They have a subtle action that doesn’t spook fish when the surface of the water is flat.

To begin with, I am not a fan of soft plastics when it comes to targeting whiting.

Click on the live chat button and let our angling experts help find the best whiting lure for you if you need further assistance or get in touch with our fishing tackle staff team by giving us a call during A.E.S.T business hours. Tip them with small strips of squid or shrimp. Once there, I slowly lift the rod so that the soft plastic and jighead only rises a centimetre or two off the bottom, and I allow very long pauses between lifts. Fitting them with smaller light gauge hooks will cause them to suspend or float; similarly, heavier gauge over size hooks will make them sink. The Morwell dealer has had these boats in […], by Steve Morgan • Bassco is an Australian-built fibreglass fishing boat created by Gippsland veteran boat builder, Michael Boag. At times like these you have to keep that popper or shrimp-style fly moving and jumping while waiting for a horde of agro whiting to come and chase it down! Poppers do work and are still probably the go to lure, but they aren’t the only lure that will catch whiting. Move as quitly as possible while wading the sand flats if it’s early morning or late afternoon try not to cast shadows in front of yourself where you’re casting. When using a faster retrieve, surface stickbaits almost perfectly simulate a scurrying prawn. When targeting whiting off the beach I like to use a Mustad Bloodworm extra-long 90234NPNR size 4 hook for worms and squid, and the Owner Circle hook SSW-inline size 1 and 1/0 for pipis and pilly tails.

Whiting are known for being ferocious opportunistic feeders, but that does not mean you need a heavyweight setup to catch them.

Because whiting are predominantly bottom feeders, many anglers like to weigh down their soft plastics so that they can bounce them along and over the bottom.

However, in the last 10 years or so I have been using lures much more often. Prawns are great food but they are not that easy to catch, especially if you are a little fish with a small underslung mouth and no teeth! I believe that the transparent body makes the overall size of the blade appear smaller, and I tend to use it when the water is clear or when whiting are spooky. Formosa 550 SRT with Suzuki 150HP 4-stroke, by Jarrod Day • King George whiting tick all the boxes – they put up a fair battle on light tackle and on the table they’re an absolutely delicious treat.

Use a paternoster rig with droppers as close to the bottom as possible. The edge of where the whitewater When you look at whiting you will notice that their mouth structure indicates that they are a bottom feeding fish; they spend their time moving over the bottom in search of their prey. Baits and Lures. 2. However, if the fish are a bit on the skittish side or the water is very flat, they can often spook wary fish. You should remove a fillet with a sharp knife and then cut it into small strips, taking care to retain the skin. When it comes to hardbodied lures, I don’t have particular favourites, and that’s why I tend to have way too many! Where to fish for Whiting on lures Sand flats and sandbanks are the key ground for whiting fishing with lures, look for yabby holes, wormholes, soldier crabs, small molluscs or sea snails anything that whiting is going to eat while feeding on the sandbanks or flats. Fish with fresh bait. These are basically a sinking version of the surface walkers. The choice is now up to you. I’ll try to narrow it down to three: the TT Lures 1/12oz Ghostblade and the 1/8oz Switchblade, plus the Strike Pro Cyber Vibe 35. Choosing the correct lure for the given situation will often be the difference between a half hearted follow or a crunching hit. TimingWhiting will move up onto a flat as soon as there is enough water for them to swim in. These lures are very effective when the conditions are calm. If there is little action after 5-10 minutes then move. This stops the popper from diving under the surface.Minnows: These also catch whiting, although are often not used as much as the surface varieties, simply because they are not as visually exciting. Yellowfin Bream | Acanthopagrus Australis. The pause must only be very slight, as whiting seem to shy away from the lure if they get a good look at it. Targeting King George whiting on bait is great fun and can be a bit of an art form when the fish are timid.

This does work at times, but I have found that if I lightly weight the soft plastic it will slowly sink to the bottom. I have targeted whiting for decades, and over the years I have mainly used bait to catch them. Catching Whiting on surface lures has taken the Australian fishing world by storm with this popularity choosing the right whiting lure is key to your success.

As for surface lures, I like the 5.2cm Lucky Craft NW Pencil, 55 and 65 Sammys, the Strike Pro Hot Dog 65 and the Berkley 3B Scum Dog. I have included a photo of a beach break with this article, and I have marked the features 1 to 5: 1. This may sound strange but bream also become a bothersome by-catch on the run-out tide and often attack the lures in swarms. They’ve generally spent the low tide holding in the deeper water in anticipation of the run-in tide.


In this section of the article I will talk about the tackle I have been using over the past few years, and why. This rig is ideal for sandy substrates but will result in more snags on a rocky bottom. When this happens I change to a sub-surface stickbait – one that doesn’t suspend, but slowly sinks. This water movement helps to dislodge worms, nippers, pipis and other tasty morsels. It all depends on the fishing location and conditions, and choosing the correct lure for the given situation will often be the difference between a half-hearted follow or a crunching hit. Lefty’s Loop ) will enable walk-the-dog style surface lures freedom to move and zig-zag during the retrieve. All lures are independently reviewed by Fishos just like you.

When it comes to blades, I have way too many! Even though I have caught whiting on both fat and slim profiled floating hardbodied lures, I prefer the slimmer shapes. When fishing with these lures for whiting there is generally one type of retrieve that works – and that’s a constant one. The smaller the berley particles the better, as you only want to attract the whiting, not feed them. If at first you don’t succeed with the speed of your retrieve and you know that the fish are following it, change the speed of the retrieve. Poppers with smaller cup faces often perform better as they can be worked across the surface with a spitting retrieve instead of a deeper blooping cadence.
If I tried to list them all I would run out of space. Rear hooks with a bit of hackle tied onto them can add to the attraction of the lure and also help the popper run a bit straighter to stop the front treble catching on the leader. Jigs. Weed beds on the sand flats cast at the sand patches around them and in between them because that’s where the whiting will be feeding. Information courtesy of Jason Stevenson, Port Lincoln SA, DPI Fisheries VIC, and Department of Fisheries WA. Many anglers swear by clam as the best bait for whitefish.

You’ll generally be fishing in super shallow water so even the shallowest varieties will often be banging into the sand.

Flies. The popper craze all started when whiting were taken as by-catch by anglers targeting bream and flathead on the surface, and it has really taken off.