FishingFables Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Hi Raiders, It was a back to basics fishing trip for me a few days ago, chasing whiting from my canoe using surface lures. It was lovely to be back out on the water in my canoe at first light on a tributary of the Hawkesbury, listening to all the bird life and soaking in the tranquillity. The mission for my mate and I was to take home a feed of whiting fillets and we were lucky enough to take half a dozen big whiting each home for the family. I recorded the highlights with my GoPro to show you the lure I used and the retrieval technique. I hope you enjoy watching. Cheers Jason 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Looks like an entertaining outing with some nice whiting on the bite. Tried that once or twice in the Hacking, but no fish. That is why I stick to nippers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingFables Posted December 16, 2023 Author Share Posted December 16, 2023 6 minutes ago, Yowie said: Looks like an entertaining outing with some nice whiting on the bite. Tried that once or twice in the Hacking, but no fish. That is why I stick to nippers. Hard to beat nippers as a whiting bait that's for sure. In my part of the world, from Oct-Dec I have found that big whiting can also be tempted on surface lures. Pencil popper style lures have worked well for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Brilliant video Jason, thanks so much for sharing. Looks like you and your mate had a cracking session and some nice sized fish, - well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Some big fish there Jason, well done! One of those amazing sessions where the fish cooperate! I spotted some true elbow slappers on the flats this morning. It did occur to me that rather than probing the drop off for flathead, that I should have been skimming the flats for whiting. That’s on my to do list when Santa brings me my new Primal 6wt😎 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hornet Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Great video Jason. Really good to see such nice size fish cooperate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Great Video and even better fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Great outing Jason! Some cracking whiting there and great to see you and your mate scored some nice fillets! What was the depth on the flats🤷🏻♂️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingFables Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 On 12/17/2023 at 4:56 AM, Pickles said: Brilliant video Jason, thanks so much for sharing. Looks like you and your mate had a cracking session and some nice sized fish, - well done. Thanks Pickles. My mate who is a little older had never fished there before, so I was really pleased to show him the spot and get him onto some decent whiting. The mates you make through fishing and the places you see make it the best sport in the world I reckon. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingFables Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 On 12/17/2023 at 7:37 PM, jenno64 said: Great outing Jason! Some cracking whiting there and great to see you and your mate scored some nice fillets! What was the depth on the flats🤷🏻♂️ Thanks mate. The depth was quite interesting. We were fishing a rising tide so I reckoned the whiting would move up over the flats and started the session casting to newly flooded areas in about 30cm of water. That approach has worked well for me in the past. This time was different - most of the good fish we caught were hanging off the flats in 1-2 metres of water. They would come all the way up to smash our surface lures. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 Whiting can be temperamental at times. I have sighted them in shallow water, cast nippers to them and not a touch, they just chuck a brown-eye at me and swim off. 🤣 When they are not within sight, it will be a different story. A couple of times in the early morning, I have sighted whiting in water so shallow that their backs are out of the water, cast a nipper to them which plopped beside them, and they have struggled to turn around and grab the nipper. Both were legals. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 An excellent report and video Jason. The realistic retrieve of the lure simulating a prawn or something slipping across the surface would attract any fish to think it had an easy meal on hand. What rod and line details were you using? Thanks for sharing your video. bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingFables Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 1 hour ago, Yowie said: Whiting can be temperamental at times. I have sighted them in shallow water, cast nippers to them and not a touch, they just chuck a brown-eye at me and swim off. 🤣 When they are not within sight, it will be a different story. A couple of times in the early morning, I have sighted whiting in water so shallow that their backs are out of the water, cast a nipper to them which plopped beside them, and they have struggled to turn around and grab the nipper. Both were legals. Like you I have also seen whiting in water so shallow I could see their tail. What I’ve noticed with surface lures, is when two or three whiting follow they become competitive and are far more likely to take the lure. In the video I shared, I spent a lot of time just drifting in my canoe, waiting to see signs of shrimps being chased, and then casting to the area, which worked well for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingFables Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 8 minutes ago, big Neil said: An excellent report and video Jason. The realistic retrieve of the lure simulating a prawn or something slipping across the surface would attract any fish to think it had an easy meal on hand. What rod and line details were you using? Thanks for sharing your video. bn Thank you Neil. When chasing whiting with surface lures, I use 6 pound braid, 6 pound leader and a 2500 size reel. For the rod, I saved up my pennies until I could afford a Loomis GLX spinning rod, which is an absolute dream for whiting and bream over the flats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenHourFishing Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 Nice mate, they are so much fun off the top, this time of year is always something I look forward to. Sometime they absolutley smash them. Ive also been putting in some hours targeting them on surface. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bennyg78 Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 What a cracking session!! I Love the topwater estuary season!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlvbw Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 Epic session mate. Whiting are delicious! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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