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Got a question or maybe an answer? This is the place to share your experience and get some help from other readers.
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| Need help catching, cleaning garfish Jonathan writes: Hi, recently I trundled down to Kerford Pier, Albert Park. Expecting like most Melbourne piers to catch zilch I was astounded to see hundreds, if not thousands of 10-30cm garfish swimming round. Even though I was shocked I was still able to rig up my line and begin fishing, an hour later I had caught 20, each time being able to watch this slimy fish go right up to my bait and attack. For a while I thought I was invinsible. However realising that I didn't need anymore I began releasing most of my catch, keeping only the good sized ones as all good fishermen should. However when I arrived home I had no idea how to fillet or gut them. I've heard of some sort of bottle way? Heck, I even experimented, much to my horror out of 22 fish, I ate 3. Not much fun, the rest became berley, in my eyes a waste. Any advice on how to clean and gut gar's would be great. Even some nice cooking tips would be useful to. Thanks. (29 May 2001) Alan Mc Fayden replies: Recently I went out with fishing mate Keith Jones off San Remo after garfish. We came back with a nice catch of rather big fish and while Keith started to hose down the boat as he usually does and I attended to filleting the garfish. Yes, I mean filletting them. As I was doing this a number of people gathered around and expressed considerable interest as they had never seen this being done before. What I have worked out is that you take the first fillet off starting with the back of the fish facing away and then take the other fillet off. What I do then is to use an ordinary kitchen fork to take the place of fingers and with a sharp pliable knife just slide it under the rib cage and slip out the bones with virtually no waste at all. Don't worry if you make a mess of the first few because with practice things will improve and you will never have gars like it again apart from boning them out which is another practice which I could go through if anyone wants me to. Filleting gars is much better and quicker than using the old bottle method. David Moore replies: These fish are slimy, stinky, scale shedding but delicious fish to eat. It makes sense to prepare your fish well for eating. If you want an easy way to clean your catch, listen to this. A quick and easy way to remove slime and scales is to drag the fish behind the boat in a small meshed net for 5 minutes. Alternatively, they are quick to scale with the back of a knife, but not much fun if you have alot to do. Cut the heads off. This can be done 2 or 3 at a time. Slice open the guts, beginning from from the bum. The knife needs to be very sharp, otherwise you may rip the soft flesh. Use your thumb under running water or in a bucket to clean the stomach lining (black stuff) out or use your mum's toothbrush to scrub the gut cavity. When the fish is cleaned, lay the fish on a hard surface, with the top of the fish facing up and the belly spread open on the surface. Use a rolling pin or bottle and run it along the entire length of the fish to flatten the fish. You will hear bones cracking. Stop rolling when the fish is totally flat, but don't press too hard, as the flesh is quite soft. To cook garfish, I use flour with cajun salt to coat the fish and fry it until a nice brown colour. Ordinarily, I don't overcook my fish, but with garfish I do a bit so that the tiny bones melt away. Bon appetit! (1 June 2001) If you have any advice for Jonathan or any other questions or answers, use our contributor's form and be in the running for some great monthly prizes. |
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