KING George whiting are dominating fishing reports in Victoria's bays and inlets.
Every bay angler I meet is fishing for whiting, at least some of the time.
There is always a major changeover of species at this time of year.
As usual, the snapper run has slowed, with snapper catches easing from a flood to a trickle.
Snapper will remain in Port Phillip Bay through the colder months, but the fishing is slower.
It is easier to focus on the whiting, and they are running.
A month or more back, the average size of whiting in our bays was 28-32cm.
However, whiting grow fast, about 2cm or more a month by my estimation, and most now average 32cm to 36cm, with 40cm-plus fish common, particularly at the southern end of the bays.
Mick Kaksa, from Noel Clarke's Tackle Bar, in suburban Essendon, said the whiting fishing in Campbells Cove and off Point Cook this season had been as good as anybody could remember.
Many fish from 36cm through to 42cm are being caught.
Good numbers of whiting are also being caught in other areas of Port Phillip.
On the eastern side of the bay, it is usual for bag limit catches to be reported from places like Mt Eliza, Mornington through to Fishermans Beach, Sorrento and Portsea.
Top spots along the western shoreline include the Queenscliff grass beds, the entrance to Swan Bay, and St Leonards through to Indented Head.
Corio bay is also producing whiting but a significant seagrass dieback in some areas has forced anglers to look for new spots.
In Western Port, the usual areas are producing whiting.
Fish to 45cm are being caught in Dickies Bay, Tortoise Head Bank, Middle Spit and Quail and Tyabb Banks.
Away from the bays, whiting reports are coming from Lakes Entrance and Shallow Inlet in the east to Portland in the west.
Along the Great Ocean Rd, anglers are catching them to 900g but Alan McFayden said whiting have deserted Port Welshpool.
Whiting are easier to hook and more fun than some of the more highly prized species, as they put up a solid fight.
If you rate fish on food value, then most anglers agree that whiting are in a class of their own. Most whiting in our bays are caught in four to six metres of water, but for anglers who don't already know, the biggest whiting usually come from the bottom end of the bays or offshore in water between six and 10 metres deep.
Should you set your course for big whiting don't expect to be taking home bag limit catches as often as you would when fishing up the bay for fish in the average 32-36cm size ranges.
There is rarely a need for an outfit heavier than 3kg in bays.
The only time when an upgrade makes sense is for fishing in strong currents where heavier leads are used to hold bottom.
My preferred outfit is a quiver tip style rod rated at 3kg coupled with a small threadline reel and spooled with braid, as it gives immediate bite detection.
A monofilament leader of about 3-4kg runs to the hook.
Remember when rigging for whiting to set the bait below the sinker.
This is easy with a standard running sinker rig where the sinker runs up the line but is stopped by a swivel that separates braid from leader.
On a running paternoster rig, ensure leader to hook is at least twice as long as the leader that runs to the sinker.
The same rule applies with a fixed paternoster rig.
Give some thought to hook size.
For most anglers the most popular whiting hook is the medium to long shank No. 6, but hooks of this size are difficult to use on large baits such as cocktails of squid and mussel.
By the time the bait is on the hook, the hook point is buried.
You will still get bites, but unless the hook point is exposed you will not achieve a hook up.
Experienced whiting anglers prefer instead to employ No. 4 hooks.
If snapper are a serious chance, as they are on the whiting grounds of the Lonsdale Bight, then it can pay to employ stronger stainless steel.
This season I use 1/0 Suicide pattern hooks around dawn more often due to pinkies.
However, hooks this large are too big for most whiting.
Fresh bait is best and the better baits include fresh squid, softened with a meat tenderiser until the juices leech out, capped with a piece of mussel.
The cost of pipis has made them prohibitive; mussels, sandworms and even pilchard fillets work just as well, and they are cheaper.
Whiting feed best when there is current running, often going off the bite during slack water and then returning to feeding mode when the current kicks back in. Whiting often reject bait that has been mouthed by another, so always change your bait if you miss a bite.
