Fishing for whiting on the flats

They are a common estuary species that are easy to target, even for novice anglers. Sand whiting are usually silver in colour with yellow features, and a long, skinny body growing to an average adult size of around 25cm to 30cm.

Typically found swimming in the shallow sandy flats, sand whiting are a year-round species.

Many people, including me, would remember their first fish was a whiting. I can remember fishing for this tasty species with my grandfather. He used a longer rod with an Alvey side-casting reel and pulled in consistent numbers of bigger whiting measuring more than 35cm.

It was a great day if we ever caught a 40cm whiting.

The correct tackle set-up will improve your chances of hooking a sand whiting.

My whiting setup generally consists of a 6-10lb spin rod paired with a 2500 reel, set with 10lb line and size 4 hooks.

I have heard of many anglers using lighter mono, but 10lb has always worked for me, because if I am lucky enough to hook a decent flatty as a by-catch, I have a much better chance of landing it with the heavier line.

You can catch the hard-fighting sand whiting on both bait and lures. Keen anglers will spend as much time getting bait as they do catching fish.

The best bait is live worms and yabbies, both natural food for silver whiting. I dig around the mangroves at low tide for bloodworms; collecting them can be back-breaking stuff and not for the faint-hearted, but it’s well worth it.

If you’re near sandbanks and can pump live yabbies to set on a hook, I’d highly recommend it. Use a slow wind to attract the fish.

I’ve also had success casting along banks with surface lures. Whiting are aggressive feeders and fight hard for their food.

Knowing this, I find anything near the surface that looks like a prawn – such as the Bassday SugaPen – will work best.

A walk-the-dog style retrieve, giving the rod tip quick flips while reeling in the lure, is a common technique.

Be sure to mix retrieves up a bit to see what will work on the day; I find incorporating a pause helps.

A gentle pull to the side or slowly lifting the rod tip works best to set the hook. Whiting have very small mouths, and striking too hard can pull the hook.

Whiting are often found near mangroves or sandbanks. I have also targeted them in gutters along the beach.

I generally target them on sandflats. Fishing just off a sandbank is very successful with the correct bait.

As a child I remember thinking the further the cast, the deeper the water, therefore the bigger the fish. However, it’s the opposite for sand whiting – the shallow water is what you are after.

I generally fish in ankle-deep water, casting out to a 40cm to 60cm depth to find consistent numbers.

The best time is on an incoming tide. Flathead or bream might also venture onto your hook, as they have similar taste and movement patterns.

Once caught, whiting are easy to handle with relatively soft fins making it a family-friendly fish.

They also rate as an easy fish to fillet with minimal bones and go down very nicely coated in some breadcrumbs and with a slice of fresh lemon.

Follow these helpful hints and you’ll have a fun afternoon out with the family catching some whiting.

As always, abide by state size and bag limits.