Sand Whiting
Where and when to catch Sand Whiting in New South Wales: the NSW season, the spots in our guide that hold them, and where to find NSW's current size and bag limits.
- Size
- Up to 50cm, commonly 25–35cm
- NSW season
- Year-round (best Oct–Apr)
- NSW spots
- 60
Overview
Sand whiting are the summer fish of the NSW coast: the reason people stand in surf gutters at dawn with a bucket of beach worms, and the reason the lake flats fill with waders dragging poppers in the heat of the day. They're found on every surf beach, estuary and coastal lake in the state, and while some fish are caught all year, the warmer months from spring to autumn are the season proper. Light gear, live bait and a bit of patience is the whole method, and the reward is one of the best eating fish on the coast.
NSW Size & Bag Limits
NSW limits for Sand Whiting are set by NSW DPIRD and change from time to time, so we link them rather than copy them. Check NSW DPIRD's limits and NSW DPIRD: sand whiting before you fish.
Western Australian limits don't apply in New South Wales.
Where to Catch Sand Whiting in NSW
Sand whiting live over clean sand: surf gutters, estuary and lake flats, sandbanks and channel edges. The spots below list them, from ocean beaches to the flats of the coastal lakes and harbours.
Sydney Harbour
Sydney East & Botany
Sydney Northern Beaches
Sutherland & Port Hacking
Central Coast
Newcastle & Lake Macquarie
Port Stephens & Hunter
Illawarra
How to Catch
Best Baits
Live beach worms are the gold standard on surf beaches; live nippers (yabbies) and blood worms are the estuary classics. Squirt worms, pipis, soldier crabs and peeled prawn also catch fish.
Lures
Small surface poppers and stickbaits (40–70 mm) skipped fast over shallow sand flats in summer, small soft plastic worms and grubs, and small blades. Lure fishing for whiting is a warm-water game.
Rigs
A light running sinker rig: a small ball or bean sinker running to a swivel, then a long 60 cm to 1 m leader of 4–8 lb to a size 4–6 long-shank hook, so the bait wafts naturally along the sand. A red bead above the hook is a common add-on. In the surf, use just enough sinker to hold in the gutter, and keep the long leader. For surface lures, 4–8 lb braid with a 6–10 lb leader.
Technique
Fish light and keep the bait moving. Cast up-current or across the gutter and slowly drag the bait back along the bottom, a few turns at a time; whiting follow a moving bait and grab it. Don't strike at the first rattle. Let them take it, then wind up tight. On the estuary flats, fish the edges of channels and nipper beds on the rising tide as the fish move up onto the sand. In the surf, fish the gutters and the edges of sand banks. With poppers, cast long and work them back fast and steady; whiting often chase in groups, and a slowed lure is a refused lure. Wading is often the best way in.
Best Time
A daylight fish over shallow sand. The rising tide onto the flats is the classic window, and the change of light at dawn and dusk is good on the beaches. The warmer months are the main season, when they're most active and surface lures work. After rain, sand whiting tend to feed even more by day.
- In summer, wade the shallow flats of the coastal lakes and Botany Bay with small surface poppers; it's sight fishing in ankle-deep water and it works best in the heat of the day.
Identification
Also known as Whiting, summer whiting, bluenose whiting, silver whiting
A slender, round-bodied whiting with a pointed snout, small mouth and two dorsal fins. The body is plain silvery to sandy, with no bars or spots, a darker back, and yellow anal and pelvic fins. The giveaway is a dark blotch at the base of the pectoral fin, strongest in young fish. Trumpeter (or winter) whiting are smaller and carry rows of brown spots or broken bars on the back. Yellowfin whiting (Sillago schomburgkii) look similar but lack the dark pectoral blotch. School whiting are smaller still and have oblique bars or spots. Sand whiting can go mottled at night, so a darker fish after dark is still a sand whiting.
Size & Growth
Most fish caught are 25–32 cm and 150–300 g. A 40 cm fish is an 'elbow slapper' and a genuine prize, and the top end is around 47 cm and 1.25 kg. They're slow-growing for their size and can live well over a decade. Sand whiting spawn in the warmer months, from spring to autumn, often gathering in big schools around estuary mouths and the adjacent surf, and the young settle in the shallow sand flats of estuaries and lakes.
Diet & Habitat
A bottom forager that roots through sand with its pointed snout for worms, small crustaceans (nippers, shrimp, amphipods) and small shellfish. Sand whiting live over clean sand: surf beaches and gutters, estuary and lake flats, sandbanks, channel edges and river mouths, from water barely ankle-deep down to a few metres. Schools roam the flats on the rising tide and the surf gutters along the beach, and individuals will bury themselves in the sand to dodge predators.
Eating Quality
Superb: fine, sweet, delicate white flesh, among the best of all small fish. Keep them alive or on ice from the moment they're caught. Scale and fillet them (they're easy to fillet) or butterfly and pan-fry with the skin on. Small fish cook whole. They don't freeze as well as they eat fresh, so take what you'll use.
Guides Featuring Sand Whiting
Sand Whiting elsewhere: Western Australia