Big Whiting Secrets

By Ryan Dixon

Some of my fondest fishing memories come from fishing as a young child with my family, on Christmas holidays, at a town called Ballina on the NSW north coast. Whether we were collecting bait, rigging rods, filleting fish or cooking our catch, every time we were doing something fishing related was a memorable time in our family. Although we weren't bothered with what we caught, most of the time we targeted whiting. Out in the boat in the cold months catching winter whiting, or wading on the flats chasing sand whiting throughout the warmer months.

Whiting fishing has been a passion of mine since a very young age. I love catching whiting, I love eating whiting and most of the time I'm thinking about whiting. Over the years my main objective has grown from not just catching whiting, but to catching big whiting in excess of 40cm. Although I'm not always successful in catching big whiting, I believe I've developed a good enough technique to catch them on a regular enough basis and in this article I will share a few tips.

Locating whiting can be a relatively easy task, however locating big whiting isn't so simple. Spending plenty of time on the water is crucial, at different tides, moon phases, daytime and nighttime hours, and in different wind conditions as these can all have a major influence on finding big whiting. Keeping a fishing journal is a massive step in the right direction when trying to crack a pattern as to when whiting are most prolific at your fishing destination.

A good way to find sand banks that hold whiting is to walk a sand flat at low tide and look for small divots in the sand. As whiting feed they bury their nose, almost up to their eyes, as they pull worms, crabs or yabbies from the bottom, leaving a divot as they pull back and continue their forage. Small divots mean small whiting, whilst finding bigger divots can mean big whiting have been feeding when the bank is covered with the tide.

Big whiting can be very smart and they know want they want to eat. Trying to work out what they want is a case of trial and error until you find a successful method. It's no secret that whiting eat worms, prawns, yabbies or squid and all of these baits will work on different days, however fresh bait is the best bait. Live bait is even better, be it worms, yabbies or prawns, with blood and wriggler worms being a perfect bait for big whiting. Big whiting can be very fussy eaters, so carrying a range of baits will help you work out what they want on that day.

Bait presentation is also an important part of whiting fishing. Once you have worked out what bait to use it is essential to present the bait as naturally as possible to the fish. Over the years I've worked out that no hook is too small for big whiting. It's a lot easier to hide a small hook in a worm so the fish can't see, compared to a big long shank or suicide hook. When fishing with yabbies or prawns I just hook them once through their tail, allowing them to walk around on the bottom as freely and naturally as they want.

Most of the time I fish for whiting in crystal clear, shallow water, less than one metre deep. These are not ideal conditions to be fooling big whiting, but choosing the right rig will set you apart from the rest. Personally I fish as light as possible, using no more than six pound monofilament main line, with a small, pea size sinker and a long three pound fluorocarbon trace, up to 90cm in length. Leader size can be upgraded when the water is dirtier or during hours of low light.

Choosing a rod that is super sensitive, yet one that has a reasonably soft taper is a good start, with the soft taper being perfect for cushioning the head shakes of a big whiting on light line. Lately I've been using an Okuma LRF 7'4" 2-5kg rod and it's a perfect match for the way I fish for whiting. Its tip is extremely sensitive and it is super light in the hand. I have it matched up to an Okuma Epixor XT 20 reel, which has a super smooth drag and together they are the perfect combo at an affordable price.

Big whiting can be very smart and knowing when to strike once you have a bite is crucial. The initial bite from a big whiting will be them picking up the bait and crushing it. This is not the time to pull back and set the hook. It's important once you have received the first bite to let the fish swim away with the bait, giving it plenty of time to swallow it, without feeling the pressure of a tight fishing line or heavy sinker.

A couple of ways you can achieve this is to either use a baitfeeder style reel, such as the Okuma Dynadrag, where the fish can swim away with the bait, pulling line from the free spool mode of the reel. Another way you can achieve this, if you are not using a baitfeeder reel, is to open up the bail arm and let the line come off the spool freely. Once the fish has swum away with the bait there is no need for a big strike and I simply slowly lift the rod, whilst picking up any slack line with the reel at the same time. As I use a small hook and light line, I fish a very light drag to try and reduce the chances of the small hook pulling out of the fish's mouth.

There's no better feeling than wrapping your hand around a big elbow slapper and I've been lucky enough to catch my fair share of big whiting. The tips I've mentioned above have been extremely successful for me over the years, but are by no means the only way you can catch big whiting. The best way to work out how to catch big whiting is to take all of the information on board and spend plenty of time on the water. Hopefully my tips help you one day catch that prized whiting.