It’s garrick time: the biggest and sportiest prey of our seas

Garrick Fishing

” An amazing capture, that’s the origin of this article. Talking on the phone with the irrepressible Captain Pastacaldi, I didn’t resist the temptation of asking him to write the identikit of garrick for the International Yachting Media so that other anglers can successfully engage in seeking and catching this wonderful fish”.

Luca D’Ambrosio

Fine weather is just around the corner and our goal is to give you some information about the fish which can be found along the Italian coasts so that you, too, can have a tricolour “Big Fish”in your rod…

The Italian sea is inhabited by three different species of garrick but, in this article, we will focus on the morphological features of the biggest, sportiest and funniest type: the “Lichia Amia“.

LICHIA AMIA: part of the family of Carangidae, garrick is a pelagic fish with gregarious habits. Its body is elongated and laterally compressed, with an evident line on both sides.

Its colour is silver, with green shades on the back. Fins are dark and positioned as follows: the dorsal anterior one is very high, combined with short, robust spines; the pectoral and ventral fins are limited and squat while the tail one is elongated and forked. Because of its great combativeness, garrick is particularly appreciated by sporty anglers and it can reach 30 kg in weight. On the culinary level, its flesh is white, compact and really tasty.

A special note: in different regions of Italy – because of their reciprocal similarity – garrick is often called amberjack and vice versa…This diatribe has significantly confused the halieutic community over the years but the difference is quite simple: unlike the amberjack, garrick has higher organoleptic features and can be found on sandy sea bottoms, especially in the proximity of rivers; moreover, during the fight, garrick is significantly faster and capable of real “jumps” on the surface than its “cousin”.

Vigorous and charming, garrick is one among the sportiest preys of our seas, if caught sportingly.  From spring to late autumn, it likes living in close contact with Italian coasts.

Garrick Fishing Techniques

Our passion has always been trolling and this technique is suitable even for our big, combative fish. In order to catch the BIG garrick, the only thing to do is to troll a darting live bait which can be a muller, a jack mackerel or a garfish.

In short, even if this method may sound a little “cruel” (but, you know, we’re anglers with a capital A), these live baits just require one or more hooks which, in turn, don’t compromise their vitality; then, you should let them swim on the surface and, at a speed of 1.5 knots, you can start hugging the coast.

Fishing afloat at a distance of about 30 meters from the stern, you don’t need any fishfinder or specific course.. This technique can be used at any time of the day and with any type of boat. A seagull, a wind puff, a concentric circle in the water are all synonymous with hunting fish; the only thing to do is to intercept them.

Trolling can last hours or just a few minutes…The result is not 100% guaranteed but, when garrick hooks, the beep of your rotating reel will give you the alarm and what an alarm…

Captain’s word of honour!