Goin’ garrin’ for great fun and a decent feed by Jarrod Day

The humble garfish is a readily available species year-round and doesn't often get the kudos it deserves. Often underrated, what they lack in fight they make up for on the table and as a prime fresh bait when seeking highly prized species such as snapper, mulloway and the like.
Garfish are great fun to catch for anglers of all levels of experience and, best of all, you never just catch one - more like a whole bunch.
LOCATIONS
Garfish frequent every piece of water in Port Phillip Bay including the Yarra, Paterson and Werribee rivers. They're around every rocky headland, pier and jetty around the bay. A schooling fish by nature, garfish move about and occasionally where you caught them one week, they might not be there the next. However, when they are about in numbers it can be difficult to fish with multiple rods as the school can be quite significant in size.
For the most part, they are easily accessible for land-based anglers fishing from the many jetties around the bay and they really take very little effort to catch.
If you are looking for a specific pier to try, Queenscliff, St Leonards, Altona, Brighton, Sandringham, Beaumaris Bay, Seaford, Frankston, Rye, Rosebud, Sorrento and Portsea piers are all worthy locations. These piers always attract garfish, both at night and during the day, but it's during the high tides when they are more abundant and close to these piers and jetties.
When the gars are about in numbers, some piers and jetties around the bay get overrun by anglers and at times it can be standing room only. If you're planning on taking the family, you might just have to get there early and grab a spot. If you're heading out on your own, you might want to try exploring nearby areas by walking around and fishing from the rocky headlands. Doing this is often more productive as the fish won't be as skittish as they are near a pier full of anglers.