The King George Whiting is a fish that has an elongated body. The upper half of the body is of a light brown/grey-dark brown and is covered in small dark brown spots, the underside of the fish is a creamy white colour. The skin can varie from silver to golden-pink depending upon where the fish is taken from. They are a superb table fish and are often considered to be the best in Australian waters by many. They command a high price in markets often in excess of $30 per kg.
The King George is found from about southern NSW through the bottom half of Australia to south central WA. They are also found in Tasmania occasionally. They inhabit a whole range of environments with the smaller fish of 500grams and less often found only in the shallow coastal bays and environs. Larger fish in excess of 1kg often inhabit deeper water from 30-70 metres deep. The fish can grow to 70cm and in excess of 3kg. the largest one I know of came from Foul Bay, SA and weighed in at a whopping 4.8kg. However generally speaking the average whiting in South Oz would be from 28 - 40cms and weigh 150 - 400 grams. Netting takes a heavy toll on these fish and as such they are prone to overfishing in some regions.
Spawning in the whiting is said to occur from 30 - 32cms in general and spawning whiting can be taken in the May and June periods. The whiting congregate over shallow inshore reefs in winter as part of their spawning run. They usually swim around the reef or weed areas and come out over sand or mud to feed. The King George is known to eat a whole variety of small molluscs, crustaceans and worms that are common in Australia's bottom half.
For good numbers of whiting fishing the shallow bays and estuaries is the best decision. Being a light biter on most occasions a fast tapered, tippy rod is best. Line should be no more than 4 or 6kg although in reef situations and deep water where Snapper could be expected it is sometimes better to use 10kg line. Hook sizes for the smaller fish should be around a size 5 or 6 limerick pattern with the offshore whiting though hooks could be moved up to 1/0 - 3/0 Suicides.
A 1.085kg KG caught over a reef in 60 feet of water.
For hook patterns I like to use the Mustad 34007 size 6 for the reefy areas or where small Snapper are a chance, or I like to use the Mustad 8260D in size 6 for the picky, sooky whiting. It is vitally important however to have a file on hand (preferably a diamond one) and to always make sure the hook has an extremely sharp point and barb.
Ian and Brad Heath with a feed of Whiting and Blue Crabs from a short session.
Well the King George Whiting is a fancier of a variety of baits. They will however choose one in preference to the other on some days. My favoured baits are used year round by many with good succes so there really are no hard and fast rules for what to use and when. My favoured baits are
In deep water and reef situations I like to use.
The King George is the King of all fish (no pun intended). And I believe there is only a coupla ways to have them. Scale the fish and then fillet it. Cut out the rib bones and then a small V wedge is made around the bones at the front of the lateral line. Once these are removed flour, egg and breadcrumb the fish and then gently fry for a minute or two on each side. This way is nice but my personal favourite way to have the whiting is to cook the uncrumbed fillets (fresh) on the BBQ. While cooking, a squeeze of fresh lemon and a sprinkle of salt and, well, nothing at all rivals it.
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