Whiting on Fly – A Beginners Guide

If you’ve ever researched how to catch Whiting on fly, then you should be familiar with one of the all-time great whiting flies designed by Shannon Kitchener – The Whiting Mesmeriser.

Check out The Whiting Mesmeriser fly

Built on a small Gamakatsu hook, matched with a tungsten dumbbell and a short flashy body, this fly plumets onto the bottom and puffs up clouds of sand as its quickly retrieved through the water. Shannon tells the story of how he watched a lady fishing in the estuary, casting a chrome wonder wobbler and catching whiting after whiting.  Impressed that this silver flashy metal spinner wasn’t spooking the fish, and that they seemed to be attracted to the flash, he knew there had to be a way to mimic this with a fly. A few things went into play. The fly needed to be easy enough to cast to achieve good distance with fly rod. It had to be heavy enough to plumet to the sand on the bottom. And it needed to be flashy, to stay true to what the lady angler had been casting. Shannon put his thinking cap on and came up with the fly we now know as the Mesmeriser.

My first experience fishing this pattern was in 2016 when we all got together for a fly-fishing event called the Forster Fly Muster. Whiting was a species for me that had proven to be quite challenging on the fly, so when I was told that the boys, Shannon Kitchener, Brett Clarke and Bretto Wilson were heading to the flats to chase whiting, I wasn’t going to hesitate on joining in. Mesmerisers were tied onto long leaders, and we fanned out in different directions, slowly wading through ankle deep water, stalking and casting to skittish packs of small whiting. Everyone was hooking up around me, cheering and hooting, and the frustration started mounting as I could see where the others were casting and how they were retrieving but I couldn’t manage to land a single fish. I wondered to myself, what the difference was between my techniques and theirs. I had tied on the same fly, using a similar leader length, and targeting fish on the same flats. Obviously, I was missing a piece of the puzzle. And as many fly anglers also discover, a lot of boxes need to be ticked when learning to target a new species on fly so let’s dive into a few of those for you.

Location

When targeting Whiting, whether it be land based, from a boat or kayak, a perfect location to be able to find schools of whiting are on large shallow sand flats.  Ideally these sand flats will vary in depth between ankle deep and waist deep water. A food source is important to bring fish into an area; the giveaway is those small holes in the sand where saltwater yabbies live. Whiting love feeding on these and can be found tailing as they bury their long snout into the sand to feed. Small crustaceans and worms are also a favourite meal.

Look for sand flats that have a tidal influence, as the whiting will come up out of the deeper channels as the tide rises over the flats and manoeuvre their way up into the shallower water to feed. Deeper troughs that run throughout the sand flats are also good areas to look, as the fish will hold position in these channels waiting for the tide to rise before moving further up and over the flat. Look for areas of riffles and current seams, as these are areas where a food source will be funnelled into making it a productive path to work your fly through.  More than likely, you will also find weed beds scattered across the sand flats. These weedy areas make for perfect cover for baitfish and other species looking to take shelter from predatory fish. It’s not uncommon for mullet to be congregating in these areas, and they are also a fun target species on the fly.  On the top of the tide, you will find whiting feeding in the skinniest of water, so don’t disregard these areas as too shallow. It’s best to survey an area from the shore before you start your search across the flats as the whiting may already be against the banks in ankle deep water.

Flies

There are a variety of fly patterns that can be used to target whiting. Crazy Charlies are a common pattern that offer a variety of options for fishing different water depths. They can be tied with bead chain eyes for shallower water or weighted dumbbells for those slightly deeper channels. Tie them in a variety of colours, however, I find a lightly dressed tan or pearl colour to be most successful.

Worm patterns are another option, and a well-known pattern is Dan’s Whiting Worm. Created by Dan Ivanoff, this fly is tied with heavy tungsten dumbbells and has a chenille body designed to mimic a sand worm.

If you looking to target whiting off the surface, then patterns such as the Disco Shrimp and Peter Morses whiting popper are ideal patterns to strip across the top of the water. The disco shrimp is made of a segmented foam body, with a small disc positioned at the front of the fly. This disc is designed to push and spurt water forward as the fly is retrieved, mimicking a fleeing shrimp. Personally, I prefer to have my disco shrimps tied with assist hooks. The assist hooks do exactly that, assist with the hook up rate achieved.

Peter Morses whiting popper is a simple fly made from packing foam, tied with red thread and a sparse tail. It is also stripped across the surface in a fast be controlled stripping motion to act as a fleeing bait.

When choosing to tie your own whiting patterns, consider what depth you will be fishing. If you are wanting to tie a fly like a mesmeriser or a crazy Charlie, use size 8 or 10 hooks. Models such as Gamakatsu SL45 and Gamakatsu sc15 are a great option, and in those smaller sizes suit the profile of the fly and importantly, the narrow shape of the whitings mouth.  If you are wanting a fly that plumets to the sand such as a mesmerizer, choose tungsten dumbbells. These will give you enough weight in the fly to drop quickly to the sand. If your targeting whiting in very shallow water where you believe the fish will be spooky, tie your fly with bead chain eyes to allow for a softer presentation.

Whiting Flies – Our Recommendations

Sighting & Presentation

Time your session with a rising tide. An incoming tide will bring feeding fish up onto the flats in search of food and will give you perfect sight casting opportunities as clean clear water pushes in through the estuary system.

A cloudless day with bright blue skies will have you seeing Whiting at a distance much easier and will allow you to present your fly more accurately. A pair of polarised sunglasses are essential for being able to sight the fish. Without these you will be unable to visually sigh cast these fish, leaving you with no choice but to blind cast, meaning, casting and retrieving the fly without knowing if there are any fish about. It may take some time to adjust to looking into the water, so start in the shallower sections, around ankle deep. You will find it easier to spot the fish in these shallower sections. Have some patience as your eyes adjust to scanning the water. Whiting are ironically a light sand colour which will obviously blend into the surroundings, making it difficult to distinguish them from the sandy bottom. Don’t give up on spotting them, because once you start to sight a few you will find it much easier from here.

Fishing the shallow water, you will need a delicate presentation of the fly as the fish may spook with any splashes on the water from your fly or even your fly line. A lightweight fly such as a crazy Charlie with bead chains is the perfect fly to achieve this. It is light enough not to spoke any fish, but heavy enough to skip along the bottom in the shallow water. Try to allow a fair bit of space between you and the whiting. There are a few reasons for this. One, if you move in too close, you will spook the fish. Two, you need to have enough room in the retrieval process to work the whiting into a frenzy.  The last thing you want is not enough space to enable the fish to commit as your whipping them into a frenzy The fly needs to be cast long and to the side of the school without allowing your fly line to lay across the school of fish. If you end up casting directly at the school and your fly line lands over the top of the whiting, the school will spook, and you will need to re access what angle your cast will take.

Generally, you will be casting at a school of whiting, rather than at a single fish. This will mean that as you retrieve your fly, it will be followed by the entire pack of frantic whiting. It is crazy to watch as theses feisty little fish bump and push each other almost in what seems to be single file, and they challenge each other for pole position.

As you begin to move into the deeper sections of the flats, keep a look out for shiny silver flashes. From a distance you may not be able to see actual fish, so looking for flashes will alert you to wear the schools are holding.

Fishing into deeper water, such as gutters or drop offs will allow for a more forgiving Presentation.  You will be casting a heavy fly for these deeper areas to be able to drop that fly fast into the strike zone.

Retrieval Technique

The retrieval process is a tough process to explain. Every different scenario is going to call for its own retrieval option. From what I’ve experienced, if your retrieve isn’t sparking a reaction from the fish to pounce on you fly, then you need to keep mixing it up until a change of behaviour from the fish is noticed.

A fast retrieve is a great place to start to attract the school, stripping quickly and controlled. Use fast short sharp strips of the fly line or try pulling long fast draws of the line.  Always maintain direct contact with the fly line. You can do this by running the line over the top of your finger and push gently against the cork of the rod grip. Wearing a stripping finger will help you with this and will help to protect your finger from line burn. The retrieve can be worked all the way to your feet, or, when you see the fish charging directly behind the fly, you can suddenly pause the fly. This can cause the whiting to have no choice but to have an instant reaction and eat the fly. However, it can also lead them to shy away from the fly. If this is the case, maintain your consistent stripping method, speeding up and then slowing down the retrieve until it proves results. A small strip strike will pin the fish and gentle lift of the rod is all you need to guarantee a solid hook set.

If you’re not having any success with these methods, you may need to extend the length of your leader. You will generally be casting a 9ft 6lb tapered leader, which in most cases is light enough not to be seen by whiting, However, don’t disregard extending this leader and extra foot or two with some 4lb tippet.

Another exciting way to target whiting is with a top water fly. The Disco Shrimp and small whiting poppers are perfectly suited. Tie them on with a Lefty’s loop knot and shorten your leader to around 7 ft. Shortening your leader will assist to keep your fly under control during your retrieve and limit the amount of leader twists. The retrieve needs to be a continuous stripping motion, never pausing the fly as this will turn the Whiting off the bite. Maintain the speed and quicken this up if the fish are just following and not committing. Whiting has a tendency to slap the surface fly with their tail, seemingly trying to stun the fly. When this happens, keep moving the fly in a steady consistent motion. The key here is to keep the fly tracking straight whilst increasing the retrieval speed. If there are plenty of fish in the school, they will remain together feeding even after you have caught a fish from there.  Continue working around the school and enjoy catching again and again.

Whiting gear guide

To help you on your path to being able to catch these three species as a beginner, a 6-weight medium/fast action fly rod and a floating fly line is being used across all these estuary species.

• 6 weight saltwater fly rod
• 5/6 Fly Reel with an Anodised finish and a sealed drag as a minimum. A submersible, waterproof drag is highly advised.
• 6 weight floating fly line
• 8lb Saltwater Tapered Leader in 9ft or 10ft length with 2 or 3 feet of tippet material
• Tippet material 6Lb and 4Lb. Use a triple surgeons knot to add your tippet material. This will allow you to change flies without cutting back into you tapered leader material. If you need to lighten the leader, add a foot or 2 of 4lb tippet