Whyalla

[benzeenees]

Just returned from 6 days fishing in Whyalla. Long drive (1500 km) for no big snapper. Two of us caught 6 keepers between 38 - 43 cm. So we turned to squid fishing. After a slow start we started to get into them when some locals suggested we try bright green jigs. It was an overcast day with intermittent sand/weed. We got about 15 that day. On our last day there we concentrated on squid and bagged out. It was sunny. Early on the green jigs worked, but as the su rose the squid changed behaviour. We used a purple top/silver bottom fast sinking Yamashita and a pale brown topped Sumizoku that was almost transparent in the water. There were lots of people squidding and all were catching heaps. Is Whyalla the squid capital of the world?

[BillG]

Just returned from 6 days fishing in Whyalla. Long drive (1500 km) for no big snapper. Two of us caught 6 keepers between 38 - 43 cm. So we turned to squid fishing. After a slow start we started to get into them when some locals suggested we try bright green jigs. It was an overcast day with intermittent sand/weed. We got about 15 that day. On our last day there we concentrated on squid and bagged out. It was sunny. Early on the green jigs worked, but as the su rose the squid changed behaviour. We used a purple top/silver bottom fast sinking Yamashita and a pale brown topped Sumizoku that was almost transparent in the water. There were lots of people squidding and all were catching heaps. Is Whyalla the squid capital of the world?

 

Most would say that Rhode Island, USA is the squid capital of the World. This is based on the cash value of the landings. It's not what it used to be for the recreational angler anymore though. When I was a kid, I had friends who would go out and fill a 5 gallon bucket with squid in an hour. Now, filling a 3 gallon bucket in a couple hours is a good night. However, the commercial catch of squid is huge in most years.

[benzeenees]

That's amazing. But the thought of cleaning 5 gallons of squid doesn't turn me on. 15 squid was bad enough!

[BillG]

That's amazing. But the thought of cleaning 5 gallons of squid doesn't turn me on. 15 squid was bad enough!

 

Most people here freeze them whole and then clean them as they need them or leave them whole for bait. The woman across the street from me when I was a kid had a huge chest freezer. She would start in April/May catching squid, then switch to tinker mackerel, then snapper blues. She had the whole thing packed solid full of squid and small fish by the end of June. Then, she'd go out for bluefish, fluke, and striped bass. She would eat what she caught, but if she didn't catch anything, she would eat her bait.