King George whiting

The biggest whiting: a long, slim fish with a pointed snout, sandy-silver body and rows of brown-orange spots and dashes on the back and sides.

12–18 in and ½–1½ lb.

About 2 ft and 10 lb (4.8 kg).

Worms, shrimp, small crabs, clams and razorfish dug from sand and seagrass.

Feeds over sand patches between seagrass beds in bays; young fish grow up in seagrass and big adults move to deeper reefs and the open coast to spawn.

Found from South-East Australia & Tasmania and Northern Territory & Western Australia. Sheltered bays, seagrass flats and sand holes of South Australia (Spencer Gulf, Gulf St Vincent), Victoria (Port Phillip, Western Port, Corner Inlet), south-west Western Australia and northern Tasmania.

Sheltered bays, seagrass flats and sand holes of South Australia (Spencer Gulf, Gulf St Vincent), Victoria (Port Phillip, Western Port, Corner Inlet), south-west Western Australia and northern Tasmania.

3–100 ft; mostly 6–30 ft.

6–30 ft.

All year; summer and autumn are best in Victoria, winter in some South Australian areas.

Change of light and the hours around the tide change.

Run-in and run-out tides; slack water often switches them off.

Calm, clear days.

Pipis, mussels, squid strips, razorfish, sandworms and bass yabbies, with berley.

Small soft plastics and blades; mostly bait is used.

7 ft light spinning rod (2–4 kg).

Size 6–2 long-shank or circle hooks with a red bead or tube.

6–10 lb braid.

8–12 lb fluorocarbon.

Anchor over sand holes between seagrass beds, berley up and fish small baits on a paternoster or running sinker rig.

Move until you find them: KG whiting travel in schools, and the same sand hole can be red-hot or empty.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Excellent eating — one of the best-tasting fish in its range.

Bleed and ice it right away. Fillet, then remove the skin and any dark bloodline.

One of Australia's finest eating fish: sweet, delicate fillets lightly battered or crumbed.

Harmless. Watch for stingrays and blue-ringed octopus (never touch one) in the shallows.

South Australia, Victoria, WA and Tasmania each set minimum sizes (around 27–32 cm) and bag limits. Check current rules. Each Australian state sets its own rules: NSW and Victoria require a recreational fishing licence in fresh and salt water, Western Australia needs a licence for boat fishing and freshwater angling, Tasmania for inland waters, and Queensland only for stocked impoundments; the Northern Territory needs none. Bag limits, size limits, closed seasons and marine park zones apply everywhere.

Keep only what you'll eat and release the big breeders; wet your hands, support the fish's belly and get it back in the water fast.