Cronulla Beach Whiting

[Larkin]

Gday raiders, with all the locals onto the whiting lately - I had to get out there and give it a go.

it’s been way over 10 years since I last went beach fishing, so dropped into the tackle shop this morning and purchased a new beach rod. Had been eyeing out the daiwa seajigger in medium/light for months.

After grabbing some live bait & the wife, headed down to Wanda beach - arriving there around 11am. 

Quite a few other fishos about, so took up a spot on the edge of one of the gutters.

Have to say, the seajigger is an absolute tool - I’m honestly surprised how far beach rods have come - this thing is like a sling shot, easily launching baits way over the breakers.

Started off using 8lb leader, but the surf was a little rough and once I hooked up to my first fish, the leader broke while bringing it back onto the sand. Decided to switch over to 12lb and out came a 33cm bream. I don’t keep bream, so back into the drink it went.

Over the next couple of hours landed 4 keepers from 27 - 33cm (and 2-3 smaller ones that went back) with enough fish for a feed in the bag, headed home.
Live Beach worms doing the damage.

[Fab1]

Very nicely done.Can't complain about that catch.

[hookerbruce]

Nice result.  I fish the beaches up the north coast but must be 20 years since I fished Cronulla. Might have to give it a go.

[masterfisho7]

Well done some good eating fish there

[Little_Flatty]

Great job Larkin. I got to say that the light graphite surf rods produced in recent years are a real pleasure to fish with. In a lot of ways, they feel like a slightly longer version of a flick stick.

[GoingFishing]

Great report. And great result considering a 10 year hiatus! 

Yes, absolutely 8lb line in the surf is a no go. Probably ok for inside the estuary but as i mentioned in an earlier report this week. The backwash from the surf combined with the fish naturally trying to swim into deeper water creates the perfect leader popping scenario!

Glad to hear you were happy with the new gear

[Larkin]

1 hour ago, hookerbruce said:

Nice result.  I fish the beaches up the north coast but must be 20 years since I fished Cronulla. Might have to give it a go.

Thanks Bruce. With all the beach fishing reports of late, I figured the whiting must of also hit the local beaches.
 

[Larkin]

1 hour ago, Fab1 said:

Very nicely done.Can't complain about that catch.

Thanks Fab. Was good to go out for a couple of hours around midday and pick up a few fish.

[Larkin]

1 hour ago, masterfisho7 said:

Well done some good eating fish there

Thanks mate. Cant go wrong with a few whiting on the plate.

[Larkin]

1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:

Great job Larkin. I got to say that the light graphite surf rods produced in recent years are a real pleasure to fish with. In a lot of ways, they feel like a slightly longer version of a flick stick.

Thanks mate - was surprised how much energy/power it has. I actually really enjoyed lobbing baits out that far.

[jenno64]

Great work! I’m going to give it another go soon!

new rod sounds the goods too!

[Larkin]

52 minutes ago, GoingFishing said:

Great report. And great result considering a 10 year hiatus! 

Yes, absolutely 8lb line in the surf is a no go. Probably ok for inside the estuary but as i mentioned in an earlier report this week. The backwash from the surf combined with the fish naturally trying to swim into deeper water creates the perfect leader popping scenario!

Glad to hear you were happy with the new gear

Thanks mate, Your report last week had me itching to give it a go off the beaches.

Thought I’d try a light leader, but switching over to 12lb seemed to do the trick.

what pound leader are you using?

(im running 20lb braid main line)

 

 

[Larkin]

14 minutes ago, jenno64 said:

Great work! I’m going to give it another go soon!

new rod sounds the goods too!

get into it mate!

I tried nippers and beach worms - the beach worms seemed to be preferred.

[GoingFishing]

34 minutes ago, Larkin said:

Thanks mate, Your report last week had me itching to give it a go off the beaches.

Thought I’d try a light leader, but switching over to 12lb seemed to do the trick.

what pound leader are you using?

(im running 20lb braid main line)

 

 

Glad to hear i inspired you bud.

I was fishing 12lb leader.

[papafish]

4 hours ago, Larkin said:

Gday raiders, with all the locals onto the whiting lately - I had to get out there and give it a go.

it’s been way over 10 years since I last went beach fishing, so dropped into the tackle shop this morning and purchased a new beach rod. Had been eyeing out the daiwa seajigger in medium/light for months.

After grabbing some live bait & the wife, headed down to Wanda beach - arriving there around 11am. 

Quite a few other fishos about, so took up a spot on the edge of one of the gutters.

Have to say, the seajigger is an absolute tool - I’m honestly surprised how far beach rods have come - this thing is like a sling shot, easily launching baits way over the breakers.

Started off using 8lb leader, but the surf was a little rough and once I hooked up to my first fish, the leader broke while bringing it back onto the sand. Decided to switch over to 12lb and out came a 33cm bream. I don’t keep bream, so back into the drink it went.

Over the next couple of hours landed 4 keepers from 27 - 33cm (and 2-3 smaller ones that went back) with enough fish for a feed in the bag, headed home.
Live Beach worms doing the damage.

Nice catch, I’m new to beach fishing. What rig do you use champ?? And also 8lb line should be more then capable to land a 50+cm unless beach fishing is something different 🤣

[Larkin]

Running Star sinker (have a few different weights and adjust to conditions) down to swivel (make sure it’s a large enough size not to get stuck in the eye of your sinker)

I use a 50cm leader to a mustard fine worm hook in size 1/0. But I will adjust the leader length down slightly if the conditions are rough to avoid tangles. The fine worm hooks are really sharp and have tiny barbs on the top of the shank facing both ways - hold bait better than any other hook I’ve found. Alternatively just use a red long shank.

[Isaac Ct]

Nice whiting mate, live worms are always the best for whiting of the beach. Nice feed!!!

[Larkin]

Thought I’d post up a little bit of beach fishing etiquette and tips for anyone wanting to give it a go off the beach.

Early morning or late evenings are the best times to go. You avoid the crowds of regular beach goers and the fish tend to come on the bite at those times.

avoid weekends or choose secluded beaches. Eg Cronulla wraps around up to boat harbour - can fish all the way up the end to avoid crowds.

don’t fish where people would normally swim

dont fish where people would normally surf

dont fish in the gutter that the surfers use to get back out the back.

Share the gutters - nothing worse than one fisherman with 5 rods lined up the entire length of the gutter.

Use a long beach rod - either held or placed in a pvc pipe/holder close to the water. Don’t forget people run along the beach and you don’t want to have your rod so far back that your line will decapitate a runner.

The beach is there to share.

also want to point out - every beach in Sydney as well as up and down the coast during the summer months (Dec-Feb) will hold good whiting. 
Pick any of them, use polarised glasses and find the gutters - use the right bait (like beach worms or nippers ) and you’ll get onto the fish.

lastly have fun 🤩 

[Yowie]

Nice plate of fish.

12 pound leader probably good enough, 8 pound a bit lite for a rough and tumble surf, especially if you hook a bigger bream or salmon.

Worms tend to last longer on the beach, the nippers sometimes fall off in the rough and tumble surf.

[GoingFishing]

9 hours ago, papafish said:

Nice catch, I’m new to beach fishing. What rig do you use champ?? And also 8lb line should be more then capable to land a 50+cm unless beach fishing is something different 🤣

Beach fishing is absolutely very different. 8lb on the beach is just a waste of your time and money

[GoingFishing]

48 minutes ago, Larkin said:

Running Star sinker (have a few different weights and adjust to conditions) down to swivel (make sure it’s a large enough size not to get stuck in the eye of your sinker)

I use a 50cm leader to a mustard fine worm hook in size 1/0. But I will adjust the leader length down slightly if the conditions are rough to avoid tangles. The fine worm hooks are really sharp and have tiny barbs on the top of the shank facing both ways - hold bait better than any other hook I’ve found. Alternatively just use a red long shank.

Try a 1 meter trace next time. The bait has a better natural movement. I always fish 1 meter trace

[Larkin]

Just now, Yowie said:

Nice plate of fish.

12 pound leader probably good enough, 8 pound a bit lite for a rough and tumble surf, especially if you hook a bigger bream or salmon.

Worms tend to last longer on the beach, the nippers sometimes fall off in the rough and tumble surf.

Thanks yowie - worms are definitely the go in the rougher conditions.

back when, I used to get really good results on nippers off the beach - when the conditions were right.

[Larkin]

2 minutes ago, GoingFishing said:

Try a 1 meter trace next time. The bait has a better natural movement. I always fish 1 meter trace

👍

I’ll give that a go next time. 
 

[Larkin]

46 minutes ago, Isaac Ct said:

Nice whiting mate, live worms are always the best for whiting of the beach. Nice feed!!!

Thanks Isaac.

Thought I’d try the beach again after many years. Switch things up a bit.
Used to fish it quite often in my teens/20’s - always produced during the summer months.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Larkin

[bessell1955]

Yu have not lost the touch, well done.