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.

Finding small squid for a feed

I was faced with a challenge last week, normally the challenge is to find some big squid, however when your mates want some smaller ones for a recipe it had my mind wondering where to go to find small squid.

In the past I have attempted to focus all my squid fishing on finding big squid so when asked to present some smaller squid I had to think back some time to the places where I could consistently find smaller squid, still not talking babies but looking for squid between 25 and 30 cm because apparently they taste nicer. I knew that Western Port has plenty of squid in all sizes so we headed to Hastings boat ramp and planned the rest of the day from there.

We started off with a forecast saying it was going to be about 10-15 knots from the south so I thought a trip to the eastern entrance of the port was in order, however, the 35 knot south west wind we were presented with was not what I would call ideal for a long trip. That said we powered on down towards Cleeland Bight the ports eastern entrance through the chop and rubbish wind. It took a little longer than first planned but we made it all the same. We spent about 30 minutes down here landing about 1/2 a bag of just the right sized squid, I had to down size my jigs to size 3.0 as I was looking for smaller versions. The place was just not firing like I had expected so after the first round of punishment through the weather another move was made towards Stoney Point where the wind and tide were playing nice for a good drift. It did not take too long to find our bag of squid with a couple of Cuttlefish thrown in for whiting baits another day.

No matter how bad things are with weather in the boat it beats the hell out of working.

2012 Greatest year in my short life.

I have noticed many saying that 2012 was just another year and it is done and dusted, however, for me it was one of the most eventful and exciting years of my life.


It started off a little sad with the passing of a family member in Lois Stewart (Mother in Law) at the end of 2011 but it gave me an excuse to dedicate the name of my new boat to this beautiful woman who was able to bring me her beautiful daughter Kim who I was able to secure with a ring in Melbourne shortly after during a cracking wedding in the city of Melbourne. Yes I had to wear a suit but it was well worth it.

Kim has been my biggest support thus far and without her in my life I would not have been able to achieve so much with my fishing projects. Time on the water and time travelling around the country and the world in aid of the humble squid, this could not have been possible without her support and I thank my lucky stars every day for the forgiving and understanding wife that I have.

Things were not always smooth in 2012 like every one else I suffered hardship with health, finances and limitations with a few injuries but my passion for the water was always stronger than the pain and I just kept fishing, I remember getting in a car with my 2 best mates Dan and Dale and heading for Portland shortly after surgery on my mouth and keeping the good folks that make pain killers in business. Could hardly stand up by the end of the day but we got  a nice Tuna to make up for it.

One thing from this year that will always be in my 2012 memory bank is having the privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with the masses of recreational anglers on the Super Trawler protest, watching the line of boats heading over the Westgate bridge was a sight like never before, that was not the only rec fishing political stand point and particular thanks go out the the team at WEFISH Dale McClelland,  Daniel Stanilovic and Ben Scullin who I proudly worked with on many issues through out the year that many would not have even been aware of, Daniel in particular spent countless hours supplying research to many groups who had never had it in the past and showed that the WEFISH group was a well organised and well oiled machine with nothing that could push hard enough to make us not push back twice as hard. Every angler who is looking for some one to thank for doing heaps behind the scene they should look these guys up and give em a pat on the back.

Something that I have always loved is spending time in Angling Clubs and tackle stores talking all things squid, 2012 took me to 5 states in Australia and 2 countries sharing with squid like minded people, its amazing how far we have come in the squid fishing market in such a short time, in the year gone I managed to pump out 28 talks in angling clubs and tackle stores, 3 radio programs, 2 tv shows, 4 days at the Melbourne Boat Show and publish 3 articles all in the name of squid.

Apart from my wedding my greatest highlight was my Japan trip, not only was it a cracking awaking of a whole new culture but the quality of people I came in contact with was nothing short of humbling, thanks to my friends already in Japan who I now call my Gan Craft Family my experience was surreal  spending time in the Gosen Factory sussing out how line is made to having a perusal at how Gan Craft lures are put together. I also had the opportunity to see a true craftsman playing with a new range of lures that came out on the market in Japan last week, watching the founder of Gan Craft in his office with his tools was like nothing I had experienced before and noting short of amazing, but the best bit was the Bass. I had a guided trip on Lake Gogawa with Mr Hiraiwa himself, this is not an opportunity that comes often, it was a once in a lifetime, although I had never really used a bait caster before Mr Hiraiwa's patience was incredible (I would have pushed me overboard) and to top it off I landed 3 cracking Large Mouth Bass, 1 at 55cm one at 51cm and one at 36cm I still get giggly like a school girl thinking of that day and then to play a joke on Mr Geki Yoshida with the electric motor and get it on film for endless laughs for years to ome topped it off, these 2 guys are considered to be 2 of Japan's if not the worlds best Bass Fishermen so to be able to learn from 2 true masters of the sport and absolute gentlemen was an honor. I am not gonna start on the food because we dont all have a week to read this so all I will say is MOS Burger and Akio Ogawa Stock up I am coming back in a few weeks.

All in all its been a spectacular year and one that is going to be hard to beat this year, however, already a few things happening with a new job, a new car another trip to Japan and maybe one to Malaysia along with a few other things that I will talk more about as the year progresses. None of my achievements last year could have been possible without the support of my wife, my mates and my sponsors. Special mention goes out to Stephen Blackmore from Gladiator Tackle, Yuki Kitagawa from Tsuda Group and my Gan Craft Family for giving me the ability to do what I needed to do.

Last year I had more than 50 000 visits to this blog and am currently averaging more than 4000 a month so I thank you all for your support and stick around we got heaps more where this lot came from!

Marron Madness in Victoria

Many people in Australia will know well that Marron are an indigenous species of fresh water cray fish to Western Australia, now we dont know how they got to Victoria and at this stage I dont think any one is complaining too much as apparently they taste great. That said we do not like the idea of them making their way into rivers and streams that hold numbers of Spiny Fresh Water Cray Fish, Murray Cray Fish or Snowy River Cray Fish as it is believed that the Marron would win in the fight of habitat and food share and would render our local species losers in the fight to compete for food and territory. We do know that at this stage they are fairly contained but what people need to understand is that if they are to take Marron from waters in Victoria, as an invasive species they must not transport them live any where, making an ice slurry is a great way to euthanize Marron, the temperature drop puts them to sleep fast causing the least amount of stress. If you fins some Marron in a waterway near you in Victoria it is paramount that you do not take them home or move them about as the spread of an invasive species could have serious effects on the local environment.

When you do find a waterway that contains Marron if you do want to catch them you will need a bright torch, a prawning net and something on your feet that will give you traction in slippery mud, idealy you will find some one else to tag along as being near the water at night on your own just aint safe.

I reckon thats enough of the hints and tips, I wont promote the locations as some folks just could not help them self and we would end up with Marron all over the place.

We arrived at our location at around 1930 and looked at the area's we were going to tackle, as night fell we made our way around the perimeter of the waterway in our search for these snappy little critters, after a few hours we had more than enough for a feed so we called it a night and went home so I could go to work. Was a cracking evening with 3 mates who I enjoy spending time with on and in the water.

Lower Western Port Egi Gan Craft Style

First of all I must apologize for my lack of blogging its been a massive month for me at work and time has been a premium, this is the longest my boat has sat still since buying it and I feel guilty for not giving her a run, however, a week ago I had a small window of opportunity with both the wind and work so I managed to grab my mate Dan and go in search of some squid down south.

We launched at my normal haunt in Hastings and made the 30 km trip down south in search of some bigger model squid that we had not had a real crack at for a few weeks, I have been avoiding boat ramps because of snapper season mayhem.


The morning started off nice with a light 5 knot south westerly blowing, that was until we got down past sandy point and the wind picked up a bit, conditions were not great but they were far from a deterrent and it was still comfortable. We got to our spot and no one else was in sight so I thought I would do some sounding around for some bigger fish that I will be soon chasing with my jigging gear in the deeper water around my squid spot, some very impressive and promising marks appeared on the sounder but I knew the conditions were not yet right for these fish to be on the bite yet so after marking a few isolated bits of reef I ventured over to my squid spot.

It did not take long for things to fire up, the first drift produced a few squid but nothing that I was overly impressed with, we did a few more drifts and although we landed a couple of squid things were far from exciting, I decided to take a deeper drift line, this is where things got better. We managed to pick up 5 in one drift all weighing in over 1.8kg and one that was just short of 2.8kg. It had been a while since a squid had pulled 3kg of drag off me and this one took about 20 meters.

We had a bag of squid so I decided that we needed to have a look offshore for some of the squid that inhabit the close reef structures near the penguin parade, conditions had picked up to about 15-20 knots SW and we could only get to within about 80 meters of the shore without getting involved with the breakers that some surfers seemed to be enjoying. We had no luck on the squid but a few of our UO-JYA egi received the fatal blow of the many pike and couta in the area. Time to pack things up and head back inside.

With the wind picking up from the south west we decided to head over towards Flinders for a quick look as we would have a little shelter from the winds. Things were pretty quiet in Flinders so we called it a day.

Back home just after lunch with a nice bag of squid for Dan to take home for a feed, we did let some of the breeding stock go as these guys were not ready to die yet and had heaps of life left in them.

Good mates, Good time on the bay.

Been a while since I have been able to head out with a couple of good mates and the last time I fished with Dan and Dale was the week before my wedding when we headed to Portland for a bucks turn and chase some Tuna.

I had just got home from Adelaide and had a quick nana nap when Dan mentioned to me on facebook that they were fishing in the morning and there was a spot on the boat should I want it, I was exhausted from the quick trip to Adelaide but how can I resit a day with my mates on Port Phillip Bay chasing a few Snapper around.

For me it was all about jigging as I have just started to get into it for all manner of species but realy enjoying the challenge of Snapper, its something that is fairly popular around the rest of the world but for some reason in Victoria its un heard of so why not give it a crack. The other 2 stuck with mixed baits of Squid, Pilchards and Silver Whiting.

We Got to the boat ramp at Patterson River at about 0345 on a Sunday Morning and were met with a que about 200 meters long all the way back to the road, after a few pleasantries we parked the car and loaded up to walk down to the Coast Guard pontoon to meet Dale who was already floating, we got moving and received a phone call from a mate who was in the que that was now more than 1.5km long, lucky we were not 15 minutes behind. Victorian Government need to pull a finger out here, facilities for less than 10% of the boats owned in Victoria and snapper season and a nice sunny day see's kaos reign, thank God for the Hogans and there crew for keeping it in as much order as it can be.

We started sounding around a few area's that had produced well over the last few days but alas the fish had moved on, the bay was lit up like a Christmas Tree with boats as far as the eye can see so we looked for a place as far away as we could from the crowds, this was a bigger task than you think with the amount of boats on the water and more arriving by the minute. We started to head deeper when the sounder lit up with a screen full of fish. We need travel no further we found fish and not another boat in sight.

Anchor down and lines out, I started tying knots and setting up my jigging gear, it only took about 5 minutes before Dan had loaded up and a fair sort of fish before I had even got a jig n the water, I had a feeling that I would get panced by the boys and their baits. I kept on keeping on and finaly as Dale lands another I am in the water jigging. Things were looking a bit grim as more fish started pouring in over the side while I gave my arm a work out. Things were looking grim as I was pulling in Flathead after Flathead and it was starting to look as though I would not see anything other than flathead.

It took a while but in the end I managed to pick up a small one on a Blue and Pink Inchiku Jig and another on a 80g Quick flutter jig. Not the first snapper on jigs for me but I am fairly confident that things will get better as we work out teh best technique to get the snapper going, I used a mix of fast slow big small rapid and jerky styles with nothing being the stand out. I was using a PE2 Prototype Jig stick we are working on teamed up with a Shimano Ocea Jigger 2000NRHG, combo felt nice in my hands and made an easy task for the hours we were out.

We fished until about 1300 in the afternoon and decided to try and make it in before the crowds also made their way in, however, we got back in at about 1310 and did not get on the trailer till about 1400.

All in all it would not have mattered if we caught nothing, the time on the water with friends mucking around and laughing all day was what it was about, catching fish was the bonus.

Talking Squid at Ray & Annes Tackle

We finally made it to Adelaide to do a squid talk, we have been kicking the idea around for ages and we managed to get everything together for a quick fly by session at Ray & Annes Tackle.

The day started a bit full on with me starting work at 0300 in the morning as per normal, after working till about 1300 I scammed a lift to the airport with the new boss (good bloke) and boarded a plane for Adelaide, quick check in and arrive in Adelaide at about 1700, Lee from Gladiator was good enough to pick me up at the airport and off to Ray and Annes Tackle to meet with Bruce. We were met with a well stocked store some cracking staff and pizza to ensure we did not starve. Everyone was great and looked after us well.

We did not have a lot of time to set up so I got to work  getting the projector and screen set up to kick off in about 20 minutes. Before we had finished setting up plenty of squid mad folks started turning up with questions in hand.

Presentation went down well and plenty of great questions from the crowd, makes it a lot easier to do these things when the folks listening are thirsty for more info, the night was a very enjoyable and we do have plans to come back  one day soon.

Massive Thanks to Bruce and his staff for the hospitality before during and after the talk.

Quick after work session

Boat has been dry for a few weeks after doing some routine and some not so routine work to the boat so when some nice weather came along I hitched the boat up before work with the anticipation of a short day at the office.

Hastings Channel

I finished work at around 1400 and was at the boat ramp in Hastings by about 1445 and floating by 1500, with the changes to the available light we now have with daylight savings I knew I had plenty of time, normally I make the trip straight to the south of the port but today I decided to go east and fish some water I had not fished for a while. The wind was variable at about 10 knots and I was fishing in a cove type of area, this made it hard to get a good consistent drift working as the tide movement was all over the place as was the wind.

I stuck with it for about 20 minutes before my first squid came into the boat. I had decided that today I was going to fish only with my new Australian colors, the first one cam on the Kuma Killer, it was the first one I had tied on. I kept the drift going for a while landing a few along the way.

Gan Craft Egi-Jya Kuma Killer

Things went a bit quiet so I decided to make the move back up to the trusty Tyabb Bank, things were very similar to where I was fishing before. I landed a couple more before moving a little further north to the Quail Bank I did manage a 5 way hook up while I was here by swapping rods and casting behind the jigs that had squid on them but when you do this you also risk a big clean up at the end of the day, my boat was covered in ink by the end of it.

Not sure why but the water seems to be some what murky considering the weather we were experiencing but the big tides were not helping. I fished for about an hour longer before calling it a day, I managed a good bag of squid, I took some photo's of some of the better ones. I would normally snap a heap more pics off but when you are fishing on your own and drifting you dont want to spend too much time drifting around without paying attention. I was going to head out again today but the dreaded man flu has taken a hold so I will stick to sitting in front of the computer updating my blog LOL

Stella, Certate Hyper Custom ad Luvius Custom

too many squid means too much mess

Ramen - Learning how

As many people would know I am no stranger to the enjoyment of food, not so much for sustenance but also for the pleasure of simply eating.

During my recent visit to Japan I discovered a food called Ramen, the easiest way to explain Ramen is it is pretty much a noodle broth served with meat and 3 veg on the top. The Ramen I tried in Tanabe City in Japan was amazing, having never seen Ramen on any menu's in Australia I thought that it would be one of those things I would only find in Japan so I would rarely have the opportunity to eat it, however, on my return to Australia I consulted with my good friend and ever resourceful Mr Google, Google was able to find me several Ramen restaurants reasonably close to where I live. Now all I had to do was share this taste with my friends. I visited this Ramen restaurant a few times and although I enjoyed the meal it was not the same as what I had experienced in Japan.

As I was visiting this place weekly a great guy and chef from Ichi Ni, Melbourne's best Izakaya restaurants Wataru Su, noticed my visits and made an amazing offer of coming to my house and teaching me or should I say my wonderful wife Kim how to make our own Ramen. I was very gracious of the offer and accepted, now I have eaten Wataru's food before so I know this was going to be a cracking experience.

Wataru spent age's preparing the stock, this apparently is the most time consuming and difficult part of the dish, from what I have heard from some the stock can take days to prepare, he did most of this part at home using his wifes secret recipe (hahahaha not so secret now) so Upon his arrival all we had to do was finish the broth from the stock, roast the pre marinated pork, cook the noodles and enjoy the feast. I stayed out of the way while Wataru slaved in the kitchen with Kim watching on taking down notes.

My interest in the process was re kindled when I saw some Gyoza appear. Gyoza is a Japanese style grilled dumpling and is my favorite of all the Japanese foods I have eaten. Wataru was nearing the end of the cooking and my mouth was watering. He started by removing the Pork from the oven and slicing it into sections, then the noodles were placed into bowls. He then took the Ramen broth and poured it into the bowls over the noodles before adding bean shoots and shallots. This looked amazing and smelled just as nice. Now all I needed was to add the pork and the beer and we were winning.

I smashed the meal like it was my last and destroyed the plate of Gyoza, the meal was simply amazing and in my own house, we finished it off by watching some clips of Geki Yoshida on youtube via the smart TV in the lounge and talking about fishing, does it get any better than this, I think not.

Massive thanks to Wataru for his time and patience, it was an incredible evening of dining and talking about fishing and to my wife for taking down notes and learning how to also cook Ramen.

The Pork

Ramen and Noodles

Then the veg added

Then the Pork and the beer

Then the Gyoza and the finished meal