Garfish
The green-boned, beaked acrobat of spring coasts and summer surfaces.
The garfish is the sea's acrobat: a slender, beaked, silver-green predator that hunts just under the surface and leaps repeatedly when hooked. It arrives inshore in spring, often just ahead of the mackerel, and offers fast, visual sport on the lightest tackle – a fish prized for the fight rather than the size.
Gar · Garpike · Sea needle · Needlefish · Greenbone · Mackerel guide
Quick facts
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How to identify it
Unmistakable: an extremely long, thin body like a pike stretched into a needle, with long, slender jaws full of tiny teeth, the lower jaw slightly longer than the upper. The back is blue-green, the flanks and belly bright silver, and the dorsal and anal fins sit far back near the forked tail, giving a pike-like outline. The bones are famously green – a harmless pigment, nothing more. Very young garfish pass through a 'halfbeak' stage with a long lower jaw and only a short upper jaw, and can be mistaken for sandeels. The related saury has small finlets behind the dorsal fin; no other common European inshore fish carries the beak.
Where it lives
Garfish are pelagic surface fish of the North-East Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black Sea. They winter offshore in deeper water and move inshore in spring to spawn over seagrass and weed, then stay in the upper few metres for the rest of the season. Look for them off rocky points, piers, harbour walls, breakwaters, sandy beaches with weed beds and shallow bays warmed by the sun; they tolerate brackish water and are a spring favourite along the whole Baltic coast. Clear water and a little wind are ideal. Unlike mackerel, they are happy in water only 1–3 m deep and often hunt within a rod length of the rocks, chasing sandeels and fry at the surface.
Season and behaviour
The garfish year is built around the spring spawning run: as the water passes 10–12 °C in April and May the shoals appear on the coast, spawn among weed in May and June, and stay through summer feeding on sandeels, sprats and fry. In the Mediterranean and Adriatic the fish are inshore for longer, with good fishing from spring through autumn and a second peak in September–October as they chase bait before moving out. Garfish are daytime hunters that rely on sight, so bright days, clear water and a light ripple are best; they feed hardest on a moving tide and around dawn and dusk. In a flat calm they cruise visibly at the surface and will follow a lure for metres before taking.
Fishing methods
Float fishing is the classic approach: a slim sliding float or a bubble float set 0.5–2 m above a small long-shank hook baited with a strip of mackerel, a sandeel or a ragworm, drifted out with wind and tide. Because the beak is hard and the mouth mostly bone, hooks must be small and sharp, and you should wait until the float moves away steadily before striking – garfish grab a bait sideways and run before turning it. Spinning with slim spoons, small metal jigs and 10–25 g inline lures fished fast just under the surface takes them well, and many anglers replace the hook with a small tuft of silk or a noose of fine nylon that tangles in the teeth. Fly anglers use small silver streamers on floating or intermediate lines.
Baits and lures
Strips of mackerel skin and flesh, cut long and thin so they flutter, are the top bait; sandeel, sprat, ragworm and thin strips of squid also work. Garfish attack anything bright and moving, so silver, blue and green spoons, slim spinners and tiny jigs are ideal – they will chase lures far larger than their mouth can handle, which is why a small treble or single hook trailing behind the lure improves the hook-up rate. For fly fishing, sparse white or silver streamers 4–6 cm long are enough.
Tips from the bank
- 01Fish the top 2 m of water; garfish rarely go deep and often take within sight of the rod tip.
- 02Use small, very sharp long-shank hooks (size 6–2) – the beak is bone and gives a hook little to hold.
- 03Let the float run before striking; a garfish grabs the bait crosswise and turns it only after a few metres.
- 04Watch the surface in calm weather – cruising garfish and skittering sandeels show you where to cast.
- 05Add a small silk tuft or nylon noose behind a spoon when hooks keep pulling out during the jumps.
- 06Keep the rod low and the line tight while the fish leaps; slack line and a stiff rod lose most garfish.
- 07A freshly caught mackerel makes the best bait strip, so fish the two species together in late spring.
Regulations
Garfish are lightly regulated, but some countries apply a minimum size, a daily limit or seasonal restrictions in marine protected areas and on spawning grounds, and the general sea-angling rules on licences, gear and the number of hooks still apply. Regulations differ by country and coast and can change from year to year, so check what applies to your stretch of shore before fishing. Shoalmap shows the current rules for each water in the app.
Where to catch Garfish
Waters where Shoalmap's fishing reports list Garfish.
Find Garfish waters near you →Related species
- Atlantic mackerelScomber scombrus
The fast, striped shoal fish that lights up summer coasts.
- Sea troutSalmo trutta trutta
The silver, sea-going brown trout that runs the rivers at night.
- European seabassDicentrarchus labrax
The silver predator of surf, rocks and estuaries — Europe's premier shore game fish.
Frequently asked questions
Why are garfish bones green?
The green colour comes from biliverdin, a harmless bile pigment stored in the bones and connective tissue. It has no effect on the taste or safety of the flesh, which is white, firm and good to eat, although the fish is rather bony.
When is the best time to catch garfish?
Spring is the peak: from April to June the shoals come inshore to spawn and feed in shallow, sun-warmed water. Summer fish are more scattered, and a second run in September–October follows the baitfish before they leave. Fish on bright days, on a moving tide, in the first few metres of water.
What is the best bait for garfish?
A long, thin strip of mackerel with the skin on, fished under a float in the top 1–2 m of water. Sandeel, sprat and ragworm also work well, and small silver spoons or streamers take garfish on lure and fly gear.
How big do garfish get?
A typical garfish is 50–75 cm long but weighs only 300–700 g because it is so slender. The largest fish approach 95 cm and around 1.3 kg. Females are usually larger than males.
Why do I miss so many garfish bites?
Because the long beak is mostly bone with little soft tissue to hold a hook. Use small, sharp hooks on a long shank, give the fish time to turn the bait, and try a silk or nylon tuft in place of the hook when spinning – it tangles in the teeth and holds far better.
Find Garfish near you
Shoalmap searches every reported water around you for Garfish, scores today's catch odds and shows the closed season and minimum size that apply.
Search Garfish watersFishing information is compiled from public sources and AI-assisted research and is indicative only. Always verify current local regulations before you fish.