Egi and eging from the shore
Squid and cuttlefish
Squid fishing with Japanese-style jigs (egi) is a night game of lit piers, clear water and a slow, patient lift and drop. It's well proven on the south coast from Kent to Cornwall. Elsewhere the evidence is thin: Wales has odd shore catches, Scotland's footage is all from boats, and we found no sign of shore squid in North East or North West England. That makes it unproven there, not impossible.
In short
What you catch
European squid and common cuttlefish
Mostly European squid (Loligo) in autumn and early winter, plus common cuttlefish, which hug the bottom and turn up on the same jigs.
When
September to December
The core season on the south coast. Some anglers report squid from August, and large ones into January. Cuttlefish come inshore in spring to spawn, and also show in autumn among the squid (Southampton Water, September).
Tackle
A light lure rod will do
A 5–21g LRF rod covers single jigs up to about size 3.0; a 15–40g lure rod handles size 3.5 jigs and two-jig rigs with a lead. Use a 2500 to 3000 reel, 0.6 to 1.0 PE braid and a fluorocarbon leader, with the drag set light.
Rules
No size limit found
We found no legal minimum size for squid or cuttlefish in the MMO national list or on the IFCA pages we could read. They count as sentient in law, so kill them quickly. Ink mess is a real etiquette problem: rinse the steps and wall.
Squid or cuttlefish?
| Feature | European squid Loligo forbesii, L. vulgaris | Common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis | Little cuttles and bobtails Sepiola, Sepietta, Rossia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Long, torpedo-shaped tube (mantle). Two triangular fins at the tail end, together forming a diamond | Broad, flat oval body. A thin fin skirt runs the full length of both sides | Tiny, rounded, bun-shaped body, usually under 5cm. Two round, ear-like fins in the middle of the sides |
| Inside | Clear, plastic-like quill (pen) | Hard, white, chalky cuttlebone (the one found on beaches) | No hard shell to speak of |
| Arms | Eight arms plus two long tentacles that shoot out to grab prey | The same layout, but stubbier. Males show zebra stripes | Short arms |
| Where it takes | Mid-water or just above the bottom, often at the edge of the light | On or very near the bottom, around weed and structure | A rare bycatch on small jigs or in prawn nets |
| Fight | Pulsing lunges, then a dead weight | A heavy, steady weight with little lunging; often drops off at the surface | Hardly noticeable |
- L. forbesii (veined squid) is larger and more northern, L. vulgaris more southern; you needn't separate them. A small slim squid with a long pointed tail is probably Alloteuthis (general knowledge, not checked against a key).
- Both have a sharp beak among the arms that can nip. Anglers do get bitten.
- Cuttlefish carry far more ink than squid of the same size.
Where and when
From the sources we read, with how confident the evidence is. Region names link to each region's rules, marks and local tips.
| Region | Best months | Typical spots | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall (Falmouth) | Sept to Jan | Falmouth Prince of Wales Pier after dark, under the pier lights | High |
| Dorset (Weymouth, Portland, Chesil) | Sept to Nov, sometimes into Dec | Weymouth Stone Pier and Pleasure Pier (very busy); open Chesil beach, day or night; Portland (video title) | High |
| Solent and Hampshire | Aug to Dec; cuttlefish in Sept | Southampton Water lit quays such as Town Quay; Portsmouth Harbour; Isle of Wight piers (video title) | High |
| Sussex | Late Sept to Nov; some local sources say Oct to Dec | Eastbourne beaches and structure; Brighton on calm, clear, moonlit nights | High |
| South Devon (Plymouth, Torbay) | Oct to Dec | Plymouth: Sutton Harbour, Mount Wise, Mount Batten Pier (video titles only). Brixham: no source found | Medium Plymouth; unverified Brixham |
| Kent | Autumn | One video title only | Low to medium |
| Cornwall (Newlyn, Penzance) | Unknown | No source found | Unverified |
| Wales | Autumn and winter | One squid from an Anglesey dock, December 2022, clear water at dusk. The South Wales video is a Gower boat trip | Low from the shore |
| Scotland west (Oban, Clyde) | Late Aug to Oct (boat) | Boat squid 2 miles off Oban in 34m, in September; shore fishing is less productive. Nothing for the Clyde | Low from the shore |
| Scotland north east | Nov (boat) | Boat footage off Fraserburgh | Low from the shore |
| North East England | n/a | Nothing found for Northumberland, the Tyne, Whitby or Scarborough | Unproven |
| North West England | n/a | Nothing found for the Wirral, Liverpool or Cumbria | Unproven |
Best conditions
Clear and calm
Clear water and calm nights are best. A tinge of colour or a big swell slows it down: switch to brighter or rattling jigs then.
Light on the water
Pier and quay floodlights, or your own underwater light, draw in baitfish and the squid follow. Fish the edge of the light ring, where squid wait in the dark.
Tide
The flood up to high water and the first hours of the ebb. Some movement beats dead slack, though squid can still come at low-water slack, away from the crowds. Big spring tides can be slow at Falmouth.
Moon
Pier regulars favour calm nights around the full moon, and local reports say the same for Chesil and Brighton.
Day or night
Mostly night, but daylight squid came on Chesil.
After storms
A sheltered lit wall still fishes; floating weed is the nuisance.
Size through the season
Squid start small (about 15cm) in August and September and grow fast. By November and December, fish of 1 to 1.5kg turn up.
Tackle
Dedicated
An egi set-up
An eging rod of about 8 to 8.6ft with a soft tip. A 2500 to 3000 reel, 0.6 to 1.0 PE braid (roughly 10 to 18lb) and 1 to 1.5m of 10 to 15lb fluorocarbon leader, finished with a small snap or clip. A soft tip gives more feel and loses fewer squid than a stiff rod.
Budget
What you may already own
A 5–21g LRF rod is ideal for single jigs in sizes 1.8 to 3.0 off walls and in harbours; a 3.5 (about 19 to 21g) is its limit. Lighter rods rated to about 10g work well in harbours. A 15–40g lure rod handles 3.5 jigs, wind, beach casting and two-jig rigs with a lead; the Eastbourne Fisherman uses a 5 to 35g bass rod and a 4000 reel.
Rigs
- Single jig on a clip: the standard shore method.
- Two-jig paternoster (flapper): two jigs on long blood-loop or twisted booms, with a lead or a heavier jig at the bottom. It covers two depths and suits deep water and tide. Keep the booms longer than the jigs so you can loop them on, and space them so they can't tangle. The bottom jig catches the cuttlefish.
- Extra weight in wind or tide: add bullet weights above a single jig (for example about 30g above a 21g rattling jig in a 25mph wind), or move to a heavier or rattling jig at the bottom of a two-jig rig.
- Float and jig: a jig under a float, worked by the swell. Called popular by 671 fishing; not filmed.
- Sabiki-style strings of tiny jigs: mainly a boat method; they need a lead from the shore.
- Texas-style or sinker egi (a weight hung under the jig for depth or tide): not in any UK video we read; an option only.
Extras
Head torch with a red mode
Keep white light off the water.
UV torch
To charge glow jigs.
Lidded bucket or zip bags
To contain the ink.
Landing
No gaff needed: swing them up. For a big squid below a high wall, use a drop net (it gets inky) or a barbless pole gaff.
Clips
Genie-type clips make jig changes quick.
Underwater light
Optional: green or blue, on a 12V battery.
Jigs and colours
| Egi size | Typical weight | Rod |
|---|---|---|
| 1.8 | About 6 to 8g | LRF |
| 2.5 | About 10g | LRF |
| 3.0 | About 15g | LRF or lure rod |
| 3.5 | About 19 to 21g | Lure rod (an LRF rod's limit) |
- The egi size is a Japanese length code. Weights are typical values and vary by brand: check yours. Most standard egi sink at about 3 to 3.5 seconds per metre; "shallow" and "deep" versions change that.
- Start big, go smaller. Start with 3.5s and drop to 2.5s when nothing hits. Early in the season, 2.5s suit the small squid. Smaller jigs suit calm water; heavier ones suit current and rough water.
- Colours. In clear water and daylight, natural colours (prawn browns, yellows). In murky water or at night, bright pinks, oranges and greens, and glow jigs charged with a UV torch. In Southampton Water, cuttlefish took pink and orange while squid took natural and light yellow. Pink and orange Yamashita jigs feature at Weymouth and Portsmouth.
- Rattles help in coloured or rough water.
- Cheap or branded? In side-by-side tests, a £15 jig has out-caught a near-identical £3 copy. Many anglers still catch well on cheap jigs. Carry a few cheap ones for snaggy ground.
- Straighten bent spikes after a snag.
Technique, step by step
Pick the spot
A lit wall, pier or quay with clear water over clean ground, or a steep beach on a calm night. Ink stains on the ground are a good sign squid have been caught there.
Cast
To the edge of the light, or drop straight down beside the wall. Squid often sit tight to the wall under the lights.
Count it down
Pay out line so the jig sinks straight rather than swinging back to you. Let it reach the bottom, or count to the depth where the takes came last time.
Lift
Two or three short, sharp lifts of the rod tip so the jig darts upwards.
Pause on the drop
Wind up the slack and let the jig fall on a tight or semi-tight line. Most takes come here, as the jig glides down.
Retrieve slowly
A couple of slow turns, then pause and let it sink again. Slower than you think, and much slower than spinning for mackerel. Fish it right to your feet.
Search the water
Start deep and work up. Squid can be anywhere from the bottom to near the surface. If you keep catching cuttlefish, keep the jig a bit higher.
The take
It isn't a knock. It feels like sudden weight, like snagging weed or a bag of water, sometimes with lunges. If you see a squid grab the head of the jig, a small lift sets the spikes.
Keep steady pressure
Keep a bend in the rod, wind smoothly and set the drag light. The spikes have no barbs: slack line or pumping lets the squid go, and a tight drag pulls the spikes out.
If it drops off
Let the jig sink straight back down. Squid and cuttlefish often grab it again.
Landing
At the surface, let it squirt its ink and water out in the sea before lifting. On a beach, lay it on the stones to empty before you pick it up. Hold the squid by the mantle and the jig, away from the arms and beak.
Rules and harbour etiquette
Squid and cuttlefish rules by regulator
Last checked 18 October 2026Bottom line: we found no legal minimum size or bag limit for rod-caught squid or cuttlefish on any page we could read. Return small cuttlefish and keep only what you'll eat or use.
| Regulator or rule | What it says about squid and cuttlefish |
|---|---|
| MMO national size list | Updated 3 February 2026. The only cephalopod is octopus (750g); no squid or cuttlefish |
| Retained Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, Annex V and Annex VI | No squid or cuttlefish sizes; squid appear only in trawl mesh rules |
| Southern IFCA Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight | Its size byelaw covers anglers, but the schedule PDF was blocked; the web page names no squid or cuttlefish. Its only cuttlefish measure is a voluntary Cuttlefish Traps Code of Practice protecting eggs laid on traps |
| Sussex IFCA | The Shellfish Permit Byelaw 2015 requires a permit (commercial or recreational) for fishing lobster, crab, whelk, cuttlefish and prawns. It appears aimed at pots and traps, but the PDFs were blocked, so whether it covers rod and jig is unconfirmed. Check locally |
| Devon and Severn IFCA | The size page lists no squid or cuttlefish |
| Cornwall IFCA | The Recreational and Byelaws pages mention neither |
| NW IFCA | The minimum sizes page lists octopus only |
| Wales and Scotland | No squid or cuttlefish rule found, but no official page setting out recreational sizes either, so this is unconfirmed: check locally |
Rules change. Where a rule says unconfirmed or check locally, ask the regulator or harbour office before you fish.
Harbour access
We found no verified squid ban at Brixham or Weymouth. General harbour rules apply: Weymouth's 2016 notice bans pots, nets and traps near the Stone Pier light (gear, not rods); Portland Harbour info says no fishing within 150m of the breakwaters or in fairways (undated); Newhaven and Southwold restrict fishing by byelaw or notice. These come from search results, not full pages. Obey local signs.
Ink
A forum post reports ink all over the steps and benches at the end of Weymouth Stone Pier. Let squid empty into the sea, and rinse your spot with seawater before you leave.
Crowds
Lit piers get packed in season. Give room, don't cast across lines, and keep spiky jigs clear of passers-by.
Private and port areas
Commercial quays and ferry berths are often off limits (671 fishing's own mark is private). Check access first.
Night fishing on piers and walls
- Wear a lifejacket on piers and walls, with the crotch strap fastened.
- Wet steps and weed are like ice. Wear boots with grip.
- In an emergency, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.
More in Rules and safety.
Dispatch
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 counts any cephalopod mollusc as sentient. It governs policy-making, not anglers, but it's reason enough to kill them fast.
Squid
One firm hand chop or knife cut between and just behind the eyes, where head meets mantle. It turns white at once when done right.
Cuttlefish
Go in behind the head, under the edge of the cuttlebone, and break the tissue there.
Afterwards
Twitching afterwards is normal. Chilling on ice is slower; a quick cut is kinder.
Releasing one
Turn it upside down over the water and let it drop off the jig.
Cleaning and cooking
Cleaning squid
Twist and pull the head out with the guts, remove the quill, peel the skin and fins if you like, rinse, then cut rings or score squares. Trimmings make bait.
Cleaning cuttlefish
Peel the skin off like a sock, cut round the cuttlebone, lift the meat free and discard head and guts; trim tough edges. Part-frozen is easier and spares the ink sac, which you can keep for black risotto or pasta.
Fast or slow
Cook it very fast or very slowly; anything in between goes rubbery. Two minutes in a hot wok is plenty.
Salt and pepper squid
Flour seasoned with salt and black pepper, an egg dip, flour again, then deep fry for about a minute and a half.
Calamari and stir fry
Rings in batter or crumb, deep fried quickly. Or scored pieces flashed in a hot pan with ginger, chilli, soy, fish sauce and lime.
Big ones and freezing
Big squid and cuttlefish can be tough. Freezing first, then beating with a meat mallet, makes crumbed cuttlefish strips very tender. Freeze squid packed tight in zip bags with the air pushed out.
Tips from squid anglers
Paraphrased in our own words and credited.
Fish the edge of the light ring, not the middle: squid wait in the darker water for baitfish to stray.
Most takes come as the jig sinks after a lift, so keep in touch with the line on the drop.
If you see a squid grab the head of the jig, give a small lift so the spikes catch the tentacles.
Use a light rod and light drag and keep the rod bent. A tight drag lets the squid tear itself off the spikes.
Squid follow shoals of small fish under pier lights, so drop the jig just below a passing shoal.
Do two or three quick twitches, then a very slow retrieve with pauses, all the way to the shingle, as many take right at your feet.
Start with 3.5 jigs, try three or four colours, then drop to 2.5s if nothing has hit.
Use a red head-torch beam and keep white light off the water, as squid come in close.
Pay out line after the cast so the jig sinks in place, instead of swinging back under your feet.
Cuttlefish sit on the bottom and squid just above them, so keep the jig a little off the seabed if you want squid.
If a squid or cuttlefish drops off, let the jig sink straight back. Most come back for it.
Lay cuttlefish on the ground or hold them in the water until they've emptied their ink, before you pick them up.
A squid take is a quicker pull, while a cuttlefish feels like a dead weight and often falls off.
A couple of short, sharp pulls at the end of the retrieve can trigger a squid that has followed the jig in.
On Chesil you don't need a pier. Fish a single jig on a fluorocarbon trace from any gap on the beach, even in daylight.
Wind steadily once hooked. Pumping and dropping back gives slack and the squid slides off the spikes.
In a gale, add bullet weights above a rattling jig to get it down. A sheltered wall can still produce a squid.
Fish the quiet low-water slack to avoid crowded harbour spots. Squid were still taken right on the seabed.
Lower squid into the net, and hold them over the side to squirt out water and ink before bringing them in.
For a two-jig rig, tie long blood-loop droppers so the jigs move freely, and use a loop for the lead so you can swap weights.
Freeze squid in tight zip bags with all the air squeezed out to prevent freezer burn.
Calm, flat nights with a big moon on spring tides have been the best for squid on the pier.
A barbless hook gaff on a telescopic pole lifts big squid up a high wall without filling a drop net with ink.
Squid tend to hold just outside a submerged light, so cast beyond it rather than into it.
Freeze cuttlefish, then beat it with a meat mallet before crumbing and frying, for much more tender meat.
Stir-fry squid for no more than about two minutes or it turns tough.
Still to check
- The Southern IFCA size schedule, and whether the Sussex permit applies to anyone catching cuttlefish or only to pot and trap users.
- Recreational size rules in Wales and Scotland.
- Written squid bans or ink-cleaning rules at Brixham, Weymouth, Plymouth or Falmouth. We found none, only general harbour byelaws; local signs may say otherwise.
- Whether anyone catches squid from the shore in Northumberland, the Tyne, Yorkshire or the North West.
- Brixham, Newlyn and Kent are often mentioned for squid, but no source we read supports them.
- Jig weights by size are typical values: check your brand.
Caught a squid from the shore in the north of England? Please tell us.