Photos: Spero Kartanos.
BY SPERO KARTANOS
It’s that time of the year when the tiger squid are at their best, and it’s great fun for all, and I’m finding the kids, in particular, love catching them.
Some folks make it sound hard to find tiger squid in Moreton Bay, but let me tell you, it’s easy. A whiting rod and a squid jig are all you need. Cast over the weed banks (especially in whiting areas) and slowly retrieve with or without jerking the rod. If the squid are there, they will grab the jig, and then it’s only a matter of slowly retrieving them. A net close to the boat is good, or you can lift them out of the water and grab between the squid’s body and head. When you turn them upside down, water will be released, and it can’t ink you! If there is no water in the squid’s body, it can’t ink you. And don’t believe the stories about leaving squid in water to get rid of all the ink – it’s not true; they only mix a small amount with water to spurt out, and they have plenty of ink to do that.
So where are the tiger squid? Try the shallow weed banks on the western side of Moreton Island, the Small Boat Channel to the Rous entrance, the Rainbow Channel, and all the Bay Islands when the water is clean.
The rods and reels you need are the same as any whiting rods you have, but I would recommend good quality squid jigs like Yamashita and Daiwa and Masuta. The colours I find best are any of the orange prawn patterns. Pilchard colours and reds work best for me, and there are plenty of variations on the market. I tend to buy too many to ever use, so three or four jigs are all you need.
So go get them, tiger squid are great fun to catch and very tasty to eat, and I hope you get inked as this means you’ve caught some (even the author gets inked sometimes).
Updates on where to fish and what jigs are working the best are on fishingmonthly.com.au, along with Moreton Bay reports. Water Tower Bait and Tackle at Manly carry all the jigs I use.
