Garfish

[the baker]

Hey Guys

Can anyone give me some tips & hints on how to catch gars & whats a good bait & what is a good berly for them.



Thanks to you all


Dave.

[tailorboi99]

A good burley is sausage pieces, corn, bread, and cat food - all will get the gars going

Cheers Tom

[Dug]

I have always either used flour dough ( mix a bit of fish or sardine oil in the mix ) or little bits of prawn on small hooks.

Where are you fishing for them ? I have wondered if the bait jig hooks with a float and some dough would work on gar?

I would be keen to try !

[Dug]

Burly ? bread, bran, mushed up cat food, the usual suspects.

[Outsider1]

For Gar I like a berley that will float. Bread crumbs is what I use. A number 10 hook on a rig with a small sliding pencil float, no sinker, just a small splitshot near the bait in need . For bait; small pieces of peeled prawn or bread dough.

Cheers

Dave

[the baker]

I thank you for all your help guys

[tailorboi99]

It's fine mate. Also through out some old fish scraps/bait to attract other species aswell as garfish. Good luck getting a few

Cheers Tom

[Freeeedom]

Gar in big numbers will come to a good berley trail such as chook pellets or bread finely crumbled. They can be caught easily with a small hook (number 10 or 12) on a fine leader (1 or 2 kilo) about 30cm under a quill or pencil float. I think the best bait is tiny pieces of peeled prawn but dough also works pretty well. You can make the dough from flour and water (I always keep a ball of dough in a plastic container in the freezer just in case) or you can simply roll a piece of soft fresh bread between your fingers to make a small dough ball. This bait will also catch mullet. Weight your float so that a small tug takes it under and cast down the berley line. If the gar won't grab it pull it away from them and they will chase it and fight to get it. When hooked they often tail-walk so it is good fun. When you swing them in to grab them they usually crap all over the place, so have an old towel ready to grab them with. They are an excellent tailor bait and will stay in one piece for dozens of casts, unlike the rubbishy pilchards you get at the moment. They are also good trolled baits for pelagics like the various mackerel etc. As a cut fresh bait they will also take bream and flathead and various reefies. I always keep a few for eating as they have lovely fine sweet flesh. They are usually at their best in the winter from places like the Shorncliffe jetty. Go right to the end of the jetty just after dawn when the tide is high and turning. I've also caught plenty over the shallows in the Bribie passage at high tide and around Mud Island.
Cheers Freeeedom

[d-man]

Burley them up as described previously, beach worm pieces on a #10 long shank floated back through the burley stream is another good bait option, it stays on the hook pretty well. use a small float so that the fish don't feel too much resistance - luderick float or really small bobby cork will do the job.

[Outsider1]

When searching for Gar I find they do not tend to stray too far from cover, or more particularly their favored haunt, sea grass beds.

I also look for slight current or wind lines as they seem to feed along these. This is the reason I like a floating berley like bread crumbs. You can feed a fine floating berley stream along the current/wind line and bring them in from a long way off over time.

Cheers

Dave

[Mexikan]

These days I catch me garfish with a castnet.But back in south oz fishing under a float with gents(maggots) use to be the go around jettys and piers.D-man's beach worm idea should do the trick.
Mex

[the baker]

Thanks all for your Help I am going to go this weekend and have a go at them so all going well I will have a nice little post for you guys oh & some pics too.

Dave.

[scoocer101]

Use a light rod with 2-3kg line. Use tiny hooks and pencil float. Bread crums and bait scraps for burley and tiny peeled prawns and dough for bait. Awesome fun to catch when they are big, on light line, as mentioned already they are an awesome bait for other preditory fish like tailor.
I catch my gar here on the sunshine coast in low tide gutters right at your feet and fish for them on the rising tide. U can often see them flashing around in the gutter so u no they are there. When they are on they go crazy and u can often easily get a bucket full if u wanted to, and they taste good from the surf, nice clean water.

Good luck

[Dug]

scoocer101 What beaches do you fish for gar ?

I have never seen them that close in !

[danielsydney]

How do you clean and kill garfish? Just like normal fish? How do you cook them? Whole?