5 Tips for Catching King George Whiting

By Luke Smith

King George whiting, or whiting as us southerners refer to them, are a terrific table fish and a massively underrated sport fish. Whilst most commonly targeted on bait, they will eat soft plastics if presented right. The majority however are taken in tidal situations, where it is often far too difficult to present a soft plastic to them. This is why bait usually dominates, with anglers tending to use slightly heavier gear to allow for the sinkers that are often required.

Below I will detail some tips that will hopefully help you improve your catch rate.

1. Locating Whiting

Whiting are well known for being fun to catch when they are biting, however they can be extremely timid when the conditions are not right. The first part of this puzzle is the location. Whilst they can be caught offshore and travel vast distances in open water to breed, they are usually targeted in bays or sheltered waters. Locations such as Western Port Bay and Port Phillip Bay see tens of thousands of anglers each year trying their luck to bag a feed. These two locations in particular produce great seasons on the whiting as the bays are nursery grounds for juveniles. They also provide an excellent environment for whiting, with shallow channels consisting of weed beds for cover and sand patches for feeding, along with flowing water that helps to provide the food source.

Finding somewhere with these three things is the most important step to a good whiting session. Water under 12 metres deep is where most whiting will be taken from, with 3-5 metres being the hot zone. Whiting are shy fish, that are easily spooked, so in full sunlight they can be a bit deeper and then will move right into the shallows under the cover of darkness. Understanding your sounder is handy, allowing you to read the difference between a sand bottom and light weed. This is crucial as you want to be fishing in the sand patches. Once a likely area is found then its knowing when to fish it.

2. When to Fish

In the bays the water flow is controlled by the tides. No tides = no flow, no flow = no go. Fishing around tide changes is one of the most important keys to whiting fishing. Fishing either side of a tide change is like ringing the dinner bell to a school of whiting. They are a longer, streamlined fish, designed to sit in the current and use this to their advantage when feeding. Rather than actively hunting and chasing down food, they will lurk in likely areas and let the food to come to them.

The water movement also stirs up the bottom and allows the whiting to sift through the sand, with their turned downs mouths designed for sucking in worms and molluscs. Whiting will go through phases in terms of which part of the tide cycle they prefer to feed on and this is where time on the water is the key to figuring out a pattern for your local area. The more common time is the last of the run-in tide and start of the run out, followed by either side of the low tide. The same preferences work for fishing along the coast also.

3. Boat Positioning

Once a location has been found, it is just as important to position the boat accordingly with the tide. The tidal flow in the bays will determine which way the boat will face unless the wind is strong. In coastal situations the tide direction does not have as much influence, with the swell or sea direction coming into play.

When positioning the boat, the aim is to have the desired sand patch immediately behind the boat so short casts can be made to access the fish. If the boat is directly above the sand patch it may spook the school, so it pays to take the time to practice anchoring skills to be precise when it matters most. Don't be afraid to anchor a little further up current than you anticipate as you can always let out a little more rope to better position the boat.

4. Rigging Up

Rigging options for whiting are numerous. The two most common are a running sinker rig and a paternoster rig. The latter is more common in the offshore situations and the running sinker rig works better fishing in the tidal situations. One or two hooks can be used with each method, however many prefer to use a single hook with the running rig as it sits better in the current and does not twist as much.

There are many premade rigs available from tackle stores, however they are simple to make yourself. First, a snap swivel or Ezi Rig Clip is threaded onto the mainline and this is used to attach the sinker, allowing it to slide up and down the mainline stopping at a swivel above the hook. At the end of the mainline a small swivel is used to connect the leader. Leader weights are a personal choice but somewhere in the 6-12lb range works well as there can be some undesirables with teeth. Whiting can also be very wary and the lighter leader can make a difference. Most prefer to use fluorocarbon, such as Platypus Stealth FC leader to minimise the chance of fish spooking. Leader length is usually 50cm to 1m and then a hook is tied to the end. It's a personal choice whether to use any added attractants, such as beads or tubing, on the leader. Hook choice is also a personal preference. Some love small circle hooks, whilst others will swear by the trusty longshank hook. Both have their advantages and work well in most situations.

In terms of outfits, I prefer to use something around 7' long with a light sensitive tip. This can be a graphite spin rod, such as the Okuma Helios SX 1-3kg or even the Okuma Epixor Squid rod in the 7'6" model. The 7' Okuma Lunaris and Barbarian nibble tip models are perfect for whiting fishing and are probably the more preferred style amongst the regulars.

Pair these with a matching 30 or 40 size spin reel, like the Okuma JAW or the Alaris models and you have a very capable outfit that isn't going to break the bank. The use of braid offers extra sensitivity, that can be beneficial on fussy fish, however I recommend you run a leader when doing so for the added stealth factor and to offer extra shock absorption as whiting have soft mouths. Mainlines around 6-8lb are usually all that is required for either braid or mono.

5. Bait Selection

Bait preference is again a personal choice however pipis and squid are definitely the staples. Pipis are a super effective bait however they do come off the hook more easily. They can also be pricey and they do add up if fishing regularly.

Squid is the preferred bait for many and can be used frozen, however most will say fresh is best. When prepping a squid for bait, start by cleaning the hood first as if it was destined for the table. When the hood is cleaned and opened up, give it a light tenderize with the handle of the knife or a larger sinker. Some will keep a meat tenderizer in the boat just for this job. You can then use a knife to cut thin strips off the hood. These strips should be around 25-30mm long and about 5mm wide. Small strips like these are jellybeans to whiting and enable them to slurp the bait straight in. Remember they only have a small mouth with no teeth, so if in doubt smaller is best. When presenting the squid on a hook you only need to pin the end of the strip once and leave plenty of hook point exposed.

Hopefully the above offers some assistance and helps you to land a tasty feed.

Cheers, Luke

Gearing Up:
Okuma Lunaris Spin Rods - LUN-S-702NT 7' 2-4kg
Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-702NT 7' 2-4kg
Okuma Helios SX Spin Rods - HSX-S-702L 7' 1-3kg
Okuma Epixor Squid Spin Rods - EPI-S-762 7'6" PE 0.6-1.2

Okuma JAW Spin Reel - JAW-30 / JAW-40
Okuma Alaris Spin Reel - ALS-30 / ALS-45

Platypus Braid or Mono Line - 6-8lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 6-10lb