Squid Jigging

So first, just to be clear, squid isn’t the only thing for which people jig. Jigging simply refers to a type of fishing that employs that use of a jig, which is a weighted lure that comes in many different shapes and colours, and is intended to look like an injured baitfish when jerked up and down in the water. This method happens to be particularly popular for catching squid, likely partly due to its inexpensive nature. But before you send your catch to the top rated airbnb managers in Niagara Falls ON there are a few particularities one must remember when jigging for squid. First of all, let’s be clear that there is such a thing as a squid jig which is, obviously, a jig designed particularly for catching squid. These jigs can be weighted or not, and have a ring of little hooks intended to get all caught up in the squid’s tentacles. Even more fun, they often glow in the dark, as squid are attracted to light.

Because squid are attracted to light and they tend to feed at night, nighttime is your best bet for squid jigging. What you want to do is bring a large light source and shine it on the water in order to attract the squid to that area. Within that patch of light is where you want to lower your lure.

So, you have your squid jigs and your rod, and you know when you should be getting out there. Now what? Well, now comes the jigging bit. As mentioned above, jigging is all about jerking on the rod to trick your quarry into thinking that the lure on the end of your line is actually its next meal. So, you want to toss your line in and let it sink (some say all the way to the bottom, some say not to go all the way down; you make that call as your get more experience).

Then what you want to do is jerk that line up really quickly, then wait for it to settle a little, then jerk it up quickly again, and so on, until you either bring it back up to your dock (at which point you’ll throw it out again), or you feel a slight disturbance on your line. The thing about squid is that they’ll latch onto your lure from below, so you won’t necessarily feel a tug on your line as much as you may feel a slight slackening.

Squid are very speedy and fluid, remember, so as soon as your feel anything out of the ordinary on your line, you’ve likely got a squid. The nice thing about squid is that they won’t fight back, so as long as you keep the line taught (you need to actually sink the hook or just make sure the squid’s tentacles stay tangled in the line) and reel it all the way in, you’ve got your squid! Squid do have little beaks, and have been known to bite if they feel threatened (which they usually do when they’re being yanked out of the water). And, of course, don’t forget about the ink! Luckily, as long as you rinse it out before it dries, the ink won’t harm you or your clothes.

Happy jigging!