WHITING
BEST BAITS: Worms,
sea, blood, wriggler. yabbies, pippies, prawns, small black soldier
crabs.
The whiting likes to
search the sea bottom for tasty morsels on the shallower, cleaner
banks, where the tide is not running so fast.
Angling for whiting
is made more interesting because their method of bite is not always
consistent, and has to be assessed on the day. Whiting are shy
of a lot of weight directly on the bait so a trace is used, about
40 cm long, but in some instances up to 1 m.
To keep the bait just
on the bottom, a small 00 ball sinker is used on top of the bait.
But in bright sunshine fishing, it has been found that a substitute
of 50 mm or 80 mm of red plastic tube on the trace will give colour
attraction and increase bites. Any further weight necessary, which
should rarely be heavier than a No. 1 ball, is placed above a
small No. 8 swivel or ring used as a sinker stop.
The usual method to
lure whiting is by creating bait movement by a slow retrieve with
the reel. When the initial nibbling type of bite is felt, the
bait movement is continued until the weight of the fish bends
the rod.
To set the hooks increase
speed of winding, at the same time leaning on the upright rod.
Do not try to strike a fish by jerking the rod.
At times when whiting
prefer to rush a stationary bait, a little slack line left between
the reel and the bait, will help give the angler time to position
himself to hook his fish. Even if it bites wildly, do not let
this make your actions frantic and wild. Still do not strike,
just turn, wind and lean.
When fishing from a
beach lift your fish to bring it ashore, as whiting are adept
at throwing a hook if allowed to tumble in a breaking shore wave.
Whiting dislike very clear water, so are best sought on an ebbing
tide, when water is discoloured in most areas.
Any ripples or turbulence
at meeting tides is worth investigating as it clouds the water,
and stirs the sand, unearthing food particles.
They can be in water
as shallow as 45 cm, particularly over a bait bank on the early
ebb tide. If fishing areas with weed look for clear patches of
sand which form amid these places.
When wading, a shoulder-bag
saves unnecessary movement to and from the water, which disturbs
the fish. With compartments for bait and fish caught, the bag
makes the angler better equipped to search for fish.
Yabbies are a good all
round bait, but wriggler, rock and bloodworms are excellent bait.
Eugarie and surf worms seldom bring best results in stillwater
estuaries, but are regarded highly for whiting fishing from surf
beaches. A fine pointed French hook size 2 is used with yabbie
bait, a size 3 with worm bait. These are areas where the unpredictable
whiting is successfully fished with an anchored bait in a fast
running tide. This departs from every principle of good fishing,
but if you find these conditions you may have to adapt yourself.
This fish cannot be easily recognized by its biting habits.
Whiting work up into
the shallow corner of V shaped gutters, and again a rig with a
trace is favoured. When using any trace in surf fishing, always
rewind a few turns immediately the cast lands, to lay the trace
out so that it will not become tangled.
Whitting are often located
close to the southern side of a rocky headland.
