The Overlooked and Underappreciated Whiting

Whiting, also called Gulf kingfish (not to be confused with the king mackerel kingfish), are a regular catch in the surf and near the mouths of some coastal bays. These fish don’t get very large, but they’re feisty and they also taste great in the frying pan. Still, many anglers overlook – and over-cast – this species.

Catching whiting from the beach is fairly simple: tie on a rig with very small #4 or #6 hooks, to match up with their small mouths. Then bait up with a bit of shrimp or small sand fleas, and cast out. The tricky part is the casting. Unlike targeting some other species, where you want to cast as far out into the surf as possible, make a gentle cast just over the breakers. Gulf kingfish often (though not 100-percent of the time) feed right in the surf, and it’s common for anglers to over-cast beyond the prime feeding zone, when targeting them.

It’s also common for anglers to get hit and not even realize it, even though these fish do hit hard for their size.  The reason why? When grabbing the bait, they’re actually headed in closer to shore. As a result, your line suddenly and unexpectedly goes slack. When this happens, crank as fast as possible to get tension back on the line and set the hook. And most importantly, make sure your next cast doesn’t go as far as the last one did – whiting charging back in towards the beach with your bait is a tell-tale sign that you’re over-casting the fish.

Whiting travel in schools and often ball up in sloughs and holes along the surf line, so if you catch one, get that rig re-baited and back into the water asap. There’s an excellent chance you’ll catch another… and another, and another. And at the end of the day those underappreciated whiting will offer up an awesome fresh fish dinner.