What is the best rig for whiting in Perth?

Two rigs cover almost everything. A paternoster — two dropper loops above a small ball or bomb sinker — is best for King George whiting around jetties, weed edges and broken reef. A running-sinker rig with a long fluorocarbon trace suits yellowfin whiting on shallow sand flats, where the free-sliding sinker stops the fish feeling weight on the pick-up.

What hook size is best for whiting?

A size 4 long-shank hook is the all-round whiting choice. Drop to a size 6 when fish are small or fussy, and step up to a size 2 only if herring are stripping baits and you need to cut bycatch. Long-shank hooks make unhooking easier with cold fingers, and chemically-sharpened hooks turn timid bites into hook-ups.

What bait works best for whiting in Perth?

For King George whiting, fresh squid strip cut narrow and 6 to 8 cm long is the gold standard, threaded so it waves in the current. For yellowfin, use small soft baits — bloodworms, prawn pieces or maggots. Peeled prawn is a reliable universal fallback that catches both species.

How do you stop whiting stealing the bait?

Whiting strip baits because the hook is too big, the bait is bunched up, or you are striking too early. Downsize to a size 4 or 6 long-shank, cut squid into thin strips that hide the hook point, and hold the rod so you feel the soft bite rather than leaving it in a sand spike. Circle hooks help if you keep deep-hooking fish.

How to Rig for Whiting in Perth: KGW and Yellowfin

Whiting punish a clumsy rig faster than almost any inshore species we chase. Small mouths, soft bites, and an infuriating ability to strip a bait without moving the rod tip. Get the rig right — hook size, leader, sinker, presentation — and your hook-up rate goes from frustrating to fun. Get it wrong and you’ll spend the arvo re-baiting while the bloke next to you quietly fills a bucket.

Two main rigs cover almost every Perth whiting scenario. A paternoster for weed edges and jetty work where you’re targeting King George whiting, and a running sinker for the shallow sand flats where yellowfin whiting live. Everything else is a variation on those two themes.

The Paternoster Rig for King George

The paternoster is the workhorse rig for KGW around weed edges, broken reef and jetty pylons. The idea is simple — keep the bait just off the bottom, above the weed, where the fish can see it silhouetted against open sand.

Tie it like this. Start with 60-80cm of 6-8lb fluorocarbon leader. Tie two dropper loops into it — lower one sitting about 10cm above the sinker, upper one 15-20cm above that. Dropper loops of 8-15cm are plenty; any longer and they tangle on the cast. Attach size 4 to size 6 long-shank hooks to the loops. Long-shank matters — it gives you something to hold while unhooking fish with cold fingers in half a metre of chop.

Finish with a small ball or bomb sinker on the bottom — enough to hold position, not so much that you’re dragging an anchor. A size 1 or 2 ball is plenty around the Perth jetties unless there’s real current. Connect to the mainline with a small swivel so the leader doesn’t twist every time a stray herring grabs a dropper.

Best spots for this rig include Rockingham Jetty, Palm Beach Jetty and inside the walls at Hillarys Boat Harbour, where you’re fishing close structure and clean sand patches between the weed.

The Running Sinker for Yellowfin on Sand Flats

Yellowfin whiting want a different rig. On the shallow sand flats at Warnbro Beach, Safety Bay or the estuary mouth around Mandurah Jetty, fish are often in ankle-to-knee-deep water and spook at anything unnatural. A paternoster with a clunky sinker thumping down in 40cm of water is a great way to watch a school leave.

The running sinker solves it. Thread a light ball sinker (size 00 to size 1, sometimes smaller) onto your mainline, then tie on a small swivel. Off the other side, run a long trace of 6-10lb fluorocarbon — 80cm to a full metre is not too much. Terminate with a single size 4 to 6 hook. That’s the whole rig.

The bait drifts naturally along the bottom as water moves across the flat, with the sinker sliding free so the fish doesn’t feel weight when it picks up. Cast ahead of working fish, let it settle, and hold the rod — don’t put it in a sand spike and wander off to scroll Instagram. Yellowfin hits are subtle and you want to feel them before the rod does.

Hooks, Leader and the Small Details

Hook size matters more than most blokes admit. Size 4 long-shank is a good all-round whiting hook. Drop to a size 6 when the fish are small or fussy, step up to a 2 only if you’re getting monstered by herring and need to reduce bycatch. Chemically-sharpened hooks are worth the extra couple of bucks — a dull hook turns a timid whiting bite into a straight miss.

Leader is the biggest upgrade most Perth whiting fishers still ignore. Use fluorocarbon, not mono. 6lb for clean water and fussy fish, 8lb as a default, 10lb only around sharp pylons or where a flathead or small pinkie might grab the bait. Tie fresh leader every session — the last one has sun damage, micro-abrasions from weed, and is usually a bit curly from the reel. Costs five minutes and saves you the fish of the day.

Retie after every snag-up. Always. If you pulled hard enough to free a hook, you’ve stretched the leader and the knot is compromised. The one time you don’t is the one time you hook something worth keeping.

One upgrade worth considering — swap to circle hooks if you’re deep-hooking too many fish for release. Don’t strike, just lift into the fish. Almost eliminates gut-hooking.

Baits That Actually Work

Bait choice shifts with species. For King George, fresh squid strip is the gold standard — cut narrow, about 6-8cm long, threaded onto the hook so it waves in the current rather than sitting in a ball. Fresh is the operative word. Frozen bait-pack squid works, but a tube of squid you caught or bought that morning is a different proposition entirely.

For yellowfin, the classic baits are maggots, prawn pieces and tube-worm. Small baits, presented cleanly. Bloodworms are the gold standard when you can get them — genuinely hard to beat, expensive, and treated like contraband by the people who know where to dig them. If someone offers you a swap for bloodworms, take the deal.

Peeled prawn works everywhere. Fresh mulie chunks get hit by both species and everything else in the area, which is either a feature or a bug depending on how you feel about herring.

Putting It Together by Spot

A quick practical pairing. Paternoster with squid strip at Rockingham Jetty or Palm Beach Jetty for KGW around tide change. Paternoster inside the walls at Hillarys on cleaner days, same bait. Running sinker with a long fluoro trace and small prawn or worm at Safety Bay and Warnbro for yellowfin in shallow water on the top of the tide. Running sinker around the estuary mouth at Mandurah Jetty for a mixed session — you’ll pick up yellowfin, the odd flathead, and a few surprises.

Some anglers will insist on one rig for everything and refuse to change all afternoon, then complain about the fishing. Perth whiting reward the bloke who reads the water and switches rigs when the situation changes. Five minutes of re-rigging often out-fishes an hour of stubborn casting.

Before you head out, check wind, tide and solunar for your chosen spot on BiteCompass. Pair the right rig with the right conditions and the right window, and Perth whiting stop being a frustration and start being the reliable feed they’re supposed to be.