keep them in the area where your jig will be. The linked video shows how they hang around and follow hooked ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=-hq72j9tOb4

Greg, your the link/vid king.

Knowledge is good
Pics are better
Video is priceless

Is it just me or were some of the squid attacking the one that was hooked?

Thanks
 

For a lot of good ideas. I will definitely go back to a smaller sinker and see if I can develop a better feel.

Has anyone tried attaching a small glow stick or anything that gives off light?

The gangions typically use glow in the dark beads above the tines. You should also use a glow jig at the bottom for night squidding. A headlamp, to recharge the glow, at the surface is a good idea too. Squid see good enough at night and need no other light to find your rig.

Dwntwn: There is no easy answer to what they look like on a FF. It depends on lots of variables. Individual Squid give a very weak return cause the only part bouncing the ping is the tiny beak. When they are really thick, they can give a pretty strong signal. The quality of the FF, how it is setup (sensitivity) and whether or not it is color are big variables too.

Squid marks
 

Heres what squid looks like on my hds the green spots, and BSB the large red marks.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps284eeb4f.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psf54b146f.jpg

Black and White
 

Thanks for sharing the picture.

Does anyone have any insight as to what to look for on a black and white screen?

Tried making some aquid bait on saturday and failed but now with all the help on this thread I feel confident I can catch some on my next trip. Thanks bwe