Eging can be very rewarding if you master the skill of it. Usually squids come in schools, though there are not many sizable squids to catch along the Singapore shoreline, once you find the school and with the appropriate gear and skills, we can get a reasonable harvest.
Season
There are certain times of the year when the squids will come nearer to the shoreline in huge numbers. Basically they come in schools and for most time of the year, stay in deep waters. During June to September in the Southeast Asian region, large numbers of squids will venture to shallower waters, this is the time when eging can be a back aching experience.
There are two main methods to catch squids: Netting
Squids are attracted to light, so hanging a strong kerosene lamp near the surface of the water will attract the squids to surface. And when the squid are mesmerized by the light, lower the net in one swift action scooping the squid from the back. By the time the squid sense danger and attempt to escape, it will jet itself backward right into the on coming net.
Luring
The natural food for squid is prawns and fish. We can lure them using both artificial or real bait. First we shall look into the method for luring squid before choosing a lure for it. You can refer to our rig section for tying a rig for eging.
Artificial lure
Bait lure
Squids can be caught at different depths but the most productive is at the bottom, it’s where the monster squid lurks too. Basically, the lure is bounced on the sea bed either traveling in a horizontal direction or simply just bouncing at a particular spot vertically up and down. We would recommend the lure to be bounced along the seabed in a horizontal direction as it can cover a larger area. Try to bounce the lure before it touches the sea bed and let it sink by its own weight again.
Whenever it comes to luring, we have to consider three main factors - moving action, colour and size of the lure.
Moving action
Most strikes from squid come when the lure is sinking. Therefore it is very important that the sinking motion can attract the squid. To coordinate this, the sinker and the lure size have to be adjusted accordingly to the current. As a general guideline, when there is no or very weak current, no sinker is required. Just let the lure sink by itself and do the bouncing action.
If the current gets stronger, add a small sinker to it so that the lure can still sink to the bottom. The sinker cannot be too heavy as it will cause the lure to sink at a faster speed which might not be effective in attracting squids to strike. You can also use a bigger squid lure during stronger currents for its heavier weight, but that means there’s a lesser chance of smaller squids taking your lure. Therefore it is very difficult to catch squids when fishing in deep waters of more than 50m (in Southeast Asia) or when the current is very strong, as it is hard to match a very heavy sinker to a small squid lure, causing the movements to be impeded.
Colour
It is more effective to use bright colours during a bright sunny colour and change to dull colour when eging at night. The most effective colour I find at night is reddish brown, and almost any bright colours work during the day.
Size
Usually the size of the lure range we recommend is from 2.0 to 3.5. This range can catch squid size of 100 grams to as big as 2.0 kg.
Some brands are proven to be more effective than the others due to their lure colour and moving action. We recommend Yozuri and Yamashita, but their price is higher as well.
Types of squid
There are two types of squid you can find in this region.
The bigger one is the reef squid.
The more streamline one is the arrow squid.
Sometimes you can also expect cuttlefish which can grow very big as well.
Precaution
The ‘beak’ (mouth) of the squid is very strong and hard, it can easily deliver a nasty bite causing bleeding. So please handle live squid with care, as their tentacles can also grip your fingers to their mouths and bite.
Everyone should be aware that squid will squirt ink when they are threatened. So please point the head of the squid away from people. Pointing it towards the sky is also not a good idea as a big squid can squirt enough ink vertically into the sky and create a raining ink effect.
Don’t worry, the ink is harmless, though it can be very harmful to your shirt and pants, especially white ones.
