# I am a total surf noob... whiting?



## jordanmills (Jan 8, 2009)

So my relatives got a beach-front house in Galveston for a week. They'd got one on the bay a few years ago so I'd been expecting that. I was going to put out a couple of lights, get a big bait net, and pretty much tear up west bay for a week. But we won't have anywhere to set up shop for a week so that is out.

I've never been surf fishing before, so a lot of this is going to be new to me. I'd really like some help on a few specific points, and anything else that people with experience think I ought to know.

One thing the family wants is to have a big family fish fry. I'm not going to bank on catching a slot red. I've never caught whiting, but I've heard that they're plentiful in the surf. Do I just toss a rig with cut mullet into the first gut and pull them in? They're not game fish, so no size or bag limits, but it's better to release them under about a foot, right?

Will I need a big surf rod for that? I want to make sure my four year old nephew gets to reel some stuff in, but I don't want him to get reeled in instead. A little whiting should be easy enough for him if he has an adult with him, right?

I think I've read enough about surf reds here to at least have a shot at them. And I can get enough done on the bay to have some fun.

Thanks :dance:


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## jordanmills (Jan 8, 2009)

Oh, I should have said when. It will be the first week of june.


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## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

Some shrimp. Any rod/reel setup on the planet will handle any whiting. Keep them all....they will make a great fish fry. Cut mullet, shrimp, live finger mullet, smaller bait fish you catch with the shrimp....etc....just fish and enjoy. Don't need giant giant surf rods unless you going for giant sharks and bull reds....which you don't want for a fish fry....use 7ft medium to medium heavy casting rods and fish like normal.


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## jordanmills (Jan 8, 2009)

sgrem said:


> Some shrimp. Any rod/reel setup on the planet will handle any whiting. Keep them all....they will make a great fish fry. Cut mullet, shrimp, live finger mullet, smaller bait fish you catch with the shrimp....etc....just fish and enjoy. Don't need giant giant surf rods unless you going for giant sharks and bull reds....which you don't want for a fish fry....use 7ft medium to medium heavy casting rods and fish like normal.


Hot. Thanks.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Catching whiting in the surf is a fairly easy task. No special gear required, just small hooks and fresh dead shrimp. I use size 2 khale hooks my self, but any small hooks will work. The bigger whiting are usually caught in the winter time, but you can still catch some nice ones in the summer. I will keep any of them big enough to make a fillet, best fried fish there is.


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## jordanmills (Jan 8, 2009)

sharkchum said:


> Catching whiting in the surf is a fairly easy task. No special gear required, just small hooks and fresh dead shrimp. I use size 2 khale hooks my self, but any small hooks will work. The bigger whiting are usually caught in the winter time, but you can still catch some nice ones in the summer. I will keep any of them big enough to make a fillet, best fried fish there is.


Is there anything else in the surf I should be going for that is good to fry? I'm flexible on the cooking, but the guest of honor loves fried fish.


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## alka144 (May 4, 2010)

Owner light wire mutu 1/0-2/0 circle hooks on double drop mono rig loaded with little tiny chunks of whiting or shrimp. Toss it out just over the first bar and wait. They will hook themselves. 

-Zach


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

By June the surf will be full of trout, reds, drum, croaker, spanish mackerel, and even pompano. Anything that can be caught in the bay can be caught in the surf.


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## bigdawg (May 23, 2004)

I have to disagree with gentleman that said you wouldn't want shark for a fish fry. Some blacktip meat ground up with bell pepper and onions sprinkled with some Cajun seasoning and fried is some excellent eating. A 3' blacktip will feed a whole mess of people too.


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## Sancroix (Sep 13, 2011)

jordanmills said:


> Is there anything else in the surf I should be going for that is good to fry? I'm flexible on the cooking, but the guest of honor loves fried fish.


Welcome to the surf! It's a lot of fun; and even better when fishing includes catching.

At the risk of stating the obvious, safety is a must in the surf. Watch little ones, and if they are old enough to listen and learn teach them about the rip current, and what to do in case they find themselves in a bind. Anyone going into the water should shuffle their feet, to avoid stepping right on a stingray. Sunscreen, lots of water, and the occasional break will extend your time fishing. 
Sometimes toothy fish come close enough to casting range from the shore and bars. Pack a few steel leaders in case the mackerel or bluefish start biting off your lines. Hope your day(s) on the surf are safe and plentiful!


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## seacat (Feb 6, 2005)

if you get lucky and the surf is small and green......do NOT throw a topwater between 6 am and 830 am at the schools of finger mullet swimming around or just past the 2nd sand bar...especially not a she dog or a bone or chartreuse skitterwalk.......the trout will ruin your chance at catching whiting if you do THAT!


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Surf is a different animal almost every day. June tends to be a really good month. If you like plug and topwater fishing, I'd have a few of those handy. You could get 10 tasty trout in a hurry that way. Going to take a lot of whiting to get the same yield. 

A lot of the times early in the am, the trout will be in the first gut right next to the beach. It just depends on the second bar and water levels, but don't be the guy that wades right past them because I see that happen all the time.


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## Instigator (Jul 6, 2004)

Don't overlook gafftop for that fry either. Yeah, they're slimy and considered trash fish by many but most folks love fried catfish and these do that very well.

The early morning topwater trout fun is not for the little ones. That will just make you crazy. Stick with the whiting for the younger/inexperienced. They'll have a blast catching them and it is as reliable as catching bluegill in a pond. It is fishing so no guarantees but whiting are the most abundant and cooperative target in the surf. As for gear, I chase them with light to ultralight spinning or a lighter fly rod. I cheat a bit on the fly deal and stick a strip of pink shrimp Fishbites on a small bendback. If the surf is light that is a bunch of fun.


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## jordanmills (Jan 8, 2009)

Lots of good info. Don't want to spam it up replying to every individual post, but thanks to all.


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## bbgarcia (Mar 23, 2008)

I fish like this during the summer to make sure I have a back up plan if the trout are slow. Its also a great way to get the kids involved in "catching" because you will catch something usually. Use the techniques mentioned above w/ shrimp. may also want to get some Fishbites to tip your hooks with as well. 
Whiting, croaker, trout, reds, drum, bluefish, macs, catfish are all possibilities. I'll let my kids (10yo and 6yo) wade out to about knee deep and cast into the surf. They use small Zebco 33 setups or light spinning rods and reels. They handle any of these fish just fine. If you hook up to a bigger fish then you just have to play them more. Word of caution is the catfish barbs and jellyfish stings. 
I'm sure it'll be fun regardless. Good Luck!


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## jordanmills (Jan 8, 2009)

Went out to west beach for the surf yesterday (thursday 5 may). On my FIRST cast, I put it in the second gut and had a bite before I could walk back to my truck. Pulled a 31" red in. You guys rock. No whiting though.


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## OnedayScratch (May 23, 2012)

jordanmills said:


> Went out to west beach for the surf yesterday (thursday 5 may). On my FIRST cast, I put it in the second gut and had a bite before I could walk back to my truck. Pulled a 31" red in. You guys rock. No whiting though.


Good deal. That's the way to tag em.


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## sometimesfisher (Oct 3, 2011)

jordanmills said:


> Went out to west beach for the surf yesterday (thursday 5 may). On my FIRST cast, I put it in the second gut and had a bite before I could walk back to my truck. Pulled a 31" red in. You guys rock. No whiting though.


Nice! What bait?


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

I like to use fish bites they stay on the hooklonger than shrimp, and you don't catch as many hardheaded.Oh fish bites come in different flavored, use the shrimp flavor.


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## Razzorduck (Oct 14, 2005)

#1 circle hook and fresh dead shrimp. Between the sand bars. Hold the pole and feel the bites. Lots of bait stealers in June.


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## jordanmills (Jan 8, 2009)

sometimesfisher said:


> Nice! What bait?


oops should have said that. Fresh cut mullet.


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## hsif (Dec 16, 2008)

*Helpful*

I posted a "surf fishing beginners guide" on this board a couple of years ago. Search for it, I tried to include lots of good tips.


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

Whiting make awesome tacos. Give them a try.


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## jordanmills (Jan 8, 2009)

troutless said:


> Whiting make awesome tacos. Give them a try.


 i would if I could catch any!


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## Sniper (Aug 23, 2004)

hsif said:


> I posted a "surf fishing beginners guide" on this board a couple of years ago. Search for it, I tried to include lots of good tips.


comes up with web page down


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## SaltwaterTom (Jun 23, 2013)

Instigator said:


> Don't overlook gafftop for that fry either. Yeah, they're slimy and considered trash fish by many but most folks love fried catfish and these do that very well.
> 
> The early morning topwater trout fun is not for the little ones. That will just make you crazy. Stick with the whiting for the younger/inexperienced. They'll have a blast catching them and it is as reliable as catching bluegill in a pond. It is fishing so no guarantees but whiting are the most abundant and cooperative target in the surf. As for gear, I chase them with light to ultralight spinning or a lighter fly rod. I cheat a bit on the fly deal and stick a strip of pink shrimp Fishbites on a small bendback. If the surf is light that is a bunch of fun.


For big gafftop, put big hunks of cut bait on 5/0 circle hooks on a leader with a 2 ounce spider weight just past the third bar and hold on. 20-24 inch gafftop are fine eating, just lop their giant heads off when you catch them, gut them and scrub the slime off in the surf, then ice immediately. Fillet, cut the skin away, then soak the fillets in ziplock bags of milk in the fridge for 2-3 days. The milk will turn pink, and it will be the best fried fish you've ever eaten. No bag limit, you can feed a lot of people after a good day of surf fishing. You also stand a good chance of picking up a nice blacktip shark in the same manner. Bleed the shark by slicing both gills and putting him in the cooler. Once dead, gut him first, then fillet or steak him (depending on size). Soak the meat in lemon juice for 30 minutes before cooking; the citric acid neutralizes the NH4 (ammonia smell) and it is a very good flaky white meat. Big Zee and I spent many days on 8 Mile Beach loading up on these delicious fish before I bought my boat and caught the kingfish/snapper fever.


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## TxBrewer (Jul 23, 2011)

hsif said:


> I posted a "surf fishing beginners guide" on this board a couple of years ago. Search for it, I tried to include lots of good tips.


Great write up, thx for putting it together.

http://www.2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=579274


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## gigem87 (May 19, 2006)

troutless said:


> I like to use fish bites they stay on the hooklonger than shrimp, and you don't catch as many hardheaded.Oh fish bites come in different flavored, use the shrimp flavor.


Fish Bites are awesome for whiting. Small hook (curved part about the size of the fingernail on your pinky. Put a sliding egg sinker on your line, then tie on that small hook. Get a piece of Fish Bite about the size of a piece of Dentine gum, maybe a bit smaller. Some of it comes this size, other times you have to cut it out of a long piece. Shrimp flavored.

Stand on 2nd sand bar, cast to just before the 3rd sand bar. Take most but not all slack out of line, and wait. If they are there, you won't be waiting long.

You can catch up to half a dozen whiting on one piece of Fish Bites, before you have to replace it. Way easier to deal with than fresh dead shrimp.


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## javajaws (May 1, 2016)

The whiting were biting good this last Saturday on PINS about 12m down. Good size too. We were catching them on shrimp and fish bites. Fished with 2-hook bait rig with a trailing weight. We caught quite a few 2 at a time.


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