Hello Phile,
I spent a few years in Melbourne and used to travel regularly to Queenscliffe to catch squid. Sqidding is very popular there and for the first few visits I watched the locals (many Greek and Italian gentlemen) intently. I noticed that one of them in particular had a much higher catch rate than the rest, so I introduced myself to him and asked him about his 'secrets'. He was a very friendly Italian man in his later years and here's what he told me.
1. Squid become particularly agressive with a jig that drops past their position. "this offends him (meaning the squid)" he told me, and often results in the squid following the jig and grabbing it.
2. Therefore use a technique that combines as many drops as possible while retrieving.
3. Squid are also stimulated by eratic movement, so when retrieving do so with a series of jerks of the rod tip before letting the lure drop again, then repeating.
4. Yo-Zuri jigs 'work the best' because of their balance and slower drop rate than many others.
5. Prawn style jigs are the way to go for this technique.
I still love squid fishing and od so often here in AK. Here's what I have found, for what it's worth.
1. Look for areas of the shore line that have kelp or other weed structures nearby. the squid use these for cover.
2. Use a light spinning outfit with 4kg line and a soft rod. Soft action rods seem to impart a more desireable action than firmer rods.
3. Cast out over a weedbed and allow a few seconds for the jig to sink, point your rod at the water then take up the slack until you are in contact (you will sometimes have a squid on by then). Give the jig a two stage lift from horizontal to about 30 degrees, pause for 1/2 a second then lift to 70 degrees.
4. Let the jig drop again as you drop the rod to horizontal then repeat until the jig is in.
5. Watch if you can to see if you get a follow. If so, drop the jig down towards the bottom and leave for a few seconds. Repeat a few times and you will usually pick him up.
6. The last half hour of light is in my opinion THE BEST time to pcik them up; particularly if this coincides with the last hour of incoming tide or the first hour of outgoing, which I have found to be the best tide cycles.
7. I like orange jigs best for evening/night time and green for morning.
8. You don't need to bait your jig if you are using the above method.
9. If fishing under float try tieing a 5 foot peice of light nylon to the area above the barbs and decure a strip of pilchard or bonito (mackeral is good too) to back of the jig. Tie it off with half hitches.
10. A lumo stick will help you see if the float has been pulled under. Two or three feet of trace is fine below the float.
11. If you are fishing at night time then a little bit of moonlight helps. Day four after a full moon through to day 7 or so is a great time.
12. I like smaller jigs such as 3.5 oz because of their slower drop rate than heavier jigs. Also smaller jigs appeal to a wider sise range of squid.
13. If you catch a squid be quick removing it can cast back to the area you hooked it straight away. Often there are a few there.
Hope this helps. There's plenty of other ways to the skin the cat too.