Gar rigs

[statesquider 0]

Just have a quick question. For my gar rigs I generally use a pencil float with a length of line then one or two size 12 hooks weighed down with a small split shot depending on conditions and how they are feeding. Berley is always breadcrumbs with tuna oil and the bait is always gents.I was wondering if garfish would take a hook the same as those found on sabiki bait rigs if you were to use those hooks on a regular gar setup?I'm a huge fan of those rigs as when trying to catch slimies on one i caught my first snapper :)This would just be handy as i've have quite a few times I've seen gar and left the gents in the car. Or i leave them in the fridge at home. Or they blow out of the container in the wind. Haha i'm not too lucky with my gents. :woohoo: I much prefer using them though and like to fatten them up on berley the day or two before using them but I'd like a backup for when i inevitably lose/forget them. So would my idea work? I can't say i've heard of others doing this and my only experience has been with gents (and one occasion when my mate caught one on the bottom when we were fishing for whiting and were convinced he had a snook due to its fight/size. Was a horse of a gar!).

[Guest shagging]

Well i cant say the idea would not work! fishing is all about trial and error, if you have an idea try it mate, i would tend to use your idea on a day i forgot the gents though lol, but in saying that give it a go it does have merit! ps "just tuna oil for berley"

[Ranger 48]

Gar will take these rigs. They will also take small soft plastic tails. Garfish flesh is also a very good bait.

[Del 245]

garfish flesh, tommy flesh or salmon trout flesh also makes good gar bait back over in coffins we use nothing but tommy/ST fillets for bait and with great success.

[coonta kinta 1]

have even caught them on mince meat on a day where they werent interested in gents

[rollcast 1]

As ranger said gar flesh is the best gar bait IMO even better than Gents.rollcast

[statesquider 0]

cheers for the help lads i'll deconstruct a sabiki rig and start making them up.do many people make a rig that includes a floating berley cage too? I've never actually done it but I own about 5 floating berley cages... haha should use them sometime I don't come across gar often but cool to know i have a variety of baits to hit up now, cheers

[marriemb 0]

Yes they work well

[Ranger 48]

statesquider wrote:

do many people make a rig that includes a floating berley cage too?

I often use a rig with two floats. A berley float in front, and a pencil float behind, for when the fish are a bit touchy, as Gar can often be.You will see the two floats sit directly in line (indian file) when in the water, and you just watch the pencil float carefully. As soon as you see it starting to turn a little to the side so that the two floats are no longer in a straight line, it's time to strike.

[statesquider 0]

I've read that setup in several magazines before but never have put it into practice. I'll tie myself up a couple and see how they go, i like the idea of having the burley directly infront of my hooks so they are drawn to the right spot every time.

[chuckemback 0]

ranger thats the old pt vic jetty gar trick....really works well there.Hooks nice n high too! :woohoo: minimizing tangles as i seeem to get plenty off when TRYING to cach c-gars statesquider i rekon diffrent jettys have diffrent BEST ways of catching gar,and so diffrent areas as well .

[Ranger 48]

chuckemback wrote:

ranger thats the old pt vic jetty gar trick.

Are you insinuating that I'm a wrinkly old dottering decrepid and demented barstool with flatulence, baldness and a bad attitude? :S If so, my old fishing buddy's got just one thing to say to you!Our Garfish are THIS long! :laugh:

[Johnny Rotten 0]

I always thought the last pic was how you caught a greasy pig......insert,then curl finger ........gee,did my old boy lead me astray :ohmy:

[chuckemback 0]

lol ranger ....you describin yourself well there , with pics too! serieously though that gar rig is used at pt vic lots with huge success , but never seen people using it anywhere else, and im not keen on garfishin.cheers

[weaver 271]

Make sure that if your using the two float rig to feather the line before they hit the water other wise all you will have is a tangled mess.

[chuckemback 0]

Ranger and weaver , whats up with the c-gars in ya mouths ....tooo!bad habit i have too !!Trying to kick it starting TODAY! Just to save more cash and buy more fishing gear ! :cheer: who knows after a year i might be able to even afford a boat :woohoo:

[Ranger 48]

Smoking fish just isn't satisfying, and since the nasty doctor forced me to give up smoking cigarettes, I decided my avatar was the last bastion available for expressing my rebellious streak.

[spog777 1]

I sometimes use a rig my Dad showed me a million years ago. Run a line from the sinker and attach the hooks on a leader starting from the sinkea 3 way swivel is a big help. attach some sork or foam for lift to the end of the leader. this lets u fish deeper and comes in handy on rough windy days

[Squid Flaps 5]

Just have a quick question. For my gar rigs I generally use a pencil float with a length of line then one or two size 12 hooks weighed down with a small split shot depending on conditions and how they are feeding. Berley is always breadcrumbs with tuna oil and the bait is always gents.I was wondering if garfish would take a hook the same as those found on sabiki bait rigs if you were to use those hooks on a regular gar setup?I'm a huge fan of those rigs as when trying to catch slimies on one i caught my first snapper :)This would just be handy as i've have quite a few times I've seen gar and left the gents in the car. Or i leave them in the fridge at home. Or they blow out of the container in the wind. Haha i'm not too lucky with my gents. :woohoo: I much prefer using them though and like to fatten them up on berley the day or two before using them but I'd like a backup for when i inevitably lose/forget them. So would my idea work? I can't say i've heard of others doing this and my only experience has been with gents (and one occasion when my mate caught one on the bottom when we were fishing for whiting and were convinced he had a snook due to its fight/size. Was a horse of a gar!).

Thread mine alert Hey mate, just wondering if you gave the sabiki rig a go for gar? I had the same idea myself.

[yellowfin85 11]

is it a good idea to use a dropper loop to attach a pre-snelled hook for the first hook and an overhand loop to attach the bottom pre-snelled hook? I find it can create tangles and maybe isn't as natural as a hook snelled directly onto the end of the line? but if the fish swallows the hook and you have to cut the line then you've shortened the rig and you have to resnell a hook while fish might be on the bite. I use pre-snelled hooks and loops because it's so dam hard to snell a hook.

[Blake 9]

is it a good idea to use a dropper loop to attach a pre-snelled hook for the first hook and an overhand loop to attach the bottom pre-snelled hook? I find it can create tangles and maybe isn't as natural as a hook snelled directly onto the end of the line? but if the fish swallows the hook and you have to cut the line then you've shortened the rig and you have to resnell a hook while fish might be on the bite. I use pre-snelled hooks and loops because it's so dam hard to snell a hook.

Hey mate, I always snell the last hook below the sinker on whiting rigs and same for bottom hook on gar rigs - exactly as you said, it sits more naturally and avoids as many tangles. Yes I do sometimes have to cut and retie the bottom hook and yes it does shorten the rig a little. If it happens again I just salvage all terminal gear and retie the whole lot. As for snelling hooks... practice practice practice! Once you get the hang of it it is super easy and somehow cathartic! Practice by snelling s***loads of extra hooks instead of buying the presnelled ones.

 

A thought: when you fish as often as I do without catching a damn thing, the art of tying your own rigs becomes everything... Ahahahaha!

[Chris__64 41]

 I use pre-snelled hooks and loops because it's so dam hard to snell a hook

 try the palomar knot, piece o p*ss.

With small eyes don't double the line and put it thru,

put tag end thru then go back, you'll see what I mean if you try it.

 

Have'nt seen this thread before, thought it was going to have some detailed gar rigs.

I use [off the jetty] the trace with a bottom sinker and 3-4ft of line up to the little berley cage with a cork above it.

I put a hook on about 3-4inches of line above the cork and one below. I use a piece of stainless mig wire thru the cork

and attach the cage to the bottom but it's a bit of stuffing around, and attaching a new hook to the top is a PITA, putting a snap there causes tangles. Anyone got an easier way to do it? This kind of trace is pretty hard to find on the web, let alone any details about the bit I'm crapping on about

Cheers

[Zorgs 141]

I'm no expert but after a couple of seasons of trying all sorts of things and plenty of donuts this is my current go to;

 

Off the local beaches (not jetty) I've been running a berley cage and single size 12 hook about 30cm from the cage with no weight. Pencils work fine as well, the cage gives me a little more weight for casting if needed. I burley up anyway with crushed chicken pellets (I've got chickens so it's cheap in 25kg bags!). Crusty bread with tuna oil is also great to get them in. The hook is sort of a long shank type Gomakatsu, not long as in the whiting type, but not short. Though I've found shorter is ok too. Size 12, while small seems to get more hookups than going a 10 or 8 as I used to use. The only other thing is a small green ball directly above the hook.......I can't say for sure it works but someone put me onto it that did well so I've kept with the idea.

 

I've tried multiple hooks but find them an issue with tangles, same with the pencil.....any float that runs the line through seems to be a bit more forgiving.

 

Lastly I went to 6lb fluoro for all my rigs and it seems to act better in the water and less prone to tangling than the mono I was using, though this could be a brand issue....

 

I think you need to be adaptive as well. Plenty of times I've watched 50 gar swim around to not touch the bait! One time a certain rig might work well but not the next. Might need to tweak hook depth or burley action. I like the above mentioned (Chris_86) rig idea as well but never tried it, can't hurt to carry a couple different pre-rigged setups and give them a go.

 

Burley is the key!