Whilst the so called craze of 'egi' has been going on, many people have been exposed to the methods of how to fish for squid in much more effective ways. Am I a fan of the techniques?
Absolutely I am and for three main reasons. Firstly I catch more squid (not a bad start), second I land more squid that I have hooked (good also) and finally its way more enjoyable as I like to be active (I tend to get bored easy).
Years prior when being much less aggressive and active with my squidding and using lower quality jigs I simply caught less and lost so many squid lightly hooked on the club tentacles. As is the way squid feed, they will usually be more cautious in their approach to striking a moving jig rather than one that is falling naturally. Using a violent jerk method to get the squids interest and then allowing sufficient sink time is my favored method as I find so many more squid strike aggressively when the egi sinks, its simply the way squid hunt. Using an active fishing method you will find your takes and hook ups are more frequent and much more solid. This is caused by the squid gathering the egi on the drop and wrapping itself around it to deliver a bite to the neck of its meal. When you raise the rod hard after a take, the hook up will invariably be on multiple tentacles or near the tougher head area.
Selecting the right jig for the situation is a science in itself and relates more to the under foil on the jig rather than the exterior cloth. I favor gold foils early morning once the sun is up, clear or silver in high sun and red in low light. As for cloth colours I am a sucker personally for naturals.
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| Again solidly hooked in the tougher part of the head |
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| Lightly hooked squid often escape at this point! |
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| Barely hooked on a club tentacle but can be landed if treated softly - softly |
