Photos: Spero Kartanos.
BY SPERO KARTANOS
I’ve had plenty of time to clean the whiting rods and reels every time we get bad weather and to get all my favourite rigs ready for the run of winter whiting, which are starting to move back to all the usual winter haunts. Try the Rous Channel, Fisherman’s Gutter, Amity Banks, Maroon Gutter and the Sand Hills at Moreton Island. Also, don’t forget the Blue Hole is holding some very, very large whiting at the moment, and closer to home, the eastern side of Darcy Light is worth a try.
I receive lots of emails asking what the best rods, reels, setups, and baits are for our bay whiting. I know everyone has their own preferences, but I thought I would share what I have used and my current preferences.
My favourite rods are ultra-light 5 to 6-ft rods, but my absolute favourite is the Berkley Cherrywood ultra-light 5-ft 6-inch with any of the 1000 reels, Daiwa or Shimano, or any brand that has enough ball bearing and is well sealed to last a while.
I started off always using a running sinker, but after an old fisherman was out fishing us and explaining the benefits of a paternoster rig and keeping the hook out of the weed, I was converted and have never looked back. Hooks were the other item that I changed a few years ago, and now I use much smaller round hooks. The black magic whiting hooks KL101 – I really can’t believe how good these little hooks are sometimes. They are hard to bait, especially with fat little fingers like mine, but I find you use half the bait of the long shank hooks (but I still use my red long shank as well) and that’s quite a saving these days. Here is a web address to an article I wrote about trialling these hooks: http://tacklejunkie.fish/black-magic-whiting-rigs/.
Bait is the most important, and you can’t beat live blood worms, but if you’re on a budget and trying to save a dollar or two, then red beach worms, peeled small prawns, and strips of frozen small squid are the other options that work well. The sandworm plastics are hit-and-miss; sometimes, they work really well, and other times, there’s not a touch.
As for tides, my preference in the bay is plenty of run in the tide. When there are small tides and slack water the whiting don’t bite as well. Drifting is by far the best way of finding them; anchoring up and using burly will hold them behind the boat.
So, get the thermals, beanies and jumpers out, stay warm, and catch plenty of fish. And remember, with westerly winds, you can’t see the whitecaps from shore, and we have lost too many lives in the bay this time of year, so it’s better to put off a fishing trip for another day than to have a tragedy.
Until next time, good fishing!
