Walk into the squid jig section of any tackle store and you'll find walls of them: different sizes, sink rates, cloth colours, glow bellies, rattles, internal mirrors. It can be overwhelming, but the choice comes down to four questions. How deep is the water, how fast do you need the jig to sink, what is the light doing, and how clear is the water?
This beginner's guide explains how to choose a squid jig, what the numbers on the packet mean, which colour to use and when, how to rig and tie a squid jig to your line, and how to use it once it's in the water. It's written for Perth and WA waters, and the same rules apply anywhere in southern Australia you're chasing calamari.
New to squid fishing? Start with our Squid Fishing Guide for where to go, the best times and the full rod-and-reel setup, then come back here to choose your jigs.
What Is a Squid Jig?
A squid jig, also called an egi (the Japanese word), is a prawn-shaped lure with a weighted nose, a cloth-covered body and one or two rows of sharp, barbless spikes at the tail. When you snap the rod, the weighted nose makes the jig dart up and sideways like a fleeing prawn. Then it sinks slowly, nose-down, on its own.
Squid don't bite the jig. They shoot out their two long tentacles, grab it and pull it in, and the spikes catch in the tentacles. That's why the way a jig sinks matters as much as how it looks. Squid take the jig on the fall or on the pause far more often than while it's moving.
Squid Jig Sizes Explained
Squid jigs are sized using an old Japanese measurement, marked on the packet as a number from about 1.5 to 4.0. A bigger number means a longer, heavier jig that sinks faster. Exact weights vary from brand to brand, but as a rough guide:
- 1.5 to 2.2 (about 5–10 g): tiny, slow-sinking jigs (a 1.5 can take around 10 seconds to sink a metre). They're made for still, shallow water. In winter, when small baitfish push into boat harbours like Fremantle and Hillarys, and around shallow Swan River jetties in a metre or two of water, these little jigs hang in front of the squid long enough to get eaten.
- 2.5 (about 10–12 g): shallow water from 1 to 3 metres, jetties, and calm, glassy days with no drift. With no wind or current to slow it, a 3.5 goes straight to the bottom and into the weed, while a 2.5 sinks slowly and stays in the zone.
- 3.0 (about 14–16 g): the Perth all-rounder. It suits most metro jetties, rock walls and boat drifts in 2 to 6 metres. If you only buy one size, make it this one.
- 3.5 (about 18–24 g): deeper water, wind, current, boat drifts and bigger squid. The standard size at Rottnest and on the south coast.
- 4.0 (about 25–30 g): deep water, strong current and the biggest southern calamari.
Snagging weed on every cast? Drop a size before you do anything else. Going from a 3.5 to a 2.5 is often all it takes to start catching.
Bigger jig, bigger squid? Not always. Even small squid will attack a 3.5 jig, and a big squid will happily eat a 2.5. Choose the size mainly for depth and conditions, not the size of the squid you're hoping for.
Sink Rate: The Spec Most People Ignore
Most jigs are sold in several sink rates for the same size. Sink rate is measured in seconds per metre, and it's the spec that makes the biggest difference to how many squid you catch.
- Shallow (S), about 4.5–8 seconds per metre: sinks slowly and hangs over weed without snagging. Use it over shallow weed beds, on flats and in 1 to 3 metres of water.
- Basic / standard, about 3–4 seconds per metre: the default choice for most situations in 2 to 6 metres.
- Deep (D), about 2–2.5 seconds per metre: gets down fast and holds depth in current and wind. Use it off deeper jetties, from boats, and in 6 metres and more.
You can see the difference within one range. The Oceans Legacy Egi Seeker comes as a 2.5 (11 g, 4.0 sec/m), a 3.0 (16 g, 3.5 sec/m), a 3.5 (20 g, 3.0 sec/m) and a 3.5 Deep (24 g, 2.5 sec/m). For shallow weed, a slow jig like the Yamashita Egi-OH Live Search Shallow sinks at about 4.5 seconds per metre in both 3.0 and 3.5.
Knowing the sink rate is what lets you count your jig down. Leave the bail open after the cast so the jig sinks freely, and count. With a jig that sinks at about 3.5 seconds per metre in 5 metres of water, a count of around 15 puts it just off the bottom. This is one of the main reasons a quality branded jig is worth the money: the sink rate on the packet is consistent, and so is the cloth. Cheaper jigs can still catch squid, but the sink rate is often a guess.
The simple rule: the jig should reach the top of the weed or the bottom and then hover there. If you're pulling weed off every cast, go to a shallower sink rate or a smaller jig. If the jig never gets down before the wind or drift drags it away, go faster or bigger.
What Colour Squid Jig Should You Use?
Colour is where squid fishing gets addictive. Squid hunt by sight, and on some days changing colour makes an instant difference. A squid jig has two colour layers, and understanding both is what separates beginners from experienced squidders.
1. The cloth colour (what you see)
Squid have excellent eyesight, and the colours that catch are usually the ones that stand out, not the ones that blend in. In our experience the three most reliable colours for WA squid are white, black and red. If you only carry a handful of jigs, make sure you've got those three.
The easiest way to choose a colour is by the light:
- Before dawn and at night: glow (luminous) jigs. Charge them with a UV torch and they glow in the dark. White glow is a standout.
- First light and overcast days: iridescent jigs. They don't glow in the dark, but they collect whatever light there is and throw it back, so they seem to shine in low light, in the shade of a boat and in murky water. Iridescent greens and oranges are proven early-morning colours.
- Mid-morning, with the sun at an angle: flash jigs. Internal mirrors and reflective cloths like Keimura (which shows up blue under water) throw flashes a long way through the water.
- Bright middle of the day: go dark. Black and deep red give a strong silhouette against a bright sky above the squid, and squid looking up see it clearly.
- Dirty or stirred-up water: bright, bold colours and iridescent finishes, with a rattle if you have one.
Change colours often. Squid can switch on to one colour and ignore everything else, and on some days a colour change is the difference between nothing and a squid on the next cast.
2. The base colour (the foil under the cloth)
Underneath the cloth there's a reflective foil, and it changes how the jig looks in different light:
- Gold or red-gold: a warm flash for low light, dawn and dusk, overcast days and tannin-stained water
- Silver or holographic: bright flash for sunny days and clear water
- Rainbow or marble: an all-rounder that works in most conditions
- Purple or red: a darker silhouette with less flash, good for very bright days, clear water and wary squid
- Glow / luminous: glows after charging, for night, dusk and deep water
Tip: when your usual colour stops working, try the same cloth colour on a different base before switching to a completely different jig. It's a small change that often switches the squid back on.
Extra features: glow, UV, flash and rattles
- Glow bellies and UV finishes make a jig stand out in low light. Charge glow jigs with a UV torch like the MAPH Rechargeable UV Torch before you cast. The Yamashita Egi-OH Live Neon Bright range is built for low light.
- Internal flash plates keep a jig flashing while it sits still. The Shimano Sephia Clinch Flash Boost uses a mirror on tiny springs that keeps moving during the pause, which is exactly when squid attack. The Daiwa Emeraldas Shine LC goes all-in on flash with a full mirror body.
- Rattles add sound. They're good for searching a large area, for dirty water, or when squid are active and hunting. The Yamashita Egi-OH Search combines a rattle with a flashing strobe fin.
- Jointed jigs like the Daiwa Emeraldas Amorous Joint swim with a softer, rolling action that can tempt cautious squid that ignore a standard jig.
How to Rig and Set Up a Squid Jig
Setting up a squid jig is simple. Here's how to rig a squid jig from the reel down:
- Main line: PE0.6–0.8 braid. Thin braid casts further and lets you feel the jig sinking.
- Leader: 1–1.5 metres of 10–16 lb (4.5–7 kg) fluorocarbon. Join it to the braid with an FG knot, or a double uni knot if you're just starting out.
- Snap: tie a small snap to the end of the leader and clip the jig onto it.
Braid or mono? Braid is the better choice. Mono is much thicker for the same strength, so it has more drag in the water and slows your jig's sink. If you're using mono, go up to a heavier jig so it still gets down.
How to tie a squid jig to your line
We recommend a snap rather than tying the jig on directly. We use the Oceans Legacy Access Clip in a small size (0 or 1). It's made from Japanese stainless steel, it lets the jig swing freely for a better action, and it lets you change jigs in seconds, which you'll do a lot when you're working out colours. Tie the snap on with an improved clinch knot or a uni knot.
A snap also helps your jig sink properly. A jig tied straight to the leader has to drag the leader's weight down with it, so it sinks at a flatter angle than it was designed to. On a long cast, that can cost you several metres of working depth below the jig. On a snap, the jig can hang and sink nose-first the way it's meant to.
Joining braid to leader: an FG knot is the standard. If you want a stronger, slimmer join, a PR knot tied with a bobbin like the Shimano PR Bobbin or Oceans Legacy PR Bobbin is hard to beat once you've practised it.
If you'd rather tie the jig on directly, use a loop knot (such as a Lefty's Loop or a non-slip loop) so the jig can still swing and dart freely. A tight knot pinned to the eye of the jig dulls its action.
Always attach the snap or knot to the eye at the nose of the jig, not the tail. Some jigs, like the Daiwa Emeraldas Amorous Joint and Nude, have a second attachment point that changes the action and sink angle, so check the packet.
How to Use a Squid Jig
Once your jig is rigged, here's how to jig for squid. The retrieve is simple: cast, let it sink, snap it, pause.
- Cast past the target and let the jig sink. Count it down. At 3 seconds per metre, a count of 12 puts the jig about 4 metres down.
- Snap the rod tip up two or three times. Use short, sharp flicks, not big sweeps. The jig darts up and to the side.
- Pause and let it sink again on a slightly tight line. This is when squid attack. Watch your line for any tightening, stopping or sideways movement.
- When you feel weight, lift smoothly and keep a tight line all the way in. Don't strike hard.
Casting from a drifting boat
If you cast behind a drifting boat, the boat pulls the line tight before the jig can sink, and it never gets near the bottom. Instead, cast in the direction you're drifting, about as far as the water is deep (a 5-metre cast in 5 metres of water). The boat drifts toward the jig while it sinks, and by the time the line comes tight it's sitting just off the bottom. Or simply drop it straight down and count.
Casting from the shore
From rocks and jetties, feed out a little extra line once the jig lands so it sinks straight down rather than swinging back toward your feet. Then pick up the slack, draw the rod up so the jig slides and flutters upward, stop, and let it fall again. Keep your drag fairly loose so a squid grabbing the jig doesn't tear its tentacles.
Watch for followers
Squid travel in groups, and when you hook one, others often follow it up. Have a second rod ready, or leave a hooked squid in the water for a moment and drop a jig down next to it. A squid that grabs and lets go will often come straight back, so keep working the jig in the same spot.
The most common beginner mistake is working the jig too much. Make the snaps short and the pauses long. For a full breakdown of the retrieve, jetty tactics and night fishing, see our Squid Fishing Guide.
Other Ways to Fish Squid Jigs
Under a float
Hang a 2.5 or 3.0 jig about a metre or two under a float off a jetty or rock wall. The swell makes the jig bob and dart without you doing anything. It's a lazy method that works, it's great for kids, and it's a good way to fish a second rod while you cast with the first.
On a squid paternoster
Tie one or two small jigs (1.8 to 2.5) on short droppers above a sinker and fish the rig straight down. This keeps the jigs still at a set depth, and it works well from a boat at anchor or under a jetty light at night.
A trailing jig from a drifting boat
While you cast with one rod, put a shallow-sinking 3.0 or 3.5 in a rod holder off the back of the boat. The drift keeps it hovering and flashing just above the weed, and it will often catch as many squid as the rod you're working.
Tip-Run: Squid Jigs for Deeper Water
Standard casting jigs lose effectiveness in water deeper than about 8 metres, especially from a moving boat. It isn't only about depth: on a windy day with a fast drift, you may need a tip-run jig or a nose weight in as little as 8 to 10 metres just to reach the bottom. The jig takes too long to get down, and the drift pulls it away before it reaches the squid. Tip-run is the Japanese boat method designed to solve this, and it's excellent for squid holding deep off the weed edges around Rottnest, in the deeper water of Cockburn Sound, and along the south coast in winter.
The gear
- A tip-run jig: a squid jig with extra weight on the nose so it gets down fast and swims level while the boat drifts. The Yamashita Egi-OH TR Tip Run 3.5 is purpose-built for it.
- Or convert a standard jig by clipping a tip-run weight (sometimes called a nose cone) onto the nose. This turns your favourite colour into a deep-water jig. Even a small 2.5 with a 10 g weight will fish 15 metres of water. The Yamashita Egi-OH TR Sinker fits both tip-run and standard jigs. Yamashita's guide is roughly 1 gram of weight per metre of water depth. The Oceans Legacy TRT Tip Run Tuning Weight in 7.5 g and 15 g lets you fine-tune the sink rate and angle.
- The rod: a shorter boat egi rod, 7' to 7'9", ideally with a soft, sensitive tip so you can see bites. Thin braid helps the jig get down quickly.
How to fish tip-run
- Let the boat drift. Fish from the side the boat is drifting away from, so the line angles out under you rather than back under the hull.
- Drop the jig straight to the bottom as quickly as possible. A heavy tip-run jig sinks at around a second per metre, so count it down and stop it a metre or so above the weed. If it isn't reaching the bottom in the drift, go heavier.
- Wind up the slack, then make 5 to 10 short, sharp lifts to raise the jig a few metres off the bottom.
- Stop, and hold the rod completely still at about hip height for 5 to 10 seconds. The drift pulls the jig along level, and this is when squid attack.
- Watch the rod tip. A bite might pull the tip down, stop it dead, or make it spring up as the line goes slack. Strike straight away at any change. In tip-run you set the hook on the touch rather than waiting for the weight.
- If nothing happens, lower the jig back to the bottom and repeat two or three times, then wind up and drop again.
For the full method, see our deep water squid fishing guide.
A Starter Squid Jig Kit
You don't need dozens of jigs to start. Build your kit around the light you'll be fishing in, and a handful of jigs will cover you from before dawn to after dark:
- A glow jig (white glow is a great start) for the dark before dawn and for night sessions
- An iridescent jig (green or orange) for first light, overcast days and murky water
- A flash jig for mid-morning sun, like the Shimano Sephia Clinch Flash Boost
- A black and a red jig for bright middle-of-the-day sun
- Sizes: mostly 3.0, with a 2.5 for shallow water and still days, and a 3.5 Deep or a tip-run weight for wind, current and deeper water
If you're only heading out for an early morning session, a glow jig and an iridescent jig will do the job. Get there before first light, because squid move in close to feed on baitfish that have come inshore overnight.
These are jigs we use ourselves and that work in WA water:
- Oceans Legacy Egi Seeker: an internal mirror with diamond foil, and UV glow bellies on selected colours. The Black Gold and Cherry Black colours are great bright-day contrast jigs. Available in 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and 3.5 Deep, plus the Egi Seeker Cloth series in Japanese cloth.
- Shimano Sephia Clinch Flash Boost: flash that keeps working during the pause. Available in 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5.
- Daiwa Emeraldas Nude V2: a smooth, lifelike body that slides and darts easily.
Other proven jigs include the Yamashita Egi-OH Live, a benchmark jig with a heat-retaining cloth, the Harimitsu Sumizoku, whose red-and-black RR colour has a long and loyal following among Perth squidders (also available as a 3.5 Deep), and the Duo Egimasa. Browse the full range in our squid jigs collection.
Looking After Your Squid Jigs
- Rinse in fresh water after every session and let them dry fully before packing them away. This stops the spikes rusting and the cloth rotting.
- Store them in a proper egi case so the spikes don't tangle and tear the cloth of other jigs. The Daiwa Emeraldas Egi Case keeps jigs in separate slots and protects their spikes.
- Check the spikes. Bent or blunt spikes lose squid, so straighten or replace them.
Squid Jig FAQ
What size squid jig is best for beginners?
A 3.0. It casts well on a standard egi rod, sinks at a manageable speed and suits most Perth jetties, rock walls and weed beds. Add a 2.5 for shallow water and a 3.5 for deeper water as you go.
What colour squid jig should I use?
Match the colour to the light: glow before dawn and at night, iridescent at first light and on overcast days, flash jigs in the morning sun, and black or red in bright midday sun. The three most reliable colours for WA squid are white, black and red.
How do you tie on a squid jig?
Clip it onto a small snap tied to the end of your fluorocarbon leader, or tie it on with a loop knot. Both let the jig swing freely.
Do you need a special rod for squid jigs?
You can cast a jig on any light spinning rod, but a dedicated egi rod works the jig properly and cushions the squid's soft tentacles, so you'll land more squid.
Why am I snagging weed on every cast?
Your jig is sinking too fast or you're letting it sit too long. Drop a size (a 3.5 to a 2.5, for example) or switch to a shallow-sinking jig, count it down, and start working it before it reaches the weed.
Do cheap squid jigs work?
They can catch squid, but quality jigs have better cloth, sharper spikes and a sink rate you can rely on, which makes counting your jig down to the right depth far easier.
Find Your Next Squid Jig
Choosing the right squid jig isn't complicated once you know what to look for: size for depth, sink rate for conditions, and colour for the light and water clarity. Carry a small spread, change jigs often, and let the squid tell you what they want on the day.
Browse our squid jigs and egi rods online, or come and see us in store at Level 1/154 Stirling Highway, Nedlands. We fish these jigs ourselves and can help you put together a kit for the spots you fish. Call us on (08) 9389 1337.
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