Fishing World – September 2019

fishingworld.com.au | September 2019 | 59

OPPOSITE:

KGs certainly

fight hard at

this size.

LEFT:

Advanced KG

tactics should

lead to more

consistent

success.

exposure. It will also see your bait stocks go a lot
further across the session.
In my opinion berley should always be used
sparingly because if you get it wrong either the
fish will be too full to bother with your baits or
you’ll attract a whole lot of undesirables that often
bully the more timid king george whiting out of
the way. This is obvious when you drop baits
down near a berley pot and you end up catching
everything else bar the whiting you’re after but a
lobbed cast way out the back produces consistent
KG results. Chopped up pilchards or razorfish are
a great option to lower in your berley cage as they
take a while to break up but the smells and oils
released will still attract the fish without feeding
them too much. This is why I avoid berley logs or
pellets that can sometimes cause more harm than
good in this manner.
Tidal f low can often be overlooked with
whiting but it really is a crucial ingredient

DRIFT VS ANCHOR
King George whiting fishing is traditionally
undertaken at anchor with the inclusion of bottom
berley as mentioned above in order to attract fish to
the boat. Whilst still considered to be an effective
means of targeting this species I do believe from my

“There’s a lot more to

it than pulling up at a

likely spot, dropping the

anchor and expecting

things to just happen.”

experience over the years that it doesn’t quite

compare to chasing these fish on the drift. Drift

fishing for whiting is my favourite way to target

them and it’s pretty rare nowadays that I’ll even

consider dropping the pick when a whiting session

is on the cards. This more technically advanced

form of whiting fishing offers substantial benefits

over fishing at anchor which notably includes the

benefits of covering ground and keeping baits on

the move. The idea of finding the fish rather than

waiting them to come to you makes perfect sense,

whilst a moving bait will also grasp the interest and

reaction of a whiting as it is pulled away from them

in a cat and mouse like manner. Moving baits have

an uncanny knack of unlocking a KG bite time and

time again as they can certainly be fussy buggers

with their feeding habits and behaviours.

In order to drift effectively however you first

need to ensure you have the right conditions and

subsequent drift speed. Flat calm days without a

breath of wind are obviously a deterring factor and

you may be excused for dropping the pick in this

scenario as it’s unlikely the boat is going to move

anywhere quickly. When the wind is pumping a

little the addition of a wind drogue can help slow

the drift speed or you could simply drag a drift

anchor or weight along the bottom that’s tied off to

a bollard on the boat gunnel with a length of rope.

TIDAL INFLUENCE

Tidal f low should also be considered for a more

advanced approach option when chasing KGs

and it’s fair to say it is commonly overlooked by

many novice fisho’s. In my experience peak bite