Break out the sea gars: catching garfish for food and bait by Lee Rayner

What could be better than spending a few hours fishing for a species that is abundant, relatively easy to catch and offers some of the best bait and food going around? What's more, garfish are one of the best species for teaching young anglers some of the finer points of fishing. I love to fish for garfish, because whether it's for bait or food, they are always fun.

LOCATIONS AND HABITS

Being an abundant schooling species, garfish can be found in many locations, from estuary systems and bays to ocean waters. It doesn't matter if you have a boat or are land-based, as they are regularly found over shallow warm areas that offer cover in the form of weed and rocks. These areas also provide plenty of food and cover for the garfish, which is important as they rate very highly on the menu for a whole host of predatory species.

Garfish spend a lot of their time swimming higher in the water column, feeding on plankton and other small food sources. They have a keen sense of smell and this is what makes them such a great species to target. Using berley they can be brought in from long distances, even in deeper water, in their endless quest an easy meal.

BERLEY UP!

To catch garfish in numbers it is usually best to use berley. They respond well to tuna oil, which has a strong smell. It's also very important to be aware of the fact that they are a relatively small fish and only have a small mouth. It's imperative that you use a very fine berley source that will attract them, but not feed them too much. You don't want them full by the time they reach your bait.

Berleying can be as simple as placing a piece of rag soaked in tuna oil in the water or berley pot. This will allow the oil to slowly wash out of the rag, creating a surface slick but no food source.

My favourite berley option for garfish is to use either a pellet-based berley that is soaked in tuna oil, then placed in a fine mesh bag or berley pot and hung in the water. This creates the oil slick from the tuna oil, and as the pellets slowly break down they put out a very fine misty trail that carries a long way as it slowly sinks through the water column, effectively covering a lot more water.

The other addition to the berley system is a fine powdery mixture that can be as basic as some breadcrumbs mixed with tuna oil or, as I prefer, the Stimulate Ground Berley. This is filled with oil, which allows you to get a small portion, squeeze it into a small ball and throw it near your bait, this breaks up on hitting the water and helps to attract garfish directly to your bait.

Other good berley sources are a bit of bread soaked in water and then mashed up. Just make sure it's completely crushed into a fine mix, as larger pieces will float away and can take the fish w