04-05-2011, 11:20 AM
Hi Guys,
As the weather gets colder I have started hitting Port Arlington pier. I have fished it twice over the last 3 weeks. 2 weeks ago I fished on Sunday evening when we had some terrible weather. Before the rain and wind set in I caught 7 squid (mostly small) in about 2 hours. Old timer dropped a cuttlefish ( he estimated it at about 7Kgs! - and I believe hime because one of the tenticles that he retrieved was as thick as a 50c coin).
As we start moving into winter and gradually toward spring overlooked piers such as Port Arlington will start to fire. You won't get the monsters that you get at queenscliff but I tend to find that this pier fishes better than queenscliff during the colder months (probably due to it being more sheltered than the likes of Londsdale and queenscliff.
The golden rule for this time of year - fish with small jigs (I find that small baitfish imitiations with natural colours works best - look at the batifish in the water that will give you your answer). Let your jigs slowly sink to the bottom (no sinkers or added weight. Retrieve slowly and violently use your rod tip to jerk the jig around and then let it sink again. Some times it may take 3 -4 minutes to retrieve your jig using this techniques.
If you follow my tips your chances will greatly increase. On the two sessions I was there, I was the only one that caught anything. You have to work harder at this time of year but the squid are still there. Good luck and happy winter squidding!
As the weather gets colder I have started hitting Port Arlington pier. I have fished it twice over the last 3 weeks. 2 weeks ago I fished on Sunday evening when we had some terrible weather. Before the rain and wind set in I caught 7 squid (mostly small) in about 2 hours. Old timer dropped a cuttlefish ( he estimated it at about 7Kgs! - and I believe hime because one of the tenticles that he retrieved was as thick as a 50c coin).
As we start moving into winter and gradually toward spring overlooked piers such as Port Arlington will start to fire. You won't get the monsters that you get at queenscliff but I tend to find that this pier fishes better than queenscliff during the colder months (probably due to it being more sheltered than the likes of Londsdale and queenscliff.
The golden rule for this time of year - fish with small jigs (I find that small baitfish imitiations with natural colours works best - look at the batifish in the water that will give you your answer). Let your jigs slowly sink to the bottom (no sinkers or added weight. Retrieve slowly and violently use your rod tip to jerk the jig around and then let it sink again. Some times it may take 3 -4 minutes to retrieve your jig using this techniques.
If you follow my tips your chances will greatly increase. On the two sessions I was there, I was the only one that caught anything. You have to work harder at this time of year but the squid are still there. Good luck and happy winter squidding!