Whiting Species
One of the fantastic things about beach fishing is that anyone can access a great fishing spot. You can walk straight onto the sand… or in my case, cruise the dunes near Kurnell in a brand new Toyota Kluger.
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up my Kluger, it has so many features - but one thing great out here for sand driving is VSC or Vehicle stability control.
VSC can actually sense when you're oversteering or understeering on a corner, and control the amount of brake and engine power going to each wheel. I tell ya - soon we drivers won't have to think at all!
Now the key to fishing on the beach is finding the best gutters… so I enlist help from local expert, Brad Appel.
What you look for Andrew is a gutter… whitewater in the hole, and the fish will be feeding off the sandbar into that hole.
And where there's surfers, there's usually a decent dropoff… As it turns out, the best gutters are just a stone's throw from central Cronulla… at Wanda Beach.
We're targetting sand whiting - and whiting just love worms. So Roy Smith, another local fisho, shows me a way to catch beach worms. He waves the bait with one hand, and slides his other hand into the sand to snatch the worm when he rears his ugly head.
Looks like Roy's worms are already working a treat. You can catch sand whiting right through summer around Cronulla. From late November until the end of April - and the period from half to high tide is usually when they're on the bite.
I'm using a paternoster rig to keep my worms close to the bottom, where the sand whiting feed.
Sometimes its tricky to know when to strike in the surf, because your line might be tugged by weed or waves. Often you just need to let the whiting catch themselves.
Whiting live in the shallows, so they're easy to catch in populated areas like Sydney. And I've caught a few beauties off the sandflats from my boat in Port Hacking.
Sand whiting are found right down the east coast from Cape York in Queensland to Lakes Entrance in Victoria… and even on the northeastern coast of Tasmania. And research shows sand whiting don't move much from home.
Well this is what beachfishing is all about, with the sun rising, surfers off to the right, that's a good indication there's a nice bank out there, and a good gutter on the left hand side.
Brad's already nabbed a little tailor on a pilchard, so I'm straight in there. And looks like the early worm catches the whiting…
Now this is what I'd call an elbow slapper. I can't even reach my hand around that big belly.
He's about 40cm - which means he could be up to 15 years old!
Whiting don't get huge. A 50cm whiting is about the biggest you get.
Most people think whiting breed in the estuaries, but they actually come out into the ocean to spawn… So the fish we're catching here are probably on their way or just coming back from a productive spawning session.
If you want to catch sand whiting, you can pick up all your beach fishing gear from Big W. Big W stores have a great range - including my latest "Escape with ET" whiting rod and reel combos.
I drove onto the beach from Boat Harbour Four Wheel Drive park on the Kurnell Peninsula in Sydney. You can pay $15 a day for beach access or buy a season ticket.
On the beach, I tested the amazing new Toyota Kluger. To check out this hi-tech 4WD, head to your nearest toyota dealer or log on to toyota.com.au
The Escape with ET crew flew to Sydney with Virgin Blue Airlines. For details of their flight schedule and all their great deals, call 136789 or take a look at www.virginblue.com.au
In southern
Sydney, stay at Rydges Cronulla. They have an endless weekends
deal between April and June where you have a big discount on
your second night. Give Rydges a call for more details.
