Episode 489: Port Phillip Bay Whiting With Alan Bonnici

Alan’s Best Tips For Port Phillip Whiting

• Whiting are far more common Port Phillip Bay than people realise. Shallow water around the 2-6 meter mark is best. Look for really weedy grounds that hold plenty of squid – as a rule, where you find squid, you’re likely to find whiting too!
• Around Melbourne, most fishos will pull up to a spot they know well and target whiting with baits. Yak fishing is a very different way of targeting whiting in this area!
• You’ll catch whiting in nearly any conditions, but they tend to respond best in cloudy, dirtier water. Warmer water fishes a little bit better but the most important thing is a bit of cloudy water.
• Whiting have really small mouths but can be caught on specially rigged soft plastic worms in the 4” sizes. Often, they’ll suck in a soft plastic rigged on a standard jig head but not engulf it enough to find the hook.
• Using a 1/12th jig head in a size 1, rig a size 6 assist hook on an 8cm trace so that it’s about ¾ of the way down the tail of the plastic. Alan has some custom-made jig heads with a second eyelet on the opposite side to where the leader is tied and finds that 9 times out of 10 he catches whiting on the assist hook.
• Scented soft plastics work very well, but be careful… too much scent on a lures is like too much like chilli in your food! A little is great, but if you go overboard it becomes unpleasant very quickly.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment if you’re having a tough day on the water. Use your tools like your sounder, scents and less commonly used lures. At some stage you’ll crack the code and catch a whiting!

Alan’s Whiting Tackle

• A 1-4 kg or 2-4 kg rod of around 7-foot is great. If Alan feels up to a challenge, he may even take his bream gear out to look for whiting! Currently, Alan runs a 7’2” T-Curve Premium rod with a 2000-2500 size reel with 8lb braid and a rod length of 8lb leader is about right.

Alan’s Whiting Lures

• The lure that Alan will pick 9 times out of 10 for Port Phillip Whiting is the 4 Inch Berkley Gulp Turtleback Worm. The two colours in this lure that work the best tend to be camo and pumpkin seed. Alan uses this lure with the custom jig head set up with the second eyelet!
• A 100mm Squidgy Wriggler in a similar colour to the pumpkin seed also works extremely well. This lure is again used with the custom jig head.
• The Berkley Gulp Sandworm 2” flutters through the water really well and is a whiting magnet.
• Some other lures that can be interchanged include the Zman 2.5” Crawz and Daiwa Bait Junky Critters. The natural colours like the UV bloodworm and sandworms etc. are fantastic. With the smaller lures Alan finds the Nedlockz Jig Head is fantastic.