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1. INTRODUCTION
There are many species of squid available in the world's oceans, and since squid jigging requires little modification to
general handline gear it is well suited as a seasonal activity to supplement existing handline operations or any other
traditional fishery. Since squid is also a good bait fish we believe it is proper to include squid jigging in this booklet.
Squid jigging most often takes place at night with bright overhead lights to attract the squid.
Jigs of various types, makes and colour are attached to the handline at 70 to 90 cm intervals. Often as many as 8 to
12 jigs are on one line, and many more are used on automated squid reeling systems.
The lines are lowered to 30 to 100 m depth depending on the strength of the lights used, but less deep on a small
boat with one or two lamps.
It is important to keep the jig moving constantly in the water. This is usually done by jerking the line, quickly pulling in
the slack, jerking once again and so on, until the jig is back to the surface (Figure 60). The line is then thrown out and
allowed to sink to the desired depth, and the same jerking motion is repeated over again.
Squid eat a lot and therefore grow very fast. They eat almost anything: crab, shrimp, small fish and even other squid.
They swim very fast using water jet propulsion but still are often eaten by whales, seals, birds and large fish. They
have an ink sack from which they produce a black cloud around themselves in which to hide when they are scared.
They also change colour as they move from shade to light and vice versa and are therfore difficult to see. This
explains why they can be difficult to catch and why jigging is most often the best method.
Figure 60. Here is a fisherman on a small boat moving his hand in a constant jerk haul in slack, jerk haul in
slack action
A round steel bolt, wood or bamboo for the stem (Figure 62a).
Suitable wire for the barbless hooks, bent into a J shape (Figure 62b).
Figure 62. The material you need to make a squid jig: (a) long thin bolt; (b) wire for hooks; (c) twine; (d) piece of
cuttlefish or squid skin
Take the twine and tie the wire hooks around the threads of the bolt (Figure 63). Next, wrap the skin around the bolt
and tie well with a loop on the end for the line.
You can also use a piece of thin bamboo (Figure 64a). Tie the wire used for barbless hooks with thin wire, and form
loops at both ends of the jig (Figure 64b). Finally, wrap the skin or coloured plastic around the stem (Figure 64c).
If you use bamboo, make sure enough weight is put on the jig to sink it. This you can do either by adding weight to
the end of your line or by wrapping a thin lead sheet around the bamboo stem before the coloured plastic or skin.
Figure 63. Bolt with wire hooks tied on
In contrast to the hub presented in Figure 50, the hub of the squid reel should be 140 mm thick instead of 70 mm
(Figure 65). It should be of oval shape but still 300 mm wide as before. The prepared squid reel is shown in Figure
66. The reel shaft will now be 230 mm long instead of 160 mm.
The handle shaft will be 324 mm long instead of 254 mm, but that is all we need to change on the reel itself.
Figure 66. Squid reel ready for assembly
The height of the roller above the wire mesh frame depends on whether or not you are using the snood method for
your jigs. If you use the direct head-to-end method (Figure 71a) then the height is not so important, but if you are
using snoods (Figure 71b) then the roller must be high to avoid tangling of the jigs with the wire mesh netting.
Now put the reel in its position and you are ready to squid jig with the handreel, roller and wire mesh frame (Figure
72).
Figure 72. Squid fishing with handreel
7 or 8 m of 10 mm nylon rope.
A large float.
Swivels.
16 mm rope to use for the anchor rope, safety rope and float rope.
Sinkers.
The bridles should be 7 to 8 m long, spliced to a large swivel on to which you fasten your anchor rope. You should
also use a swivel for your float rope.
When the sea anchor is not in use you must wind the canvas up on the round bar at the bottom. Remember to always
keep it on board, as it can also be used as a sail.
On a small canoe, for example (Figure 76), you can fix one or two lamps above or even outside the bulwark on one
side (see Figure 68) and still create a shaded zone under the boat. On larger boats with stronger lights the lamps
should always be positioned well above and inside the boat (see Figure 77).
Sometimes underwater lights are used on large boats. They are sunk as deep as possible and then slowly hauled
back to the boat (Figure 78). This is done to try to lure the squid from deep water into the light or shade from the
above deck lights.
Figure 77. A larger boat with the lights well above the deck
Figure 78. Underwater lamp hauled from deep water to lure the squid to the surface
Part III
Automatic handlining and squid jigging
1. AUTOMATIC HANDLINING AND SQUID JIGGING MACHINES
Many automatic jigging machines are available on the world markets today for both hydraulic and electric power.
Figure 79 shows two models designed for finfish. Figure 80 shows one designed for squid jigging. All these machines
are electrically driven. The main difference between the two kinds is the shape of the hauling reels, i.e. oval or
elliptical on squid jigging machines but round on fish jigging machines. Normally a single squid jigging machine drives
two reels but a fish jigging machine drives only one.
Figure 79. Electrically driven automatic fish jigging machines
Most automatic jigging machines have an easily operated control board which can be adjusted to suit most fishing
conditions. Variables that can be controlled include:
Sensitivity when hauling, to prevent slackening or overloading of the line even when the boat rolls.
You may catch more fish, as one person can operate three machines instead of one hand-operated line.
You can enjoy the fishing as the work becomes much easier.
You need a lot of money to start fishing with automatic jigging machines.
You may have to modify your boat or fit a generator to provide enough power to drive the machines.
If your boat is small and without an engine, you may have to purchase a new boat with an engine to be able
to accommodate and operate the automatic jigging machines.
If something goes wrong you may have problems in finding a person who can repair or fix the automatic
jigging machines.
With all these points carefully considered and prices checked, you should be able to make your decision.
Good luck and good fishing!