squid fishing UK- A Beginners guide

Before I even begin to make a start here, I will say that I am categorically not an expert on squid fishing. I have done a fair bit of lure fishing in the past, but until recently squid remained on the to-do list. As a novice squid angler looking in at the scene from the outside, you begin to realise that it’s a huge subject, literally a discipline all of its own and it’s easy to see why many would-be squid anglers could be put off by talk of eging, warm jackets and mantles. But regardless of this, it was when I was presented with non favourable tides and weather conditions for my regular fishing on the Bristol Channel that I decided to head south and find out what this squid fishing is all about. 

As with any type of fishing, the priority is to know that the target is in the area, and numerous reports suggested that squid were being caught along the length of Chesil Beach. The wind was forecast from the north east, which meant that the south facing coast here would be sheltered and the water would be clear. You only have to look at the huge eye on a squid to realise that it’s almost exclusively going to be a visual feeder and that water clarity will play some part in its ability to hunt. 

When it comes to tackle, it seems the norm to target squid with light tackle, so I found an 8’ lure rod and 2500 size reel amongst my collection, the reel holding 20lb braid and a short fluorocarbon leader. This is what I happened to have to hand, but I dare say that when starting out you could certainly use any old lighter rod and reel just to get you going. 

When it comes to the business end, the weird and wonderful array of jigs is bewildering and this is where I found myself applying the most thought. Consulting with a very helpful friend of a friend on the south coast, he suggested that brown, green and blue seemed to work well. I didn’t question why, my brain still struggles to process why any particular lure colour might work in the dark, but I did as I was told and found a small selection on the shelves of VMO that might do the trick. 

Take a look at our selection of squid jigs right here

I was also advised to place a starlight a foot or so back from the lure, and as it turned out, this proved to be very useful for a number of reasons.

It seemed strange driving down to Chesil that evening without my regular beach tackle, but also very refreshing. I literally had the rod rigged up ready to go, a small shoulder bag and a cool box. Squid is an excellent bait and anything I was lucky enough to catch would be vac-packed and froze down later that night. Of course, you have to catch them first, and together with pal John, we set off with much trepidation. Having fished since we were kids, we were both totally green to squid fishing and there was much discussion on the drive down surrounding the magical world of our curious quarry. 

We arrived at the beach just before 5pm, the light was fading and many anglers were lined up along our chosen stretch at the eastern end of the stones. High tide was at 7.30pm and it was what I’d refer to as a small spring, with no moon. Moon phase can apparently play some part in squid fishing, but for the sake of this piece, I’m going to keep things simple and avoid that subject. 

Having found a sizeable gap, we both made our first casts, having very little idea of what we were doing and what to expect. This was exciting in itself though and so very different to what we were used to. We’d only been fishing for ten minutes, probably less, when John called out that he was in. Sure enough, he soon lifted a beautiful squid up the bank and we both marvelled at this unique creature as it went through an almost digital like colour change in an attempt to match the shingle. 

This was all the encouragement we needed, to know that the squid were indeed present and we soon began to steadily catch.

Allowing the lure plenty of time to hit the bottom seemed key, as these jigs are fairly light and do take a while to get down in the deep water. A very slow retrieve, with intermittent stops and jerks of the jig worked well, often inducing a take as the lure begins to move after a rest, but we also had many takes just as the lure came in to view. The starlight proved to be an excellent indicator of when the lure was nearing the beach, and often we would see a take happen just as the glow of the light was close enough to become visible. 

We fished until around 9.30pm, by which time we had a healthy bag of squid. We noted a few interesting points along the way-

Jig colour appeared to make little difference here. I’ve since been told that the squid were there to feed and would literally take anything that moved. At other times, the squid may be inshore to drop eggs, and though they won’t be prioritising feeding, a take can be induced by selecting a jig colour that would antagonise them and cause them to lash out at it. 

We caught on four different colours of jig. 

Takes are unlike anything I have witnessed before. For example, bass hit hard, it’s a real jolt that is unmistakable. With these squid, you suddenly become aware of some weight, followed by a couple of spongy, slow pulls on the rod tip. The larger squid we landed gave a reasonable account of themselves, but they could never be described as impressive fighters. We lost several squid, I can only imagine that the hook hold was poor, but those we landed were best tackled with a slow steady retrieve without any pumping of the rod tip. 

So, that was my first endeavour in to squid fishing. It was very different and a whole lot fun. 

If it’s something you’ve considered, based on my very little experience, I’d offer the following advice. Find a rod and reel that will happily cast a squid jig, find a venue where squid are caught and have a go. Don’t overthink anything. There are undoubtedly many intricacies involving lures, methods, tides etc, but as squid virgins myself and John didn’t have a clue and we still managed to catch. From here on in, it will be a learning curve for sure, but for now we have dipped our toes in the water and only time and experience will build that bigger picture that’s needed to catch consistently, as is the case with any kind of fishing.