Squid jig sizes

[Nude up]

I was reading a post by bowl last week and he was using 2.5 size jigs, which got me to look at my jigs I have a disease and can’t help myself I carry quite a few on the boat. I have 2 size 3 and 4 size 4 for deep water and the rest are 3.5 which is quite a few.
I mostly fish around the bellarine and seem to get on to a few with my go to 3.5 size
I was wondering what is the size that works for you.
As for colours I have my favourites that I work through before trying odd ones. Sometimes just a subtle change in colour lighter or darker does the trick. But sometimes it’s just plain luck I bought a new jig daiwa nude 1st cast bang I was on then nothing change colour and I was back on.
As I fish 90% of the time by myself I work one jig and have one in the rod holder whilst drifting. The worked jig most days out fishes the other jig 10 to 1 just wondering what other people’s experiences have been.

[ronan]

I find 3.0s to be best most of the time, but if the current is going hard I might switch up to a 3.5 . Prefer the lighter jigs a bit more because they have more sink time = more time for squid to grab them.

[bowl]

Hey mate.
Being similar to U,fish solo ECT.
Being a stubborn p**** I usually only buy 3 n 3.5....
My mate who I fish wedge spit with most times outfishes me on sizrs 2 to 5 jigs.......

Think with places with no or little tidal flow ,Clifton Springs, Werribee little jigs are the go in shallow water i.e under 3meters...
Think in 5 metres plus bigger jigs r the go from experience

[Sebb]

Being mostly landbased or on a yak, mostly i fish for squid in 5 meter or less, I use 2.5 or 3.
Red is usually my first go to jig, then green back or white next in line.
Oddly, cephalopods are colourblind, despite their big eyes. They only see black and white but somehow able to detect and mimic the colour of the surroundings.

[Robbie1950]

I'm going to be straight up and say I'm lazy with trying different sizes. On the boat I always use a size 3. My go to colours are white, black and pink in the Yamashita range. My favourite jig of all time which I swear by is a dark green with foil (seaweed looking colour) by Yamashita. This thing will catch squid where there is no squid, it is damn amazing. My friends that come fishing with me are shocked at how much this jig does the damage. I came across it on a video the bloke from Hooked Up TV made and I thought i would give it ago so I bought one. The best $18 I've ever spent!!

https://www.compleatanglermoonta.com.au ... umb=325237

[purple5ive]

Size 3.0 is a must have....

2.5 is also good size when the smaller squid are around which will happen in another few months.

[bowl]

Size 3.0 is a must have....

2.5 is also good size when the smaller squid are around which will happen in another few months.

Caught few near 40cm hoods on 2.5....

[Andrews]

Agreed with all the advice above, find the right sized jig for the depth of the water and the terrain you're covering.

My experience land-based fishing on the Bellarine is that a size 3.0 has the versatility when fishing shallower depths and high weed covered environments. Size 3.5 makes all the difference against strong winds and currents while size 2.5 has an advantage over a 3.0 in the right environment.
One side of my local pier is shallow than the other side due to a high weed coverage. Plenty of squid love to hang there and are unreachable without a size 2.5 jig even on a high tide.

You're right about cephalopods being colour-blind, there is plenty of research being performed around the world and in Port Phillip Bay surrounding their behaviour, breeding and preferences. There was a 2015 report published by the VFA titled "Jigging for Science - Defining the spawning needs of calamari in Port Phillip Bay" which tracked the movement, weed preference and other behaviour of southern calamari around the bay. This report is currently publicly available upon request.

Behavioural research is suggesting that squid are attracted to a range of factors such as movement, sound and even temperature. In a high-water clarity, I always try and match my jig to the colour of baitfish around, with large schools of small sardines entering the bay I've found that a natural blue back/silver body or silver back/silver body has been working better than the darker backed natural colours. I think that 'flash' of silver when the sun hits the jig like we see in baitfish makes all the difference. Deep green water and I'll swap to a green back/silver body and dusk/dawn I'll bring out the fluorescent.

It's common to see people running a second rod using a jig suspended by a float from the pier, you'll get the occasional squid, but working a rod appears to be more productive.

The science of squid fishing, who knew! Hope some of that helps.

[Nude up]

Cheers fellas my go to colour is whiting mottled gold, reddy prawn colour then white, silver mullet colour if they fail there is about another 30 different ones to choose. I find my boat drifts fairly quickly so I tend to use the larger jigs to help me get down closer to the bottom. I can and do on occasions put the drogue chute out but it can get in the way.
I have purchased several of the yamashita jigs with rattles in but do not think they stand in the catching stakes.

[Lightningx]

I’ve always had good success with both 3.0 and 3.5 sizes both landbased and from the boat.