Whiting on the Sand Flats

Graeme Lund · 7 August 2026

The fish the passage is actually known for, and the one most visitors fish too heavily for.

Go Lighter Than Feels Sensible

Sand whiting are not large and they are not stupid. The single biggest improvement most people can make is dropping their line class and their sinker weight until the rig drifts rather than anchors.

Long trace, small hook, no more lead than the current demands. If the bait is sitting still on the bottom in a run-out tide, there is too much weight on it. Background on the species is on its Wikipedia entry.

Bait

Yabbies pumped on the flat you are about to fish will out-catch anything you brought with you, and it is not close. Worms are the next best thing.

Pump them on the flat at low water, keep them cool and damp, and use them the same day. Yesterday's yabbies are bait in the sense that they are technically organic matter.

Reading the Flat

Look for the dimples and the puffs of sand where they are feeding, and for the small wakes on a rising tide as they move up onto ground that has just gone under.

Whiting move onto new water fast. The first hour of a flat being covered is frequently the best hour of the day on it.