4WD Touring Australia — October 2017

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KNOWLEDGE

Catching squid on jigs? It’s an art and a science.

T

he squid’s alien appearance, chameleon-like ability to blend into its environment

and shrewd cunning has enthralled generations of Aussie anglers.

Its pulsating skin, swirling tentacles and razor beak might conjure up ideas of some

horror from the deep, but its esh is a melt-in-your-mouth delicacy when prepared right.

Until the wave of Italian and Greek immigrants turned up halfway through last

century with some decent calamari recipes, Australians had no idea how to prepare

squid properly, and ended up deciding that it was only good for bait.

These days you’d be at out nding a pub between Bondi and Birdsville that

doesn’t have crumbed calamari rings on the menu.

Vaguely prawn-shaped, multi-pronged jigs have been the primary weapon in the

squid hunter’s arsenal for decades now.

In the past, these jigs were simple affairs, uniformly coloured pink or white cylinders

with a single or double row of wonky steel prongs to snare curious tentacles.

These days, Australians are taking note of the detailed, nely textured jigs

employed by Japanese EGI anglers. These dedicated purists have really elevated the

art of squid hunting over the last decade, and expensive, imported jigs are now the

armaments du jour of the serious ceph enthusiast.

4WD Touring’s associate editor and resident fishing tragic.

Hungry for specific fishing info you’d like covered?

Email Pat here: [email protected]

SQUID SPECIES

PAT WILLIAMS

THE JIG

IS UP

The southern calamari is the most popular squid species

in Australian waters and is widely targeted by rec shos.

They’re frequently caught in good numbers from Brisbane

around the southern half of the country and up the west

coast to Perth.

They’re known to be short lived and quick growing

and respond well to a variety of angling techniques. Of

all the various cephalopods caught around the country,

the southern calamari is the best target for those looking

to take home a decent feed. Good sized calamari squid

can easily attain hood lengths over 30cm, with the largest

specimens measuring up to 50cm.

Arrow squid are smaller, with somewhat tougher esh

and are considered to be a lower quality food species,

although they’re still highly prized as bait and the larger

specimen have enough meat on them to warrant a fry up.

They’re very common in and around the estuaries

of New South Wales and can be really prolic in some

waterways such as Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury

River. They’re the perfect species to hone your squid

catching ability on as they’ll willingly hit a jig and can

sometimes be caught in ample numbers.

Northern calamari squid are the tropical neighbour of

their better known southern relative. They’re sometimes

encountered in northern New South Wales waters and are

caught frequently all the way up the Queensland coast

and across the Top End. Although they’re smaller than

southern calamari, they cook up just as well.

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