🎣 How to Catch Squid (Southern Calamari)
The Southern Calamari is a thrilling target for anglers across Port Phillip Bay, offering fast-paced action and excellent eating. Whether you’re drifting in a boat or casting from your local pier, this guide will help you hook up more often with these inshore squid.
🚤 Boat Fishing for Calamari
Calamari love shallow weed beds, rocky areas, and reef patches, particularly between 0.5 to 6 metres deep. These zones are prime to catch squid, drifting with squid jigs or baited prongs behind the boat.
✅ Key Tips for Success:
Jig Selection: Calamari can be selective—match colour, sink rate, and action to water clarity and light.
Tides & Currents: Focus on slack tide or smaller movements, especially in southern Port Phillip.
Time of Day: Fish are often most aggressive at dawn and dusk, or under low-light conditions.
🎣 Boat Tackle Setup:
Rod: 8ft 2in egi-style rod (soft, flexible action)
Reel: 2000–2500 spin reel
Line: 8 lb braid with 10 lb fluorocarbon leader
Jigs: Size 2.5–3.5
Bait Rig Option to catch squid : Silver whiting on a prong beneath a float
💡 Anchoring and bait fishing can be especially effective when targeting larger calamari.
🏖️ Shore-Based Squid Fishing
Piers, jetties, and rocky points are fantastic locations, especially in the evening when lights attract baitfish—a squid magnet!
✅ Key Tips for Shore-Based Success:
High tide is prime time—avoid fishing in strong current or murky water after storms.
Use heavier jigs to compensate for the height of piers, improving sink rate.
Cover water slowly and methodically—once you find one, there’s usually more!
🎣 Shore Tackle Setup:
Use the same gear as for boat fishing, but opt for faster-sinking jigs for better contact with bottom and structure.
🧠 Pro Tip:
Locate a school and stay on them—Southern Calamari often travel in groups, and you can easily bag out in minutes if you time it right.
🛒 Ready to Squid Up?
From premium squid jigs and floats to egi rods and fluorocarbon leader, we’ve got what you need to hook, land, and clean up on calamari this season.
👉 Shop everything at: https://vtackle.com.au/
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