Jiggy Jig

Just for something different I grabbed my mate Dale and went for a slight offshore jaunt on Friday gone, more exploration than anything else but I did not forget the egi gear either.

I have been waiting for a forecast like this for a little while now, light north winds, this keeps the swell down when spending some time outside Western Port or on the other side of Phillip Island. I have recently started mucking around with some slow and some light jigging gear and wanted to try for something a little different to the snapper we had been catching. I did not want huge deep water, just enough to get the jigs moving so we started in the 12 meter area and drifted out to about 30 meters. Dale has a lot more time on the water outside than me and he runs a successful guiding service doing just that, taking people outside to learn the way the water works and teaching them where to find various species of fish. If any one is keen they can contact him on 0421177731. Tell him I sent ya.

No secret I was actually looking for King Fish, we did find some fish but the low temps and green yuk water conditions kept the fish off the bite, I tried a range of jigs from vertical knife style jigs through to Kubara and Inchiku Jigs but nothing could get them on the chew. We did however encounter the usual suspects with Flathead, Blue Throat, Barracouta and Pike along with a few other big toothed oogly googs that bit some of my assist hooks off, persistence in this case did not pay off but rest assured that we will be back soon to have another crack at them.

I would not have gone any where with out a handful of Gan Craft Violence Jerks and an arsenal of Egi, once outside it was amazing to see how much squid filled water we have access to outside the bays. Best of all the drifts are longer and better timed with a nicer speed, clean water all over the place and a plethora of bait fish all over to feed them, I have no doubt that there is a fair bit of spawn happening outside that does not even get noticed. I found some good mops of spawn in one area that was about 8 meters deep, next time I reckon I will get out the snorkel and mask and have a deeper look at things out there. In the end we managed a nice bag of squid and a few bait fish that Dale wanted for an upcoming Mako Shark trip he had planned.

The water was the calmest I had ever seen before, Dale also commented about the same, we have both experienced it glassing off of a night but this was the flattest I had ever seen it during day light hours, you dont need a massive cruiser or game fishing weapon to get out there, when the conditions are right I reckon a Kayak would be in its element. My boat is only a 5.4m Center Console and it loved the conditions, that said I have also been out there is stupid condition and the boat loved that too. So next time you launch your boat along with half of Melbourne and you struggle to get any where near your fave fishing spot take some time if the conditions allow and get out side the box, or in this case the bays and have a play, you will like what you see.

Hooked Up Magazine Feature

For those who have do not have access to Australian tackle stores you can find a copy of my feature article in Hooked Up Magazine at their web site HOOKED UP MAGAZINE its a 4 page spread on squid fishing from the very basic to the more advanced, I hope you enjoy.