Well, at least you didn't go back to Walmart again. I think you'll do much better getting advise from a local tackle shop....

The squid in the top water column in the light usually won't bite. You want your jig depth to be right on the edge of the light, just out of your sight. Watch the people catching around you and mimic how fast they are jigging. Sometimes it's fast jigs, sometimes it's slower long jigs, sometimes its erratic twitching. I usually mix it up, but try to do the same thing as the people that are catching. Use smaller squid jigs. I usually don't fish on bottom, because that's how you lose a lot of jigs. Squid will hit on the drop, so you'll feel them when you jig it up. Good luck!

There are lots of techniques, but ive found very short jerks (taps) and long pauses, just off of the bottom to be most effective. Some of the larger schools of big squid will not hit an actively jigged jig. You must be completely still sometimes. 1.5 " to 3" jigs work well, some glow is helpful and there is no magic color. I tie 2-3 jigs on my line, and only tie to the top of the jig. Light line works best, but some places have snags to break you off!. Braid is great, but hard to untangle in the dark.

Long spinning rods with soft fast action are best for detecting bites and keeping constant pressure on the squid while reeling up. When its hot, the faster you can unhook the squid and drop back to bottom, the more squid you'll catch.


(copied and pasted from my previous forum post)

I love using two jigs. Top one is a small white one that glows a soft green or blue. Bottom one use a half white glow and pink. This makes it look like you have a little female about to get some from another squid below. The females will go for the red lure to mate, males will fight it, males will go for the white top jig to mate. Just a little bit for all scenarios . At sea crest park, the trick has been to not really cast it out and to let it fall one pull. Give it just a little tap ad let it rest a good 15-30seconds..