Squid Inc.

No denying that 😭
 

That's right - man animal instincts  
 

The Fonz got nothing on me. On fly. One of many, but probably the biggest. Amazing fun.

This trip was back on the 7th March 2021, it's to a long stretch of fast/medium flowing water on the upper Mersey River in the Mole Creek area above the Union Bridge. I was told by several trout fishers that there weren't any trout to be seen in the area and that they had wasted their time fishing there. For me that was a challenge, surely there had to be a few trout in this stretch of river. I knew the trout had dropped off after the 2016 record floods and the influx of cormorants didn't help either, there should be some trout back in the area by now. This long stretch of water is wide open which makes the trout easy prey for cormorants, anyway I gave it a go...
cheers
Adrian
 

RUI SQUID JIG
 

Last one is a Yamashita jig. This is from the OH K range. It's an excellent quality jig. Really nice fine cloth which supposedly holds heat better and is more attractive to squid. It doesn't show up in the photo but it has a reflective lateral line, much a fish. At the rear you can see a small clear plastic "keel" or hydro-fin as YoZuri call it. Supposedly this helps stabilise the fall and point the  jig into any current. Other subtle elements are the additional balance weights at the top of the barbs and the holes in the keel weight which give additional points for attaching sinkers and allow you to vary how it sinks. I have this particular jig in both standard and shallow versions.

The jigs below are Diawa jigs and they are superb. The attention to detail is probably the best in the jigs I own. The quality of the cloth, the excellent paint jobs underneath, the variation in colour of the feathers and flush set eyes all add up to a high quality jig. Both of these jigs are rattle jigs. The green jig is a glow in the dark jig, but its a bit muted compared to the Rui red head. The Daiwa jigs have their tow point set horizontally compared to vertically for most jigs and I find it's a bit harder to put on and take of a snap like a Breaden snap. The jigs have a really nice fall and dart. They are some of my favourite jigs.
 

When compared to other brands higher end models, the Rui jigs are not to the same standard. Below is a YoZuri jig. I think the basic YoZuri jigs are very overpriced, but some of the other jigs like the one below are excellent. It doesn't show in the photo, but this jig has a very sparkly shimmer that I haven't seen in the Rui jigs I've bought. It also has a rattle. There is a wire that goes around the sinker, which YoZuri calls a snagless sinker. Unlike most jigs it doesn't have feather like fins, but rather solid rubber like fins that glow in the dark. This particular jig is phosphorescent (glow in the dark), whilst others in the same range are fluorescent (reflect back whilst under UV light). On their own, these elements don't make these jigs better than Rui jigs, but it's the combination.
I wouldn't buy a standard YoZuri jig, but, I really like the higher end jigs.

Thought I would clarify, that when I was talking about the quality of Rui jigs in comparison to other brands I should have been clear that I was comparing with the basic models from these companies. So when I think of Rui vs Yamashita it's the Yamashita Egi Sutte R I have in mind, and in my opinion Rui is the better product.
These are a couple of the Rui jigs I have. The cloth on them is very good, if it it has a foil underneath they are nice and vibrant, the double crown hooks are a good quality and don't rust (I wash my jigs in fresh water after every outing), the attachment point is solid and they have a good shape meaning they fall well and dart well.
On the orange jig you can see a couple of spots where the cloth is damaged, but this is just normal wear from being attacked by a big squid. I had this jig under a float when it was damaged. In my experience, jigs tend to show more damage when used under a float probably because I don't notice them as quickly because I'm also working a jig on a rod.

I tried Rui, no more resilient than the $5 jobbies, after 1 session the cloth needed to be glued back on. At $13 for Daiwa Emeraldas or Rui I reckon Rui aint in the running for my $. Bought the last lot of jigs from tackledirect168 on evilbay, very cheap at $3, and seem decently made compare to 'Neptune Tackle" crappies, but we'll see how well they last/perform.
Recently out squidding had a lady in white bikini on a yak circling around me, I know I am pretty irresistible but she proceeded to tell me she'd lost her new (expensive I assume) squid jig and she was not stalking me :), she paddled off and no joke as soon as she was out of yelling range (I tested this) I found her jig. Sadly I could not snag it and lost sight of it as soon as I got turned by the breeze. If I'd had my white bikini on I could have dived in after it.

Best thing to see when it happens so rarely.

When I was a little fella living at Barmera I remember seeing big carp jumping out of the water about sunset.

I know now that big carp will eat the smallest insect.

Works for fly fishing but when bait fishing I still believe big worms will catch the biggest fish.

Love my scrubworms.

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This was a day (19th March 2021) when I was lucky enough to be in the Mersey River when there was a massive Mayfly hatch, the trout were having a great time sipping them off the surface. This was the best hatch I've seen on this river since 2009 when I was lucky enough to see a monster Dun hatch in the stretch of river..(see photo)
The trout fishing was tough going due them feeding on the Mayflys.. Actually seeing what I did was the highlight of the day for sure, the trout I caught were a bonus..

Massive dun hatch, Mersey River. Weegena. (25-11-09) 
cheers
Adrian
 
 

Got some vibes ready for the salmon if the flys don't get out far enough. 28g. painted with colourshift. Regret the black splatters, done to break it up and look a tad more real, but should have done in sepia so not so contrasty.

 
A bit lighter and smaller

 
These lures kinda hard to photograph in the dark arvo, this is quite chartreuse with subtle green scales

 
And some gold for variety

Ready to test. Blank lures with my paint jobs.

I like jigs that either reflect UV light (fluorescent) or glow (photoluminescent). Some jigs even combine fluorescent and photoluminescent elements.
Aside from colour, try rattle jigs. Of the rattle jigs I like the Daiwa Emeraldas Gold Goma Saba.
One jig I own, I really want to hate because I think it's ugly, but it has been very successful is a Duel Dartmaster. It combines fluorescence, photoluminescence and rattle. Last weekend I went to Brighton jetty for a quick flick. It was packed as usual but no one was catching any squid. I was having no luck and after 20 mins I put the ugly Dartmaster on and second cast I landed a nice big winter squid. I then packed up my gear and went home!

With the trout season closed until the 7th August I thought I'd put a few of my 2020/21 trout fishing videos on the site from time to time...
Hope you enjoy it, feel free to hit the like button as well.. thanks..
cheers
Adrian..
 

Lazy bait sesh tomorrow up the Warren and with water levels high will be up in the timber. But with clear water deep diving lures will work well.

Hoping to get another Cod and next time I get one it will be going on the brag mat coz it sucks having to take photos of them in the water when fishing solo.

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But this one time a school of silver perch swam through at Nappers Bridge. Caught ten all the same size as this.

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Plenty of these at Morgan.

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Got a shack at Barmera so the river around Cobdogla, Kingston and Overland Corner are my favourite spots to get out in the boat.

Take the swag to other places downstream and in the last 12 months have camped at Waikerie, Morgan, Walker Flat and Mannum.

Morgan has been the most productive recently and Cadell is also good landbased coz it is a narrow stretch of river but having said that I caught my PB 52cm callop at Walker Flat and then dropped my phone in the water and lost the photo.

Nappers Bridge on Lake Bonney is my favourite carp fishing spot in all SA. Every fish swimming into or out of the lake is concentrated in a narrow section under the bridge.

Target mostly natives in the river and carp in Lake Bonney and backwaters.

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Some good info there Tinker,and for Doobs i see a problem as he's catching and i ain't.Did try Maslins last Friday with no luck except for a bloke that kept looking at me in the nuddie end of the beach.Had to be careful for him not to catch me.🥴

I dig my own bloodworms and dip them live in metho which makes them seize up and toughen up then freeze them.

Can see the method working on nippers and beach worms also.

Bream don't seem fussed about metho if you fish a whole bloodworm preserved in metho but they get picky if you cut the worms up coz they don't look natural.

Also heard stories about the folks who sprayed their lures in WD-40 and caught good fish off the jetties.

If you can source some nippers with your bait pump I would say put them live in metho before you freeze them so they don't soften up.

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This is with out elastic and is an American shrimp, but it is interesting. 
 

I've gone from cooking whole crab to backing them (removing shell and guts/lungs) before cooking.
Way cleaner process and drops cook time by 1 min. 
7min after return to boil and mandatory plunge in iced seawater to set meat as Jackmac said👍

Bring sea water to the boil add crabs and when it comes back to the boil set timer for 8 minutes… I then like to drop into ice water to set the meat or eat them hot what ever you prefer