I managed to get out for a quick session yesterday afternoon with a mate Daron, Daz has been squid fishing for years but has only recently grasped the more aggressive action needed to swim the egi as designed and clearly he has got it sussed. We started off heading to an area known for big squid at this time of the year but upon arrival it was clear that recent rain and big winds played a part in the water clarity with the water holding lots of sediment, we had a quick cast but it was made obvious in a short time that the water clarity giving approx 1 meter of sight below the surface was not going to assist in getting any big squid from distance, a short move to the Queenscliff area brought a similar conclusion so a trip back towards Portsea was called. he water was much clearer here but looking around we observed plenty of other boats in the area and no one had rods bent or were landing squid. Daron landed one half decent model around a kg but the water was fast as was the wind, thoughts of a location with slower water and better wind were at the front of our minds. A quick move to a location known to us both well and sure enough in a short time the squid turned on. I dont know how many we landed but there was enough for Daron to have a feed (I dont eat fish or squid) and plenty to go back to finish off what they were doing there in the first place, making more squid.
Last nights trip did do one thing, it helped with a bit of data I have been looking at on squid patterned spawning. The location we fished in the southern part of Port Philip Bay was a spot I have been going to a lot over the past few months, on previous trips I have noticed the size of the squid were smaller than on previous years for the time of the year we were fishing. The water temps have been warmer in the bay than previous years and although the squid were bigger in size in the past they were in less numbers. This year they appear to be smaller in size but in higher numbers in the same area. 2 months ago the squid we were catching were averaging the 18 to 25 cm size yet now the same area is producing squid averaging 35cm. It appears that the resident squid from 2 months ago have remained in the same area, from the squid kept as food when cleaning we noticed an abundance of females with egg's and some fertilized eggs. This would indicate that the squid were were catching 2 months ago were preparing to spawn in the same area and had done so as the water temp changed. This is a great sign of things to come as we know that at least one other spawn will happen in October as the water temp goes up a bit, we also know that squid were in spawn as early a June when some bigger male squid were caught with sperm packets ready to distribute. In the past we were of the belief that squid only spawn over a 2 month period yet from this years catches we have been able to show that it is now occurring over a 4 month period.
Why is this so important? as squid only live for between 300 and 350 days with the spawn spread out over a longer period the squid sizes will be of a higher average throughout the year with breeding taking place over a longer period. It also means that the concentration of spawning squid will be wider spread an less pressure will be on squid in spawn at particular times of the year. Here hoping for a bigger and better future for squid locally.
