Whiting

[kane]

Hey Guys

One of the main fish i want to target over these summer months is the whiting. I know a few places in the hacking. But i wanted to know what tides you guys prefered to fish? Baits? Line class? Night/day.

Pretty much any info you can throw at me...

Thanks

Kane

[troutboy]

Hi Kane

In the past i have had most success fishing the last of the runout and the first hour or so of the runup tide.Long fine leaders in the vicinity of 1 to 2 m of 4 to 6lb florucarbon should see you getting plenty of bites.If you are using bait then a fine guage chemically sharpened longshank from size 4 to size 8 with a red bead or small length of red tubing seems to do the trick.Worms ,nippers and peeled prawns all work well as baits or you could also try some of the smaller soft plastics out there such as the 1" fat grubs, good luck troutboy

[Byron]

2 thoughts for you mate.

First, try swimming one of the Ecogear SX40's around in the natural colours. I have caught more whiting on these, whilst targetting bream, than any other lure.

Secondly, Ken A highly recommends a bunch of small soldier crabs as a prime bait. It resists the pickers well and any keeper whiting will have no trouble getting them down the hatch.

Give them a try mate and good luck

[bombora]

Hiya Kane; mate one thing I LOVE is wading a sandflat hunting BIG whiting. And middle/late spring is a bit of a special for big whiting (at least in Narra lake).

I also like first of the rising tide, but also the last of a rising BIG spring tide, which gives whiting access to areas they normally can't get to (so think right up the end of a sand flat etc). One thing is that they bite heaps better (again in Narra) with a bit of colour over the flats from rain or wind, and also as usual last and first light (and at night!!!).

LONG casts are important as any 40cm plus Sydney whiting can be shy of noise. I use a 7'6" rod for long casts and 2kay Fireline and two metre plus leaders of 2kay flouro.

Couple of things: if you see a big ray on the flats cast behind him; the whiting often follow plucking food from the stirred up water.

I use lures _ soft plastics _ and for bigger whiting you don't need the tiny tiny SP grubs lots of people recommend. I've had success with Berkley two inch power grups in P-seed and blood worm, P-seed three inch bass minnows (put em on a standup jig head and let em sit on the bottom between hops as they deadset look like a worm sticking out of its hole in the sand); the second and third smallest Squidgy wrigglers in blood worm and also in the jelly prawn colour. Two and a half inch to three inch grubs have also worked well.

Big whiting don't appear to care about jighead weight _ within reason. You don't need the tiny tiny heads often used when hunting bream on SPs. Stands to reason as whiting must spend a lot of their time wrestling worms out of their holes. A heavier head _ say a 1/8th or 1/6th or maybe a 1/16th if you have wind at your back also allows those vital longer casts. They are not soft strikers either; they can really hammer a plastic.

I also reckon the biguns like quite a bit of current flow _ another reason to use a heavier head to get that lure down to em. I like SHARP No4 hooks on the jigheads.

As for hard bodies any very small minnow which will trundle along the bottom stirring up sand will work; I used to score quite a few trolling a Deception Paelemon minnow and similar lures in pink up past Roseville Bridge from a 19foot Console!!!

Best from Narra was a 43.5cm to the fork, with another dozen so far over 40cms _ yeha! Want a 45cm plus this season.

Mate they cannot be that hard to get to hit a lure if I can score some as I'm a very average fisho who can't get out very often these days; reckon ya just gotta find em first!!

Oh yeah; one thing about using lures for whiting; I'm not being a cool-as-dude, just found bait fishing for em meant one billion baby bream or tiny whiting on the yabbies or worms for every decent whiting that managed to beat em to it. Got sick of running out of bait so quick. The lures mean you have something to interest a big whiting when he/she finally comes along; not a bare hook stripped of bait by a 10cm bream.

Good luck, Bombie

Edited October 13, 2005 by bombora

[Hooky.]

Great info there bombie, thanks for sharing it with us.

Actually, good thread and info all round.

cheers

Hooky

Edited October 13, 2005 by Hooky.

[kane]

Thanks guys your information is much appreciated i will have to let you guys know how i go. I am gunna have a go at a couple flats where i have seen them before when diving for blue swimmers. I will keep you all informed.

Kane

[macman]

Thanks guys your information is much appreciated i will have to let you guys know how i go. I am gunna have a go at a couple flats where i have seen them before when diving for blue swimmers. I will keep you all informed.

Kane

G'day,

I don't fish the Hacking, but I fish pretty similar waters in the Hawkesbury. I use beach worms and soldier crabs, depending on which I can get. I have found a couple of factors that bring results consistently. Fish wherever the current is running and where there is a depth variation, at the edge of sandbanks being the most obvious. Use the tru-turn hooks if you can find some. For some reason they seem to improve hook-up ratios. Use a nice long rod and long traces, I am using a 40 buck Viva 9 foot, and for the money it is a mighty nice rod for whiting. Stay away from rocks, wherever you have rocks, you will have bream, and if you are after a feed, then the less rats f the sea you catch, the better. I also find that it is a bit early yet to target them, and wait untill November when the water warms a bit more.

Matt