3 minute read
Fishing with Captain Jay
Fishing for Whiting
By Captain Jay Cranford www.coastalgafishing.com
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If you like to eat fish or wanted to plan a family fish fry, whiting are usually easy to catch, very predictable, plentiful, and delicious. Whiting will move into the sounds this time of year and stay throughout the summer. For instance, Sapelo Sound offers excellent places to find whiting. Go out into the ICW towards the ocean and find a protected area where the bottom rises from deeper water up to 17 to 20 feet. In the mouth of bigger creeks in the intracostal is also a good place to set up as long as the water depth is in that range.
Rigging
Because they’re bottom feeders, our bait needs to be right on the bottom. I like to use a rig with a slip sinker on the line, a swivel under the sinker, a 10- to 12-inch leader and a 1/0 or size 4 hook. (Pictured is a modified hook that seems to work really well.) This rig will keep your bait right on the bottom. When the current is strong, I rig it so the sinker is at the end of the leader, and the hook (or hooks if you're running a double) are a foot or two up the leader. I also like to use the very sensitive Octant Series rods that are made by Six Gill Fishing Products.
Choose your bait
I use shrimp and I’ve fished with others who’ve used cut baits, like mullet, but readily available dead shrimp seems to work as good as anything else I’ve tried.
Remove the shrimp’s shell. With whiting you want to use a small bait, so depending on the size of the shrimp, use about a third or a quarter of the body. I use a small hook and one piece of the peeled shrimp large enough to cover the hook. The peeled shrimp always works better because it allows the smell of the shrimp to seep into the water. Whiting feed more by smell than sight, so the more smell we can get out of the bait, the more successful we will be.
Find the fish
Look for that 17- to 20-foot bottom and anchor out. Let your boat get settled, then cast down current.
I usually begin fishing with the slip-sinker configuration. If whiting are in the area you should begin getting bites right away. If the fish are really active, I’ll switch to a double rig. If you get into a feeding school, catching two whiting at the same time is not uncommon and is easy with this rig.
When to go
During April and May the whiting will be in the inlets and sounds. In June, July and August whiting will be farther up into and
A useful rig for whiting. Photo by Jay Cranford
onto the sandy bottoms of the sounds still at the 17-20-foot depth.
How many can you catch?
Whiting are out in great numbers this time of year and it's a great way to fill up the cooler when you find them. Because this species is so plentiful, there are no size or daily limits on whiting in Georgia, but please, fish responsibly and keep only what you plan to eat in the next few days. Whiting doesn’t freeze well, becoming soft when thawed, and the flavor can become very strong or “fishy.”
So get out and look for whiting this month, and don’t be surprised if you pick up other bottom feeders, such as sharks, stingrays, or redfish. Remember to abide by all boating laws, be sure you have all of your safety gear and keep your licenses and registration up to date.
The whiting should bite all summer and give you the opportunity to catch plenty of great tasting fish and have a boatload of fun!
Don't wish ... let's go fish!
Captain Jay has over 20 years experience fishing the Georgia coast. He's passionate about fishing and enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with you!
