Australias premier table fish, "King George Whiting" was first officially scientifically named "Sillago Punctata" based on an individual taken from King George Sound in Western Australia. The species have a few commonly used names including "Spotted Whiting" in reference to its bars of brown spots. Other names are used in markets, mostly outside of Australia.
The King George whiting is the largest in its group and is quite easy to destinguish. It has an elongated, slightly compressed body with a tapered head and a terminal mouth to assist with bottom feeding.
Native to Southern Australia, ranging from lower Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and sometimes even as far north as southern New South Wales. King George whiting are most commonly found in tidal bays, estaries and creeks along the southern coast of the mainland and numerous islands in this area.
In southern estuaries they tend to be around the size of the legal limit, but farther north, around Perth, the range is likely to be from 700g up to 1.5 kilos.
By far the biggest specimens come from deep water and are often caught as a bycatch when drifting for dhuies. A whiting that can swallow a 7/0 hook loaded up with bait is a prize indeed!
Australian Fish Resources notes that king george numbers declined dramatically in Westernport, Victoria, after a 70 per cent dieback of seagrass.
In deeper water it's possible to find coral formations which hold big whiting. If you locate one, take note of where it is because you're likely to find fish there again.
bait: Bass Yabbies (nippers), Beach worm, Crab, Mussel, Octopus, Pilchard, Pippi, Prawn, Sand worm, Squid, Squirt worm Other: Juvenile whiting, those less than say four to the kilogram, feed on worms, shrimp, small crabs and other crustaceans. However, preferred baits include mussel, cockle and the flesh of other bivalve molluscs which they take readily. Other effective baits less commonly used for whiting include craytail, yabby, and peeled prawn, Adolescent and adult whiting are more adventurous in regard to food preferences and will certainly feed on small fish, tiny octopus and squid. This gives anglers the opportunity to fish more selectively for the larger fish with strips of squid and the fillets taken from bait fish like pilchards.