Squid jigging from rocks — eging in the Japanese tradition — has built a quiet but loyal following on Sydney's coastline, and a recent video from local YouTuber Fishburger documents three nights of trial-and-error sessions across multiple headlands.
Fishburger filmed the run on overspec gear: PE3 braid on a Daiwa Seabass 862 ML rod paired with a 5K Stradic SW XG reel, a setup more suited to chasing tailor and kingfish than squid. The heavier line did not prevent the technique from working, but it did flag the line he was willing to draw on himself for a new species. "I might be addicted now," he said after his first proper squid on a jig. "Probably gotta get a proper squid setup."
The sessions started on the rocks with his father, who watched him land his first green-eye calamari on an egi-style jig. A second followed shortly after. Both were taken close to weed beds visible from the platform — classic eging water, where the squid sit just outside the wash and ambush jigs on the drop.
The second night moved the action to a new spot recommended by a mate. Fishburger arrived early and chatted to a local angler at the ledge who confirmed the spot held tailor but only after 8pm. Rather than wait, Fishburger switched to his heavy setup to prospect for kingfish and was about to call the night when an egi cast picked up a much better squid. "That is a decent squid," he said, steering it carefully off the rocks. A second hookup was lost on a sharp edge.
The technique itself is accessible. An egi is cast across or near weed beds, allowed to sink, then twitched back with sharp upward rod flicks and long pauses. Squid eat the jig on the fall, and the angler feels weight on the next lift rather than a true strike. Fishburger's video shows the method produces from standard rock-fishing distances on Sydney heads, even without specialist eging tackle.
The most useful detail from the three-night run was not technical. A passing local — fishing the same ledge every night — gave Fishburger the timing information that turned a blank night into his best squid of the run. Sydney's rock community shares knowledge when asked, and a willingness to ask is sometimes worth more than the gear in the rod tube.