King George Whiting
Shore / EstuaryKing George whiting are Perth's most prized shore-caught table fish, feeding over sand near seagrass in sheltered waters like Cockburn Sound and Shoalwater. Target with light tackle and fresh pipis, mussels or worms. Around all year, peaking spring and autumn.
Overview
King George whiting are arguably Perth's most prized shore-caught table fish. They feed over sandy bottoms near seagrass beds in sheltered waters, and catching a feed of KGs from the shore is a deeply satisfying experience. They're smart, wary feeders that reward finesse and fresh bait.
Identification
KG, KGW, spotted whiting, South Australian whiting
Long, slender and pale sandy-brown, covered in rows of distinct rusty-brown spots — no other whiting in WA is spotted like that, which makes it the easiest one to name at the water's edge. Small pointed head, low-set mouth built for grubbing in sand, and a body noticeably longer and rounder in section than the other whiting. Juvenile KGs are paler with faint spots, which is where they get mixed up with western school whiting (dusky mid-body stripe) and yellowfin whiting (plain silver with yellow fins). The rule on the flats: spots means KG, stripe means school whiting, plain with yellow fins means yellowfin.
How to Catch
Pipis, mussels, tube worms, beach worms, prawns
N/A — bait-only species. Occasionally taken on very small soft plastics but bait is far more reliable.
Running sinker rig with a size 4–6 long-shank hook and just enough weight to hold bottom. Use 6–8lb fluorocarbon leader — KGs have good eyesight. Keep the rig simple and the bait fresh.
Wade out to sandy patches near weed beds and cast into the gutters. Use fresh, quality bait — KGs are fussy and will reject stale offerings. Fish with the rod in hand and feel for the gentle tap-tap-tap bite. Patience is key — don't strike too early. Let the fish take the bait and move off before setting the hook.
Best from September through April, especially in the warmer months. Early morning and late afternoon on a rising tide are prime. Calm, clear days are ideal — KGs feed by sight over the sand.
Up to 4kg, commonly 400–800g
Year-round
Size & Growth
A good shore-caught KG in Perth is 30–40 cm and 400–800 g. Anything over 45 cm is a very good fish and a 50 cm-plus KG will draw a crowd on the jetty; the 4 kg headline size is an old, deep-water fish, mostly a South Australian story. They're slow-growing for a whiting and can live a couple of decades, so the big ones are old. Most metro shore fish sit just around the legal size, which is why a proper bag of KGs takes real effort rather than luck. Boat fish over the deeper sand run consistently bigger.
Diet & Habitat
KGs are bottom feeders — marine worms, small crabs, prawns, shellfish and anything they can suck out of the sand. They work clean sand patches and gutters between weed beds, usually in 1–10 m from shore, moving up onto the shallow flats on a rising tide and dropping back as it falls. Seagrass is the key: no weed, no KGs. In WA they run from about Jurien Bay south and right along the south coast, with Cockburn Sound, Shoalwater, Warnbro, Safety Bay and Geographe Bay the classic grounds. Larger fish move out into deeper offshore sand as they age, which is why big shore-caught ones are unusual.
WA Size & Bag Limits
| Minimum size | 28 cm |
|---|---|
| Bag limit | 12 |
| Counts toward | Counts within the statewide nearshore/estuarine finfish mixed daily limit of 16. |
Minimum size: 28cm. Bag limit: 12. King George whiting count within the statewide nearshore/estuarine finfish TOTAL mixed-species daily limit of 16.
Eating Quality
Yes — King George whiting are among the best-eating fish in WA, and for a lot of people they're the whole reason for going. Sweet, delicate white flesh with fine flakes, almost no fishiness and no bloodline to trim. Fish under about 35 cm are best scaled, gutted and cooked whole; anything bigger gives two clean fillets worth doing properly. Simplest is best: dust in seasoned flour and pan-fry in butter a couple of minutes a side, or grill or bake whole with lemon. Don't heavy-batter them — you'd be paying good money to taste batter. Bleed and ice on capture and eat within a day or two. They freeze acceptably if you skin, portion and vac-seal, but the delicacy is the point and it's the first thing a freezer takes.
Perth Tips
Cockburn Sound, Shoalwater Bay, and Safety Bay are reliable KG spots. Collect fresh pipis from the beach before you fish — they're the number one bait. Always use fresh bait; frozen just doesn't cut it for this species.