My first elbow slapper

[AlbertW]

Hey All,

Recently, thanks to @DerekD I’ve caught the topwater fever which means emptying my wallet out on lures and spending an exorbitant amount of time chasing fish on said lures. A topwater whiting or even just a whiting caught on a lure had been on my to-do list for quite a while and I’ve targeted them for quite a long time and have had some very close encounters. I hit up one of my favourite sand flats and started with my baitcaster, hoping for a big flathead on a swimbait. After spending 2 hours wading the flats, I could not find a singular flathead. So I decided to head back to the car and change to my bream rod. I waded for another 2 hours with no luck until I started messing around in the ankle deep water until a small school of whiting came up and smashed my slippery dog but my hooks didn’t catch. The newfound encouragement fueled me to wade to the deeper dark blue water sections of the sand flat and skimming my slippery dog over them until suddenly something exploded on it. A good specimen for my first one, not sure if it’s big enough to be called an elbow slapper though haha. It measured high 30’s, around 37 or 38 and was very chunky, around the same size as my forearm but it still looks tiny in my hands .  Was a struggle to land it on 4lb and my braid snapped very easily as I tested my leader knot. I then spent another hour grinding away for a big flathead on the baitcaster but they didn’t come out to play.
 

Thanks for reading,

Albert

[AlbertW]

[Aussie_fisher]

Awesome whiting. Lures are addicting aren’t they recently been trying to get into soft plastics myself

[XD351]

Awesome whiting Albert ! First one on a lure and it’s a big one - gotta be stoked with that ! 

[jenno64]

That is a kidney slapper!! Well done:)

[JustJames]

1 hour ago, AlbertW said:

not sure if it’s big enough to be called an elbow slapper though haha. It measured high 30’s, around 37 or 38 and was very chunky, around the same size as my forearm but it still looks tiny in my hands

Persistence paid off....well done!

 

Hold the fish so that it's as close to the camera as possible, and 90 degrees on to the camera, so there is no foreshortening (persoective) on the fish.

 

The brag mat is the real proof though, and that is deffo a good sized whiting.

[Green Hornet]

That’s a really nice fish Albert, especially considering it was your first top water whiting and one you won’t ever forget, I bet.

Personally, I like your top photo. It really tells the story of the capture, with the shallow sand flat in the background and the lure hanging from the fish’s mouth is the icing on the cake.

[bessell1955]

Nice fat fish.

[Pickles]

Well done Albert, it’s great when you spend time targeting a species and bag a good one. The whiting is a beauty, well done and seeking advice from an experienced mentor in @DerekDand putting the advice into practice that produces results, pays dividends, as you have found out.

[Bennyg78]

Well done @AlbertW now you need to go and buy every topwater lure til you end up so confused by which one to tie on 😜 

keep it up!!

[Yowie]

Nice fish there. Heading towards the 40 mark, at that size it is a big whiting so good work.

[Larkin]

Top fish Albert!

[Little_Flatty]

That's a fantastic fish @AlbertW, an absolute thumper. Well done, I know you've been working many years towards this fish. I suspect there are many more to come!

[big Neil]

Hey Albert. You're an absolute classic mate. That Whiting would definitely qualify for the elbow slapper category. You epitomise what this site is about...learn from others, put into practice, practice a lot, succeed. Your passion for angling and learning new skills earns my acknowledgement as a Fishraider of the future. I hope I will be around for a while to witness your growth. Keep learning, practicing, improving and succeeding. bn

[Mike Sydney]

Stonker mate, absolute cracker for a first one on surface, GG !

[faker]

Nice. Still need to find sandflats to fish some time. I am thinking bobbin head

[Robbo from Sydney]

Well done Albert - that is a nice whiting.  Like you I have had the benefit of the wisdom and encouragement of  @DerekD  and it makes such a difference. I too am trying now for topwater whiting as they are a fish I have always loved catching (and eating)

 

[DerekD]

Hi @AlbertW

I really enjoyed both the written report and the photos. Glad to see things are coming together for you and this will be one of the first of many topwater fish you will catch over the years. Once you understand the how to do it then it just comes down to putting in the time and covering ground. Next challenge is topwater fish on a bent minnow.

Hoping to get out for a fish with you in the coming weeks.

Regards,

Derek

[corro]

Great fish mate!

[FishingFables]

On 12/18/2023 at 10:49 AM, AlbertW said:

Hey All,

Recently, thanks to @DerekD I’ve caught the topwater fever which means emptying my wallet out on lures and spending an exorbitant amount of time chasing fish on said lures. A topwater whiting or even just a whiting caught on a lure had been on my to-do list for quite a while and I’ve targeted them for quite a long time and have had some very close encounters. I hit up one of my favourite sand flats and started with my baitcaster, hoping for a big flathead on a swimbait. After spending 2 hours wading the flats, I could not find a singular flathead. So I decided to head back to the car and change to my bream rod. I waded for another 2 hours with no luck until I started messing around in the ankle deep water until a small school of whiting came up and smashed my slippery dog but my hooks didn’t catch. The newfound encouragement fueled me to wade to the deeper dark blue water sections of the sand flat and skimming my slippery dog over them until suddenly something exploded on it. A good specimen for my first one, not sure if it’s big enough to be called an elbow slapper though haha. It measured high 30’s, around 37 or 38 and was very chunky, around the same size as my forearm but it still looks tiny in my hands .  Was a struggle to land it on 4lb and my braid snapped very easily as I tested my leader knot. I then spent another hour grinding away for a big flathead on the baitcaster but they didn’t come out to play.
 

Thanks for reading,

Albert

Well done Albert that’s an excellent whiting on a surface lure! From reading your report I can tell have enthusiastic and dedicated you are, lovely to see!