Rigging a skipping garfish

by Jarrod Day on 28 Oct 2011 Garfish are quite a universal bait. Whether you're fishing for snapper in Victoria or trolling for a marlin a garfish is the ideal meal.

Anglers in the Northern parts of the country know all too well just how good garfish are for more highly prized species such as sailfish and marlin and when it comes a time to rig one up, a more specialised approach is required.

When rigging a garfish for a billfish, the right tools are required for the job. Firstly you will require a wire single hook rig. This is hand tied by yourself on a piece of single strand.

To make the rig, simply pass an end of the single strand through the eye of your hook and double back the wire to the main strand. To secure off, tie a haywire twist in the wire but do not break or cut off the tag wire. This is required to pin the garfish to the rig. A plastic skirt can also be added to the rig which will sit over the top of the garfish once finished.

Step 1:
Take the garfish and remove both eyes (This will prevent the head from blowing apart when trolled).

Step 2:
Snap off the Bill of the gar.

Step 3:
Taking the garfish in two hands bend it to snap the spine and bones (This will give the garfish a better swimming action).

Step 4:
Make a slit in the belly around the middle from gills to anus.

Step 5:
Open the gills and thread the hook into the body bringing the hook point out of the slit you made in the belly.

Step 6:
Pass the tag left over from the haywire twist through the underside of the head until it protrudes through the top of the skull.

Step 7:
At this point the above image is how it should look.

Step 8:
Take an elastic band and wrap it around the head of the garfish constantly going over the piece of wire that is protruding out of the top of the head.

Step 9:
Once finished slide the skirt over the head and your ready to fish.

Step 10:
The end result is a fully rigged skipping garfish.