Even though the weather has been cold, especially at night, there have been days when the water has been flat calm. Great conditions for gar fishing.

Many garfish have been angled, with the run-in tide probably the best time to wet a line. Fishing pipis under a float is a great way to go. Some anglers refer to garfish as ‘mini marlin’ because they jump out of the water and tail walk when hooked up.

Although great eating, many people are put off by the many small bones that are found in gars. I find that filleting them in the traditional way solves this problem. Use an ordinary fork to hold the fillet and the rib cage can be removed with a sharp pliable knife.

Another method I have discovered is to scale the fish and cut around the rib cage. The stomach and bones are removed in one cut that leaves the fish whole. The cavity can be filled with seasoning of your choice and then sewn up.

Place the gars on aluminium foil and cover them with lemon. Place them into an oven for 20–25 minutes. Remove the head, tail and any material you’ve used to sew them up. Washed them down with a bottle of white wine. I guarantee that you’ll enjoy a beautiful meal.

The Tarwin River has been fishing very well with very good size perch to 38cm. They’ve been taking a variety of baits with bass yabbies, sandworms and lures all very successful.

Fishing gurus in Wonthaggi Graham Gray and Alan Bentick have been having great success on the perch. Alan says that there is no reason why the situation should not continue for quite a while yet. The best area has been between the highway bridge and the double drains.

The hotspots at the moment are the surf beaches at Venus Bay where the salmon have been up to the 3kg mark. David Walsh runs Rod Bending’s Fishing Shop at San Remo. With his work mate Michael, they’ve always got their fingers on the fishing pulse. They say the fishing has been so good that anglers have been successful at all tides. Bluebait, whitebait and a variety of surf poppers are proving very successful. And of an evening, the gummies have been making an appearance.

If you’re heading down San Remo way and want the latest fishing info then give David and Michael a ring on (03) 5674 3322. They’ll probably save you a lot of running around.