The best squid jig for UK waters? Is there such a thing? Some days they will take any jig, some days they like certain colours or depths. Well after 30 years of trying different methods and jigs I have found some real science behind different jigs and techniques, and the Yamashita range litrally has it all. They have been making squid jigs since 1965 and in my opinion they have covered most bases with their range. I hope this helps in some way as I find it fascinating!
So you may have noticed I have gone a bit mad with our selection of Yamashita Squid jigs this season, so, I thought I should explain why.
Squid Jigging has been a very popular part of our fishing season here in Jersey for about 30 years now, and seems to be becoming more popular every Autumn. I remember when it was generally thought that squid were only caught in the Channel Islands and some spots on the south coast of the UK. But over the last few years we have noticed squid being caught more northerly than they used to be. Changing season? Changing climate? Changing angling styles/attitude? What ever it is, I do believe squid fishing in the UK is on the increase and is going to become a biger part of the UK anglers season over the next few years. I have seen our season and techniques evolve from the very beginning back in 1992 when I first started using a plain old traditional "tube" style jig, usually with a ball lead on the line in front of it to keep it down. I would simply drag this very slowly along the bottom and would catch a few squid most times!
So if these worked, then why do we now need a hundred different colours and weights to choose from? Well of course the squid are not always hard on the bottom, so the nights that I did not catch didn't necessarily mean there were no squid there. Realising that, like many forms of lure fishing, you need to present the lure how the predator wants it, do this and your catch rates will improve....
So over the years playing with different brands and colours, we have narrowed our choice of jigs down to match certain conditions and situations you will be faced with. Be it daylight, dawn or dusk, or night time, we now have a range of jigs that'll match different scenarios including depth and sea conditions/clarity.
The art of squid fishing that has grown in Japan for centuries is now done world-wide, we tend to call it "Eging" here. Egi literally translates to wooden bait, as the originals first created as far back as the 15th century were made of wood with coins inserted as weights at a leter date around the 1800's!
Here is a picture I found of some very early jigs from Japan, dated around the 1700's, it is crazy that the shape has hardly changed, seems like they nailed it right back then!
Anyhoo!! I digress as always. I met up with my Yamashita rep last week when in France, so I had the opertunity to ask as many questions about their jigs and select a range that I hope covers most situations we face here (and the UK of course).
The "Jersey Way", and it seems the same in many places in the UK, is to fish at night near a harbour light. Of course, squid are still actively feeding in daylight, but most of us work during the day and with the Autumn nights drawing in it tends to make us fish in the dark. So we tend to cast out just beyond the light beam, close the bail arm of the reel and let the jig sink whilst under line tension. It is important to count the sinking, first few casts count to 5 then reel in very slowly with the odd twitch. After a few casts then allow the jig to sink for 10 second and repeat. The go on in 5 second increments until you find the depth the squid are at. If you end up on the bottom and still no squid you then start all over again but with a different colour or size jig.
So why have a gone mad with the Yamashita range? Here are some of the features that stand them apart from other jigs we sell:
Warm Jacket: One of the features that make Yamashita jigs stand out from so many other quality jigs on the market. Warm Jacket technology is the fibre cloth jacket that shrowds the jig. Like many modern jigs the Yamashitas comes with a cloth covering, but with working with scientists at a leading marine university in Japan, they have realised real bait fish (although cold blooded) do resonate a certain amount of heat. Under thermal cameras the scientists have matched the heat to be that of a live fish, which is 0.5 to 1 degree warmer than other standard squid jigs. As a result, Yamashita developed a unique thermo-storage cloth or "Warm Jacket", weaved with a unique "Tactywarm" thread that converts light into heat. This means the squid jigs react to light by absorbing and retaining heat underwater - just like live bait.
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Search Rattle: Now this feature I love! When faced with murky water, or fishing in the dark with no overhead light sourse, it is nice to have a rattle in the jig. We sell a few jigs with rattles, but what makes the Yamashita rattle better than the others? Of course, the Japanese once again don't do anything by halves, so working with a university in Japan they discovered the perfect pitch that entices squid to attack. 600Hz is the "Goldilocks" pitch, as squid hear sounds from 400Hz to 1500Hz, so with 600Hz sitting in the miiddle it is also the pitch of a squids beak when biting. So, by that theory, squid will think there are other squid happily feeding in the area....genius.
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490 Glow: We all love a glowing squid jig at night, and we know squid love them too. But of course there are different wavelengths of light, these are measured in Nanometers. Research at the squid university (again) showed that squid reacted the most to the glow being at 490nm. So, your jig may be glowing too much, or not enough, so Yamashita jigs glow at 490nm, right light for the squid. So some of the range are full glow bodies, and some with just luminous eyes and tail rings, and of course some patterns of the jig allow the glow to come through as a scaled or barred pattern.
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Neon Bright: With three UV core body colours to choose from, here is a little bit of the science behind it. Squid have an impressive growth rate for a creature that only lives for a year. Taking in to account water clarity as well as light conditions, the squids eyes have adapted over millennia to pick out UV rays from light being reflected off live fish. So with you facing various light and sea colour, Yamashita have developed a range of UV body colours to match these conditions. In addition to offering a range of reflection colours (reflection wavelengths) that match the three major colours of light, "Neon Bright" has significantly increased its reflection efficiency. Of course conditions can change from day to day, but generally midsummer and winter water is clear and blue, spring and Autumn water is muddy and green, morning and evening water is influenced by the red sky, etc. By matching the reflection effectively attracts the squid and enhances its capacity to react to various eging circumstances by coordinating the colour of the reflection with the colour of the water. A simple explanation of the body colours is:
UV Blue - clear water bight conditions/day or night with overhead light source
UV Green - dirty water overcast conditions
UV Red - clear water low light conditions & night time with little overhead light source
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Strobe Fin: Although it is important to allow your jig to sink slowly and without any wobble, you also will be retrieving very slowly with the odd twitch. The Strobe Fin on the back of some of the Yamashita range is designed to attract squid for two different reasons. The shape of the fin creates resistance which in turn makes the jig wobble on the retrieve, and if you twitch the lure it will kick to one side like a panicked fish. Also, the Strobe Fin is made with UV reflective plastic, so on the twitches and rolls the fin will appear to the squid to be flashing like scales of a fish.
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Hydro Fin: The Hydro Fin at the rear of the belly of the jig is designed to keep your jig true and straight on the drop. This is very important on windy days or when faced with swell or strong current. Sometimes you will find squid not overly feeding or attacking your jigs, this can often be down to your jig wobbling on the drop. The Hydro Fin literally acts like a ships rudder to maintain a straight course.
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So now to the choices of Yamashita jigs and what the different models give you, I will high-light the models that have the most full glow bodies. Remember, if you want a full 490 Glow body then they are not Neon Bright models:
Yamashite Egi-OH- F: The standard squid jig that is perfect for beginners and the majority of situations be it day or night. The Egi-OH F series comes with 490 Glow "Full Glow" bodies, but remember the darker models will not allow the glow to be seen as bright as the lighter coloured bodies, but they still glow.
For our range of Yamashita Egi-OH F click: Here
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Yamashita Egi-OH K: With the features I have mentioned above, the Egi-OH K range are again designed for both day & night fishing with varied colours to match the sea/sky conditions. The features on the Egi-OH K are literally all except the UV Strobe Fin on the back. You can see by the picture of the two numbered, 052 & 054 both have a full 490 Glow body, whereas the rest have UV Neon Bright bodies, 490 Glow eyes and rear ring, Hydro Fin & Warm Jacket.
For our range of Yamashita Egi-OH K click: Here
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Yamashita Egi-OH Search: The Search models are designed for those days when standard jigs just don't seem to be working. In murky conditions and at night (with low or no light source) the Search Rattle will come in to play. With the Warm Jacket and the Strobe Fin too plus the 490 Glow, the "Search" series literally has it all for day and night time squidding. Numbers 074 & 084 are full glow bodies.
For our Yamashita Egi-OH Search range click: Here
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Yamashita Egi-OH Live: This is the big one! Our range of the Egi-OH Live is the biggest as they are by far the jig that most people here use. Probably due to the fact it was the first range we stocked and anglers have confidence in the lure and the various colours it comes in. With it having Warm Jacket and 490 Glow, there are also three of the models that come with full 490 Glow bodies, pictures below.
There are "Egi-OH Live "Shallow" and "Deep" versions, of course the names explain easy enough what they are for.
If you want to see our range of Yamashita Egi-OH Live then click: Here
I hope this helps in some way, there is more but I think you get the idea.