times tend to commence around an hour after
the tide has turned and the prime period should
continue until an hour or so before it is due to
turn again. This usually results in a 4 hour
window or thereabouts to be out there chasing
fish to really hone in your efforts. Whilst I’ve
only recently started acknowledging solunar
charts on these fish I’m also certain that there
has to be some relationship between whiting and
recommended peak activity times. This
corresponded with the moonset period on two
out of my past four trips where this window saw
the hottest bite action for the session. This could
be pure coincidence but I’m planning to delve
into this a little further over coming trips to help
determine if any obvious patterns exist from an
advanced level of thinking perspective.GEAR ADVANCEMENTS
If there has been one revelation highlighted to me
in the past 5-10 years of KG whiting fishing it
would be that baitcast gear is the perfect choice
from a tackle perspective in preference to the more
popular spinning outfit. Now before you get all
worked up that baitcast gear should be a lure only
proposition for chasing cod and barra or similar
they really do provide an absolute gun option for
bait fishing when it comes to KG whiting.
Sensitivity and comfort are two of the main
reasons why and if you can locate the perfect rod
and reel setup then you’ll seriously find it hard to
revert back to traditional spin gear. For me this
setup involves an 8-17lb Storm Discovery rod
matched with 10lb braid and a Rapala Challenge
200 baitcast reel. Anything heavier and you’ll
start to lose sensitivity but also risk pulling hooks
on fish due to the generally shorter and stiffer
blank properties of baitcast rods. With an outfit
like this you can fish with comfort in hand and a
quicker reaction time to strike at subtle takes or
bites. This is especially handy for fishing on the
drift as baitcast reels allow you to simply free
spool line off the reel with the click of your thumb
as opposed to swapping hands to don or doff the
bail arm on a spin reel. Micro seconds are crucial
in the KG whiting world and the difference in
time between these two techniques can often
mean the difference between hooking a fish or
missing the bite completely.
It’s certainly a fickle world chasing king george
but advanced tactics must be highlighted and
embraced for regular success. These fish rarely
come easy and it truly doesn’t matter how many
you’ve caught in the past because things change so
quickly from a behavioural perspective that you
remain on your toes and adapt to the situation at
hand. There’s a lot more to it than pulling up at a
likely spot, dropping the anchor and expecting
things to just happen. But that’s one of the main
reasons I love these fish beyond the obvious
reasons that they fight hard and taste great. It is
certainly a challenge but when you get it right
they really can be a hard fish to beat no matter
what your fishing background is. ●ABOVE: A nice haul
of fish on t ypical
whiting gear.
RIGHT: Baitcast
out fits provide
bet ter sensitivit y
and response.
SPECIES GUIDE: KING GEORGE WHITING
60 fishingworld.com.au | September 2019