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When
Autumn draws in, we can look forward to the Whiting arriving and giving
us some action.
From
Mid September onwards, small Whiting should start taking your bait, as
October comes in the whiting should increase in both size and quantity,
with a steady supply of good sized fish regularly available until the
end of November. As the year draws to a end, so does the supply of
whiting, with only the odd one or two fish still being hooked once
Christmas has passed.
Flat,
sandy shallow beaches provide the best spots for this fish. The East
coast beaches from Great Yarmouth up around Happisburgh, Mundesly,
Cromer and North as far as the Wash, will provide the best opportunities. However
good bags of Whiting have been taken all around the UK, with "Hot
Spots" reported at Dungeness in Kent, Chesil Beach in Dorset, The
beaches of North Wales and from Blackpool up to Cumbria.
When
the Sea goes calm and there is little wind, it is time to get out the
tackle and set off after the Whiting. If there is a frost in the air,
your chances are improved further. As the whiting get bigger they are
less afraid of a stronger surf and can often be hooked only a few yards
from the shore. Maybe learning tactics from our old friend the Bass !
Look
for deep gullies running parallel with the beach, whiting love to run
through these. If there are sand banks cast over the bank and fish on
the sea facing side. Beaches with wooden groynes, like those along the
Norfolk Coast, will require you to cast out beyond the end of the
groynes as whiting will rarely be found inside the boundaries of the
groynes.
Casts
of 25 - 30 yards will take whiting, feeding in the surf of a flood tide.
As the ebb tide comes along gradually increase you casting distance to
60 - 75 yards.
Whiting
are a shoal fish that feed on the run. In calm sea keep your hook snood
short. As little as 6 - 8 inches is just right. If it is a faster tide,
increase the snood length to 15 - 18 inches allowing the fish to swallow
the hook whilst still swimming.
The
best rigs are either a two or three hook paternoster. With the short
hook snoods booms can stop tangling, but these will reduce you casting
distance. (For details of these rigs see our rigs
section)
The
use Aberdeen hooks, sizes from size 1 to 2/0 are favorable.
The
ideal bait is good old Lugworm, but a tip of mackerel will attract the
bigger fish. You may also want to try tipping of with sand eel or squid,
as this can often produce the desired response. As the season goes on
and the Fish get bigger, change your tactics and try a long flowing
trace (Such as an Up & Over) with a chunk
of Mackerel or Sand eel.
Whiting
is the fish for the night fisherman, although the odd fish may be caught
during the day, best results will be achieved around dusk and into the
early evening.
Have
fun with this species but remember one important point, these fish BITE
BACK with their needle sharp teeth, so be very careful when taking out
the hook, otherwise you will be remembering the fish for the totally
wrong reason, as your finger throbs away for the next few days !
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