Whiting owe their popularity to a national distribution, relative accessibility and sweet table qualities. They are a great species for beginners soaking baits and have caused a stir recently with more experienced anglers enjoying success on small poppers.

There are a couple of tricks to catching on whiting on either bait or lure: Your line set-up should be as light as possible. Whiting are not big fish and they are mostly caught in sandy, snag-free areas so you can comfortably use one or two-kilo mainline and leaders. If you need a sinker for a bait rig, make it as small as is practical for the prevailing water movement and depth.

Bait fishers should employ small long-shank hooks and use several rods for each angler, cast out in a fan pattern, to increase your water coverage. Rig each rod with different bait until you see what is most popular on the day. Use fresh yabbies or bloodworms—it’s fun to catch them and more effective than frozen bait.

Focus on sand flats close to where you find your bait and keep changing your location if you don’t get a bite within 20 minutes. Once you find a school, try casting small poppers around for bigger whiting—you might even find a flathead by accident.