A self taught lesson, catching whiting on poppers
There has always been a a fascination for me to catch whiting on a
popper style lure ever since I watched for the first time a fishing DVD
or two that featured well known fish identities catch a whiting on a
cupped faced popper.
It looked so easy, I went to the tackle store and bought the exact same lure they were using and went to my local estuaries and found what looked like to be similar territory. After several failed attempts by me in quick succession and then the occasional try without success I soon lost interest so the thought of catching whiting on a popper faded from my memory.
So on my recent holiday to the coast I decided to give it a go again. I was holidaying right on the doorstep of a large estuary system, the Pumicestone Passage in South East Queensland. As I had my smaller kayak with me, the Ocean Kayak Scrambler 11, I decided to fish the shallow banks in the passage. The Scrambler was well suited to these area as it has a shallow draft so it allowed me to hover over the sand banks in search of the fish, also as it has a smaller profile on the water it was resistant to to the sea breeze that often swept over these banks.
The sole purpose on my holiday for me would be to catch a whiting on a popper no matter what. So all I fished with for the time during my holiday was a popper style lure. In the end it worked and I am now confident on how to approach a fishing session in the search of the Whiting.
First lure to go on was the traditional style lure that all the DVD's recommend, a cup faced lure, in a clear body with red flashes and a feathered rear treble hook. I went to the nearest sand bank on a rising tide and looked for a bank that was filling that would normally be exposed during low tide. All these banks seemed to be prime whiting territory with yabby holes everywhere and with the aid of polarized sunglasses I was able to see the occasional flash from the side of the fishes body. This lure was weighed well so I was able to make very long casts with it over the banks. The retrieve I used was constant so that the cup face was fanning water in front of it, I suppose this action would make it look like it was a small prawning which could be skipping across the surface. I tried for what seemed like hours fanning casts in every direction and slowing the retrieve, fastening the retrieve, putting in pauses, just experimenting like I had done in all the other times I had tried without success. All the while I was changing positions on the bank and paddling back to my starting point each time as I was being swept with the tide.
It looked so easy, I went to the tackle store and bought the exact same lure they were using and went to my local estuaries and found what looked like to be similar territory. After several failed attempts by me in quick succession and then the occasional try without success I soon lost interest so the thought of catching whiting on a popper faded from my memory.
So on my recent holiday to the coast I decided to give it a go again. I was holidaying right on the doorstep of a large estuary system, the Pumicestone Passage in South East Queensland. As I had my smaller kayak with me, the Ocean Kayak Scrambler 11, I decided to fish the shallow banks in the passage. The Scrambler was well suited to these area as it has a shallow draft so it allowed me to hover over the sand banks in search of the fish, also as it has a smaller profile on the water it was resistant to to the sea breeze that often swept over these banks.
The sole purpose on my holiday for me would be to catch a whiting on a popper no matter what. So all I fished with for the time during my holiday was a popper style lure. In the end it worked and I am now confident on how to approach a fishing session in the search of the Whiting.
First lure to go on was the traditional style lure that all the DVD's recommend, a cup faced lure, in a clear body with red flashes and a feathered rear treble hook. I went to the nearest sand bank on a rising tide and looked for a bank that was filling that would normally be exposed during low tide. All these banks seemed to be prime whiting territory with yabby holes everywhere and with the aid of polarized sunglasses I was able to see the occasional flash from the side of the fishes body. This lure was weighed well so I was able to make very long casts with it over the banks. The retrieve I used was constant so that the cup face was fanning water in front of it, I suppose this action would make it look like it was a small prawning which could be skipping across the surface. I tried for what seemed like hours fanning casts in every direction and slowing the retrieve, fastening the retrieve, putting in pauses, just experimenting like I had done in all the other times I had tried without success. All the while I was changing positions on the bank and paddling back to my starting point each time as I was being swept with the tide.
This is the lure I started with, similar to the ones I saw on the fishing dvd's.
Finally it occurred to me that these cup faced lures look nothing like a
prawn and their action mimics a prawn in no way a prawn would move
across the the surface if distress while being harassed by a predator.
So I opened up my tackle box to see what else was there on offer. I was
thinking what looks like a prawn and what lure in this tray will give
and action that will look more like a skipping type action across the
surface. Immediately the Jaz Zappa stood out to me. I knew it was a
walk the dog type lure as I have used used it successfully for my bass
surface fishing and although it was a lot darker than a prawn would look
like it had way more flash then a clear popper.
So off with the traditional style popper and on with the new style.
So off with the traditional style popper and on with the new style.
The Lure I changed to with almost instant success....
I worked the lure with a constant pace and with a slight movement of the
rod tip I was able to get it to skip across the surface it definitely
looked like a skipping prawn. The tide had well and truly turned by now
and it was on the way out. Almost immediately I had success and the
lure was hit with a brutal attack. The lure was on the move and now it
was hooked to what I am sure was my first whiting ever on a popper. Gee
they fight dirty these fish, I was using a Loomis Custom rod 1 - 3 kg
and Shimano Stradic 1000 reel with 4lb Finns PRT braid and a 6lb
Flurocarbon leader, so as it was my first hookup to what I was hoping
was my first ever whiting I took it slow and used very light drag on the
reel . In the end it was my first whiting and it was a beautiful
specimen in its late 30's(cm). I was wowed with excitement and wanted
more.
My first ever Whiting on a popper, I was stoked....
A few casts later another hit but this one was different, a knew it was a
bream as it hit the lure and you could see the fish swim around and
slam it for the second time. After a small fight it was in the kayak for
my second estuary fish in 10 minutes on a popper.
I have caught plenty of bream before but not on a popper..
Well that was it for the day, it had been a long session casting what I
thought was the ideal lure, but soon after changing to the different
lure the tide and conditions changed and the fish seemed to shut down,
this proved to be the case in most of the following sessions. There
seemed to be a time slot in their behavior where they were extremely
active and then stop feeding even if the conditions seemed to be ideal.
The Ocean Kayak Scrambler 11, an ideal craft for fish in the estuaries...
So the
next day arrives I go out to the spot and nothing for the whole session,
strange. Maybe the conditions had changed as there was some rain
overnight and there was a stronger breeze that day with passing showers.
But it did give me some time to look around and work out where some
more whiting maybe hiding. So I cut the session short and head to the Barra Jacks at Kawana to get some more Zappa's as I know they do sell them.
I love this tackle store too, a whole wall of lures and great prices on
Shimano reels, so I picked up some more lures, different ones, similar
to the Zappa to see if they will catch some fish. I bought the new
Berkley 3B Floating Popdog and a new Shimano Stradic 1000 reel.
It was now the weekend and as I don't fish from the kayak when on holidays over the weekend I had a bit of a relax and a think about what to do next to improve my catch rate.
I was meaning to install an anchor trolley on the kayak before going on the holiday but I never got to it. As I was fishing over a lot of shallow banks and the out going tide was moving me from the fish zone quickly I decided to make up a tether that I could attach to my leg on one end and the kayak on the other. This would allow me to walk the shallow banks on an out going tide in water at or below knee height yet keep the kayak close without the need to anchor it. I would be able to work a lot more fishable water and properly work the area in a standing position rather than sitting in the kayak continually fighting the tide. You may think a pedal type kayak maybe good for this but these banks were way to shallow to use a pedal style kayak. I So I had some rope with me, I tied a stainless Steel ring to one end of it and a loop knot to the other end. This would be good next time I go out I can walk the banks and have the kayak at a close range. I meant to take a photo of this set up the next day but I was too consumed with the fishing...
The weekend was over the crowds had disappeared so it was back out onto the water to try again, I used the new lure I purchased, the Berkley 3B and it did not cast well and did not have an action anywhere as good as the Zappa so I discarded it almost instantly. So instead of reverting back to the Zappa still with a confused mind after catching nothing on the previous fishing session I went back to a cup faced popper. In this case I attached a Yo Zuri F popper, it is one I have for quite some time and I remembered that I did catch a flatty on this lure sometime ago when I tried once before to catch some whiting. I thought it I catch a Flathead while endeavoring to catch a whiting I'd be a happy man.
Anyway that turned out to be the case later on and I did land a Flathead after it attacked it in water rising on the tide over a sand bank.
It was now the weekend and as I don't fish from the kayak when on holidays over the weekend I had a bit of a relax and a think about what to do next to improve my catch rate.
I was meaning to install an anchor trolley on the kayak before going on the holiday but I never got to it. As I was fishing over a lot of shallow banks and the out going tide was moving me from the fish zone quickly I decided to make up a tether that I could attach to my leg on one end and the kayak on the other. This would allow me to walk the shallow banks on an out going tide in water at or below knee height yet keep the kayak close without the need to anchor it. I would be able to work a lot more fishable water and properly work the area in a standing position rather than sitting in the kayak continually fighting the tide. You may think a pedal type kayak maybe good for this but these banks were way to shallow to use a pedal style kayak. I So I had some rope with me, I tied a stainless Steel ring to one end of it and a loop knot to the other end. This would be good next time I go out I can walk the banks and have the kayak at a close range. I meant to take a photo of this set up the next day but I was too consumed with the fishing...
The weekend was over the crowds had disappeared so it was back out onto the water to try again, I used the new lure I purchased, the Berkley 3B and it did not cast well and did not have an action anywhere as good as the Zappa so I discarded it almost instantly. So instead of reverting back to the Zappa still with a confused mind after catching nothing on the previous fishing session I went back to a cup faced popper. In this case I attached a Yo Zuri F popper, it is one I have for quite some time and I remembered that I did catch a flatty on this lure sometime ago when I tried once before to catch some whiting. I thought it I catch a Flathead while endeavoring to catch a whiting I'd be a happy man.
Anyway that turned out to be the case later on and I did land a Flathead after it attacked it in water rising on the tide over a sand bank.
After releasing the Flathead I persevered a bit longer with the Yo Zuri
popper and soon thought I must give the Zappa a go again. As the top of
the tide had just been and gone and the tide had turned to go back out I
used the tether I had made for the kayak for the first time. As you see
in the photo above I had some protective footwear on as there is some
nasties on these banks, mainly Stingrays, so it was out of the kayak and
I started to walk the sand bar with the kayak immediately below me in
the current. The Scrambler 11 was perfect for this as it is not that
heavy and it does not have a large profile so there was little drag on
my leg where the kayak was tethered to. In a short time I was
back onto some Whiting, it was proven to me now that the Zappa was
definitely the lure to continue with if I was to score some more fish.
My plan was to walk the bank up and down and across fanning casts out
as I go. I caught about 6 in total that day, not huge fish but fun. At
times the whiting were at my feet and if I looked behind me they were
hiding back there too. My mind was set now that the Zappa was the lure I
needed to catch heaps of whiting. As the orange color was the only one I
had it was back to Barra Jacks that afternoon to secure some more
colors as I would be horrified if I was to lose my only Zappa while fish
out there. I had a chat to James at the store and he told me that the
Zappa's were popular with the local whiting fishermen too. So I walked
out of there with a few more colors and some other Style of similar
shaped lures in similar colors.
The tides were building with each morning of this week and with an early
rise from the bed and out onto the water I was able to get much further
up the passage by using the current of the incoming tide and paddling
as well so the next day I did just that. I traveled a little bit further
and found some new territory to fish. This new area I found was
perfect, the winds were extremely light, the banks that I had found were
covered by 3 - 4 feet of water. They were peppered with yabby holes and
there were mangroves near by. Also there were a lot of weed patches and
a lot of broken weed patches with the sand in between. I was soon to
learn that this type of area is a perfect spot for fishing for whiting
with poppers, bream too.
I found this to be a perfect area to find whiting
I was completely confident now that the Zappa was the lure to use all
the time, again this session proved to be a successful one with some
quality fish coming to the kayak. I was using a slow retrieve most of
the time with the movement of the rod tip. Sometimes I would put a pause
in others I would rip the rod tip to make the lures appear as it was a
prawn darting across the surface of the water, a lot of the time this
would bring a savage attack on the lure.
As it happened a lot of the time I would just be looking around causing me to put a slight decrease in the pace in the lure and the fish would strike. Also in the this very shallow water up against the bank when the tide was high you could very easily see the fish cruising the shallows. On a lot of occasions I would see bream too cruising around and I always thought they would be the fish to hit on a pause of the lure, a lot of the time they did but so did the whiting. On every occasion the bite would be frantic once the tide would turn to go out.
The fish of the holiday came on this day with it being close to 40cm, I am unsure as I did not have a ruler with me that day but it did lie along the foot well of the kayak and when I arrived back to the units I measured the marks and it was near enough to 40. It took the lure on the pause and it was peeling light drag from the reel on its way to the kayak. I was always careful not to put too much pressure on them as most times they were only striking the rear trebles and most were just lipped. Steering them into the net was the difficult part as with all fish when they see that net they give a that final burst of speed.
As the photos will show below this session turned out the be an absolute blast, as I said the tide turned and the pace picked up.....Not only catching the big one but fish after fish two to three casts apart.
As it happened a lot of the time I would just be looking around causing me to put a slight decrease in the pace in the lure and the fish would strike. Also in the this very shallow water up against the bank when the tide was high you could very easily see the fish cruising the shallows. On a lot of occasions I would see bream too cruising around and I always thought they would be the fish to hit on a pause of the lure, a lot of the time they did but so did the whiting. On every occasion the bite would be frantic once the tide would turn to go out.
The fish of the holiday came on this day with it being close to 40cm, I am unsure as I did not have a ruler with me that day but it did lie along the foot well of the kayak and when I arrived back to the units I measured the marks and it was near enough to 40. It took the lure on the pause and it was peeling light drag from the reel on its way to the kayak. I was always careful not to put too much pressure on them as most times they were only striking the rear trebles and most were just lipped. Steering them into the net was the difficult part as with all fish when they see that net they give a that final burst of speed.
As the photos will show below this session turned out the be an absolute blast, as I said the tide turned and the pace picked up.....Not only catching the big one but fish after fish two to three casts apart.
So when I look back now on the day, the key things were that I found an
area that was likely to hold a higher concentration of fish. In the past
days I had been fishing clean sand banks with large weed beds nearby,
there were still fish there but not as many as this area that I fished
on the day that had mangroves, weed beds both solid and broken, shallow
water and a falling tide. Also the winds were five to ten knots on this
day, this made casting easy. It was important to get a long cast away
and to have the lure working the area for the longest possible time so
as you attract the fishes attention. I would scan across the water with
my eyes to see the tell tale signs that fish were feeding in the area.
The fish would break the surface often and you could see them chasing a
prawn or other smaller fish. I also found that if there was floating
weed on the surface that accompanied with Stingrays feeding amongst the
weed it was a sure sign that whiting, bream and Flathead would be close
by. On one occasion I was wading along the edge and I noticed that the
fish would sit over the top of the stingrays as the rays were sucking on
the yabby holes beneath their large wings, this would allow the fish to
pick off any crustaceans that the stingrays missed.
So it was back to the units to recover and to use the last of the out going tide to make the long paddle easier. I was extremely excited of what I had achieved this day. However the following day would prove to be the best results as far as catch rate goes.
So it was back to the units to recover and to use the last of the out going tide to make the long paddle easier. I was extremely excited of what I had achieved this day. However the following day would prove to be the best results as far as catch rate goes.
Heading back home after a long paddle...this is looking towards Bulcock Beach from the kayak...
The next morning was a huge tide around the 2.5 meter mark so it was an
early rise to take advantage of the tide and get as far up the passage
as I could on the strength of the tide and of course with some paddling.
I arrived at my spot and had a look around, the tide was still on the way in but there was too much floating weed which made the lure action on the surface to be very short run before the trebles would fowl with weed, it became very annoying very quick. Also the breeze was predicted to be from the north that day but it was from the south which made the kayak fight against the tide and the wind. I was half thinking about heading for home as the conditions were not right. I looked further south and I saw two other fishing kayaks down from me so I went in their direction to meet up with them and see how they were going.
On arriving I noticed the first fellow had a fishing rod bent in half right beside his kayak, I called out to him as I thought he may have snagged a ray. He called back saying that he had hooked up to a tailor and he did not have a landing net on board to land the fish as I had a net on board naturally I went over to help him out. Well he was not wrong when he said he had a tailor, it happened to be one hell of a tailor to be in such shallow water inside the passage. He too had been popping for whiting and had already caught himself a nice one and happened to hook up this tailor. It was amazing that he caught it as he was using a very light rod, 4lb braid and 4lb leader. After landing the fish he did notice his leader was frayed and he replaced it to only hook up to another tailor a few minutes later. Luckily again I was close by to fling him my net so he caught land another tailor, again this fish was a awesome one.
I arrived at my spot and had a look around, the tide was still on the way in but there was too much floating weed which made the lure action on the surface to be very short run before the trebles would fowl with weed, it became very annoying very quick. Also the breeze was predicted to be from the north that day but it was from the south which made the kayak fight against the tide and the wind. I was half thinking about heading for home as the conditions were not right. I looked further south and I saw two other fishing kayaks down from me so I went in their direction to meet up with them and see how they were going.
On arriving I noticed the first fellow had a fishing rod bent in half right beside his kayak, I called out to him as I thought he may have snagged a ray. He called back saying that he had hooked up to a tailor and he did not have a landing net on board to land the fish as I had a net on board naturally I went over to help him out. Well he was not wrong when he said he had a tailor, it happened to be one hell of a tailor to be in such shallow water inside the passage. He too had been popping for whiting and had already caught himself a nice one and happened to hook up this tailor. It was amazing that he caught it as he was using a very light rod, 4lb braid and 4lb leader. After landing the fish he did notice his leader was frayed and he replaced it to only hook up to another tailor a few minutes later. Luckily again I was close by to fling him my net so he caught land another tailor, again this fish was a awesome one.
There were tailor busting the surface nearby so I put out a few casts to
see if I could get in on the action. After a while I did get onto one
and landed a small specimen no where near the size of Rod's fish but
still huge fun on my light gear. I too was lucky to land it as my leader
was frayed after the fight. As this was the last day of my holiday and I
had practiced catch and release all week I had made the decision
earlier to keep a few on this day for the table. So into the cooler bag
the fish went.
During all this time the on water conditions had changed, the wind had swung one eighty degress and was now coming from the north as predicted. This was good as the nearby Bribie Island was giving my fishing area complete protection from the wind even though it was light at the time.
So I ventured up to the spot I had fished the day earlier. The weed on the surface was still present and it was still being a pain for my retrieve back to the kayak but soon the tide turned and the weed started to break up and clear a little to allow long casts and long retrieves. Soon the action started and I was onto what I thought was my first whiting for the day.
When caught it was to be a bream and I had changed my lure color today to a lure that was a lot darker so I was excited to know that this color was working as well. I had retired my orange lure as it's treble were not as sharp and it had lost an eye...
During all this time the on water conditions had changed, the wind had swung one eighty degress and was now coming from the north as predicted. This was good as the nearby Bribie Island was giving my fishing area complete protection from the wind even though it was light at the time.
So I ventured up to the spot I had fished the day earlier. The weed on the surface was still present and it was still being a pain for my retrieve back to the kayak but soon the tide turned and the weed started to break up and clear a little to allow long casts and long retrieves. Soon the action started and I was onto what I thought was my first whiting for the day.
When caught it was to be a bream and I had changed my lure color today to a lure that was a lot darker so I was excited to know that this color was working as well. I had retired my orange lure as it's treble were not as sharp and it had lost an eye...
As I said in the picture above I caught the last one late in the session
on the way home, As i had covered a lot of territory I came home bu
taking some short cuts dragging over some shallow sand bars while the
tide was falling. So this brought me past sun sensational looking
drains, where the water was rushing over the bank into a deep gutter on
the other side of it. I noticed something picking at the offerings being
washed over the bank into the the deeper water. Obviously this whiting
was sitting there waiting for an easy feed. Once I saw the action I cast
the popper to the spot I last saw the fish and in seconds I was on...I
would have loved to stay on but I was tired and the current was too
strong.
I was extremely ecstatic with my session today and I took some fish for the table as I said earlier, I ended up with a nice feed for my efforts. Instead of getting flack back at the units for throwing them back like I had done all week I was getting a lot of interest from people amazed that someone in a kayak could catch so many fish with only a lure.
I was extremely ecstatic with my session today and I took some fish for the table as I said earlier, I ended up with a nice feed for my efforts. Instead of getting flack back at the units for throwing them back like I had done all week I was getting a lot of interest from people amazed that someone in a kayak could catch so many fish with only a lure.
My catch for the day, 29cm bream, a 40 ish Tailor and Whiting ranging from 25 to 35 cm...
So there you have it, three weeks ago I had never caught a whiting on a
lure, I had caught plenty of bream on lures but ever since watching
DVD's on How to catch Whiting I knew I wanted to succeed.
Really it took a while to master it with a lot of failed sessions over a long period of time. But as I said earlier this was a holiday away from work and I had some time on my side. Initially it was difficult and the first day I cast for five hours to catch two fish but as you can see with persistence and re evaluating your technique from the previous session and puttimg what you have learn to test in following sessions you will succeed.
My Tips to Success
Fish light, light rod, reel, use light braid as your main line. I used 4lb Finns PRT, 6lb Fluro Leader of about 80cm.
Light gear means you will be able to fire long casts, long casts means your lure will be in the strike zone for longer and allow you to get a good action on the lure over a longer period of time, helping to attract the fish to your lure.
Although the the videos I watched recommended a cup faced style popper with a constant retrieve I found that a Walk the Dog type lure style worked a lot better as you can see by my results. Colors such as clear, gold, orange.
I found I could catch Whiting by using a constant and stop/start retrieve, even pausing the lure achieved results. Important to put alot of action on the lure by moving your rod tip. Make the lure look as if if is a prawn fleeing.
Find prime Whiting territory. Look for weed beds, yabby banks, broken weed with sandy bottom in between, Mangroves, Drains over sand banks dropping of into deep gutters.
Look for floating weed, means weed beds are near by.
I caught whiting close to shore and in the middle of an estuary with high water over a sugmerged bank.
Fish on the top of the tide, wait for the turn and then the action fires up.
Really it took a while to master it with a lot of failed sessions over a long period of time. But as I said earlier this was a holiday away from work and I had some time on my side. Initially it was difficult and the first day I cast for five hours to catch two fish but as you can see with persistence and re evaluating your technique from the previous session and puttimg what you have learn to test in following sessions you will succeed.
My Tips to Success
Fish light, light rod, reel, use light braid as your main line. I used 4lb Finns PRT, 6lb Fluro Leader of about 80cm.
Light gear means you will be able to fire long casts, long casts means your lure will be in the strike zone for longer and allow you to get a good action on the lure over a longer period of time, helping to attract the fish to your lure.
Although the the videos I watched recommended a cup faced style popper with a constant retrieve I found that a Walk the Dog type lure style worked a lot better as you can see by my results. Colors such as clear, gold, orange.
I found I could catch Whiting by using a constant and stop/start retrieve, even pausing the lure achieved results. Important to put alot of action on the lure by moving your rod tip. Make the lure look as if if is a prawn fleeing.
Find prime Whiting territory. Look for weed beds, yabby banks, broken weed with sandy bottom in between, Mangroves, Drains over sand banks dropping of into deep gutters.
Look for floating weed, means weed beds are near by.
I caught whiting close to shore and in the middle of an estuary with high water over a sugmerged bank.
Fish on the top of the tide, wait for the turn and then the action fires up.
