🎣 King George Whiting – How to Catch Them in Westernport Bay

King George Whiting are one of Victoria's most prized catches — delicate flavour, spirited fight, and abundant in both Port Phillip Bay and Westernport Bay. This is Brett's complete guide: rigs, technique, seasonal spots, baits, and the gear that puts whiting in the boat.

Why KGW Are a Healthy Fishery

Victoria's King George Whiting bag limit is 20 per person per day — one of the most generous bag limits in the country. There's a reason for that.

Once King George Whiting reach three to four years of age, they migrate offshore to deep water reefs (places like the Bastra and other offshore grounds) and never return to the bays. They spawn out there, in water that's almost impossible to fish.

That migration protects the fishery. Only a small percentage of the population needs to make it offshore to keep the species thriving. Most fish in the bays are juveniles — that's why we can take 20 a day without hurting numbers.

Migration size varies — typically around 40cm at four years old, though you do occasionally catch 48cm+ stragglers that stayed back.

Best Whiting Rigs & Tackle

🎣 The Tinganoster™ vs the Paternoster

The Tinganoster™ is Brett's own design — a one-hook rig built specifically for shallow-water whiting (the 2–9 metre depths where most Victorian whiting fishing happens).

Why one hook beats two: Whiting feed right on the bottom. A two-hook paternoster looks great in theory, but in shallow water you waste time baiting two hooks and lose bite-time. One properly presented bait on a Tinganoster produces more fish.

When a two-hook paternoster wins: Fishing deeper than 30 metres? Two hooks makes sense — you cover more of the water column.

🪶 Stiff Rod vs Flexi Rod

Both work. There's no right or wrong — just preference.

• Stiff rod: Brett's choice. When you strike, you hit the fish instantly — no delay. Better hook-up rate when you're working the rig actively.
• Flexi rod: More forgiving, softer on light line, but there's a slight delay on the strike.

🧵 Brett's Combo

• Rod: 6'10" 2–6lb spin rod (stiff tip preferred)
• Reel: Lightweight 2500–3000 spin reel
• Line: 15lb braid
• Leader: Reedy's 20lb Monofilament Leader
• Hook: Reedy's Longshank Size 4

How to Fish the Tinganoster™

This is where most anglers go wrong — they sit in the chair and hope. You won't catch much that way.

The Tinganoster is designed to be worked like a lure:

1. Cast it out — pepper it around the boat in different directions
2. Drag the sinker back slowly across the bottom
3. Hop it up and down as you wind
4. Pause — and that's when you'll usually get the bite
5. Repeat — keep the rig moving so fish see the bait disturbance

Whiting are visual feeders. Movement gets their attention. A stationary bait sitting on the bottom is fine, but a bait that's drifting, dragging, and hopping is going to outfish it every time.

The Tinganoster™ — Reedy's red long-shank hook with a squid square. Drag, hop, pause.

Best Baits — Ranked

Bait choice matters more for whiting than almost any other species. Here's Brett's ranking:

1. Pipis — The gold standard. Clean to handle, high scent, deadly on whiting. Downside: expensive (but cheaper at the fish market).
2. Mussels — Just as effective as pipis, much cheaper, but messy to handle. Worth it.
3. Squid (squares, not strips) — Brett's preference. Squid squares give better hook-ups than strips, and the bait flutters in the water — fish see the movement.
4. Prawns — Reliable, easy to source.
5. Yakkas — Decent option, especially if you catch them fresh.
6. Pilchards — Excellent bait BUT falls off the hook easily. Salt them first to toughen up.

Why Squid Squares Beat Strips

Cut squid into small squares rather than long strips. When you drag and hop the rig, squares flutter and disturb the water more visibly. Whiting feed by sight as much as scent — that disturbance gets you bites that long thin strips miss.

Soft Plastics — The Honest Truth

Can you catch whiting on soft plastics? Yes. Should you? Depends what you're after.

If you want to eat whiting tonight: Use bait. Soft plastics work occasionally, but they're nowhere near as productive as fresh bait.

If you just want to muck around: Plastics are fun. Anywhere there's not much tide — Werribee South, Clifton Springs — you might bag a few. In current, plastics struggle.

Don't believe the hype that plastics are the best way. Reality: once in a blue moon you might get a bag on plastics. Most of the time bait wins, no contest.

Whiting in Port Phillip Bay — Seasonal Spots

King George Whiting move around Port Phillip Bay throughout the year. Follow the migration and you'll stay on fish year-round.

❄️ Winter — Southern End

Whiting spawn in winter at the southern end of the bay. This is when the southern spots fire:

• St Leonards
• Clifton Springs
• Queenscliff (and the shallow areas near the rip — be very careful here if you don't know what you're doing)
• Rye
• The Sisters
• Sorrento
• Mud Island

A solid session on the Tinganoster™ — quality fish from open to bag limit.

🌸 Spring — They Start Moving North

As the water warms, whiting begin migrating north up the bay:

• Mount Martha — early spring movement
• Through to the northern suburbs as spring progresses

☀️ Late Spring & Summer — Northern Bay

By late spring and summer, they've spread throughout the northern bay:

• Frankston
• Carrum
• Mordialloc and the northern suburbs
• Across to Geelong and the western side of the bay
• Werribee South — one of the better PPB soft-plastic options (low current)

Once you understand this migration pattern, you can plan your whiting trips around it and stay on fish nearly all year in PPB.

Whiting in Westernport Bay

Westernport is one of Victoria's most productive estuaries — just one hour southeast of Melbourne. Shallow sandbanks, deep channels, strong tidal flow, and a mix of mudflats, weed beds, and seagrass make it a prime King George Whiting fishery year-round.

Top fishing towns around the bay:

• Hastings
• Stony Point
• Tooradin
• San Remo
• Corinella
• Rhyll (Phillip Island side)

Westernport whiting on the Tinganoster™ — straight off the boat at the ramp.

Where to Look in Westernport

Westernport's strong tidal movement stirs up food, drawing whiting to feed along edges, drop-offs, and shallow banks. Look for:

• Sand holes and patches surrounded by weed beds
• Edges of channels and banks — whiting follow these during the tide
• Shallow sandflats — fish the incoming tide

The Tinganoster shines in Westernport because the current keeps the bait floating naturally just off the bottom — exactly where the whiting are feeding.

Best Tides & Times

• Incoming tide: Prime — whiting move up onto banks to feed
• Outgoing tide: Focus on drop-offs and channel edges
• Low light: Dawn and dusk consistently produce the best sessions

Cross-reference your trip with the Reedy's Live Barometer for pressure and water temperature trends.

Brett's Whiting Gear

The exact products Brett uses chasing King George in PPB and Westernport. Click any to shop:

Bag Limits & Regulations

• Minimum size: 27cm
• Bag limit: 20 per person, per day

The 20-fish bag limit exists because of the offshore migration we covered earlier — only a small number of fish need to escape to keep the fishery healthy. Always check the Victorian Fisheries Authority for current rules before fishing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Watch: Catching King George Whiting

More Fishing Guides

• Whiting Rig Diagram — How to Tie the Tinganoster™
• Mornington Pier Fishing Guide
• Port Phillip Bay Fishing Report (Updated Weekly)
• Live Fishing Barometer — Port Phillip & Western Port
• How to Catch Gummy Sharks

Tight lines and happy whiting hunting 🎣