by Dan Mackrell
Making an early morning start to get a quick session in before work, it was simply a matter of launching the boat and spending the time to position the boat where sand meets the edge of the weed / reef. On this given morning it was easy to do as the water was crystal clear even in 7m of water. With the anchor set I threw out a few broken pipi shells for berley and baited the Gamakatsu size 6 worm hooks with pipi. Casting into the sand holes beside the reef I didn’t have to wait long for the first King George Whiting to suck down the bait, on light tackle these fish put up a great account for themselves. It’s important not to lose any fish after hookup as they tend to spook easily and can take the rest of the school with them. Well, an hour later and it was time to head in and get ready for work. With 15 whiting from 37 -44cms it was a great little session and would provide some very tasty meals in the coming days.
My preferred rod for this style of fishing is the 7’6 Majorcraft Crosstage 2-6lb the extra bit of length and the fine tip aids in casting light presentations, gives an advantage to the angler when a whiting sucks in the bait and the soft taper in the rod also ensures that you don’t pull hooks during the fight.
I like using 10lb Unitika FC The Rock fluorocarbon leader, it offers great abrasion resistance but is still nice and supple which aids in presenting baits naturally. The size 6 Gamakatsu worm hooks are sensational, the little baitkeeper barbs hold the bait nicely on the shank of the hook and you can always rely on the gamas to be ultra sharp, very rarely do they miss the mark.
The whiting I have been targeting are in the open ocean and the size of these fish is generally a lot better than those fish encountered in the bays. Fish in the 40cm+ range are common and fish to over 50cms are possible, the rig I use was shown to me years ago by a guy known as “Old Man Otway”, it’s sort of a modified running rig and let me assure you it works a treat.
