Episode 599: Clarence Estuary Whiting With Nick Haynes

Nick’s Clarence Whiting Tips

• Catching whiting on lures requires understanding the different types and styles of lures and the techniques needed to use them.
• Having a good pair of sunglasses is crucial to spotting where the whiting feed as the tide moves. Look for them on sand banks, drop-offs, or anywhere from a couple of inches of water to a couple of feet. They often float on the edges or in gutters that run through spits. Finding spots with weed and patches of sand with a good amount of yabby holes is important.
• Some areas work better with high tides, while others are better during low tides. Bigger tides can suck fish into a spot where they congregate, making it easier to catch them. Keeping four or five spots up the sleeve and moving when one spot gets slow is important.
• Wind speed is an essential factor in successful whiting fishing. A wind of around 10 to 15 knots is ideal for creating the necessary shimmer on the water surface to enable whiting to feed freely. Use a larger lure when it is windy as it rides better over the waves. When there is no wind or very low wind, using a very small lure becomes necessary.
• When fishing in company it’s worth each fishing different lures or one angler using a fast retrieve and the other a slower retrieve to speed up the process of figuring out what’s working.
• A short leader connected to the mainline with an FG knot will minimise the amount of wear caused by knots passing through rod runners.
• Always fish with a fairly soft drag. Whiting have a soft mouth and t’s easy to rip the hook out if your drag is set to hard.

Tackle For Whiting On Lures

• Nick uses an Atomic Arrows Bream Surface rod in line class 3-8 lbs. This rod is fairly whippy in the tip which is good for getting the required action on the lure. And I’ve set it up with a little Daiwa Caldia 2500 loaded with eight-to-10-pound braid and 10 pound mono (not fluoro) leader. Ten-pound leader is required to protect against losing lures to flathead.

Nick’s Whiting Fishing Lures

• The Bassday Sugar Pen is a popular lure with a little cup face that requires the “walk the dog” technique to make a splash on the surface. It is also important to change hooks and rings on both the 95mm and 77mm models to size 10 Gamakatsu trebles. Many whiting gurus (including Nick) prefer to replace the rear treble with a size 10 assist hook for better hookups. Fish this lure with the rod held at a 90-degree angle towards the lure, slow rolling at constant speed and using small flicks of the rod to impart the “pop” that spits water a little way in front of the lure. This technique also creates the zigzag “walk the dog” action that whiting love.
• Zip Baits Skinny Pops 95mm have a similar profile to the Sugar Pen but have a bigger cup face, so they create more splash and spit more water. They’re a little more difficult to work, but can be very effective when you need to create more commotion to attract whiting when they’re quiet. They are fished in much the same way as the Sugar Pen and require similar hook upgrades also.
• The Atomic Hardz Pop (90mm) can be very effective on whiting. It requires a heavier leader to make it track straight and is best tied to the leader with a clinch knot, rather than a loop knot. The popper is upgraded with the same hooks as for the Sugar Pen but tends to be fished a little faster.