How to Catch Whiting on Soft Plastics

Rigging and fishing the TT Y-Ting System and ZMan 4” Finesse WormZ

Whiting are a popular target species for many anglers, with most targeting them using traditional bait fishing techniques, with popular baits including worms, yabbies, pipis, cockles, and squid. In recent times anglers have had some success targeted whiting species, including King George, yellowfin and trumpeter (winter) whiting using a variety of lures including topwater hard bodies, blades and soft plastics, however results are often inconsistent.

The plastics that have been most consistent for me over the years, when it comes to whiting by-catch while targeting other species, have included 2.5” bite-size snacks, such as the ZMan 2.5” GrubZ, Slim SwimZ and PrawnZ, rigged on 1/8oz – 1/4oz size 1 – 1/0 TT jgheads. The ZMan Micro Finesse BaitZ range of plastics has also produced whiting, rigged on a TT HeadlockZ Finesse size 4 jighead, or HeadlockZ HD in a size 6 or 4. Bites have come while shaking, hoping or rolling the plastic, with the whiting preferring the plastic to be on the move.

But... there must be a better way...

The Y-Ting System is born!

After a couple of random whiting captures a discussion was sparked amongst the Tackle Tactics team in terms of a soft plastic system for targeting whiting and some rough sketches on paper soon morphed into the Y-Ting System. Let’s break down the system itself and then look at how to fish it for a variety of whiting species across varying environments.

The Y-Ting System Jighead

There are a few keys to the success of the whiting system jighead. Firstly, the jighead is built on a custom, black nickel, chemically sharpened longshank hook that perfectly suits the smaller mouth of the whiting and how it feeds.

Secondly, the mushroom style head creates a stand-up presentation, when paired with the naturally buoyant ZMan 4” Finesse WormZ, attracting fish and triggering strikes. The jighead shape is also perfect for shaking, dragging and scrubbing the bottom, stirring up puffs of sand and mud for added attraction.

Thirdly, the integrated stainless-steel attachment point on the underside of the jighead is designed for the quick and easy attachment of a TT Y-Ting Assist hook, simply loop it on and pin it through the soft plastic to hook short strikers and increase the hook up rate.

Y-Ting Jigheads are available in 1/12oz, 1/8oz and 1/6oz weights, with a size 1 hook, in a selection of colours that include Silver (unpainted), Bloodworm, Red and Orange (UV), to match or contrast your chosen soft plastic.

The Y-Ting Assist Hook

TT Y-Ting Assist hooks come in a pack of six and are simply looped onto the attachment point on the Y-Ting Jighead and pinned through the tail end of the soft plastic, with the hook point exposed to hook the fish. Each Y-Ting Assist consists of 80mm of 9kg breaking strain cord, which is the perfect length for fishing the ZMan 4” Finesse WormZ, finished with a super sharp, size 6 Owner Chinu hook to maximise hook up rates.

The Y-Ting System Soft Plastic (ZMan 4” Finesse WormZ)

The go-to soft plastic for fishing the Y-Ting System is the ZMan 4” Finesse WormZ, with its super-soft and flexible realistic feel, 10X Tough construction, and natural buoyancy that sees it standing up in the water, moving naturally with the flow and dancing with movements of the rod tip.

Finesse WormZ have a natural worm profile, with a realistic egg sack around the middle, and ribbing that adds to the water movement and realistic feel, while also aiding with scent retention. A popular scent option when fishing the Y-Ting System is Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent in the Bloodworm flavour.

King George Whiting

This system is proving to be dynamite on the King George whiting, with Lubin Pfeiffer pioneering its use in southern waters. We caught up with Lubin to get a breakdown on the where, when and how of targeting King George whiting using the Y-Ting System.

Where?

There are a couple of key areas to target KGs in South Australia, depending on where you are in the state. Over on the west side, around the Eyre Peninsula and further west, a lot of the whiting are caught fishing sand patches. Whereas in the Spencer Gulf I’ve had much better success fishing areas that have more reef and weed, particularly cork weed. If you find good areas of patchy cork weed and reefy rubble bottom, this is where the best KG fishing is to be had.

I’ve had good success fishing water 6-9 metres deep, using the 1/6oz Y-Ting System Jigheads. For me, the most enjoyable fishing happens with light winds, which also allows for the best lure control. Tides play a huge part in successful KG fishing, as they say no run, no fun! Both the run in and run out tide will kick the whiting into gear, but if you haven’t had much luck during the day, the afternoon run out has almost been a guarantee to bagging out at the end of the day. As soon as the afternoon light begins to change and the tide starts to run out, I’ve had some of my best sessions using the Y-Ting system.

When?

Both morning and afternoon can produce great fishing, however, the most important factor is the tides. Try and avoid fishing around the dodge tides which happen every two weeks down south. Bigger run in and run out tides produce the best fishing. Winter and spring are famous around the Spencer Gulf for KG fishing and then as the weather begins to warm the west side of SA fires up for KG fishing. 

How?

Whiting love to feed along the ocean floor and this is where your lure needs to be from my experience. I like to use a reasonably long cast, depending on the area I’m fishing, and then let the lure make it all the way to the bottom. It’s important to keep in touch with the soft plastic as it’s sinking because quite often other species will pick up the ZMan 4” Finesse WormZ as it drops, particularly snapper.

Once the Finesse WormZ is on the bottom, I’ll let it sit for a few seconds before shaking the rod to get the worm to dance around. Pause the plastic for a few seconds again, before riding upon the slack and moving the worm a couple of metres and repeating the process. If you’re picking up species other than whiting, chances are you are fishing the worm too quickly and it is not on the bottom. One big key is to be in good contact with the worm because often with the KGs you’ll just feel a ’tick’ through the braid as they pick the lure up as its sitting on the pause. This is the time to strike!

My favourite outfit to fish the Finesse WormZ on the Y-Ting System is the 7’6”, 2-4kg TT Black Mamba spin rod, which allows for long searching casts, running a 2500 size reel loaded with 6lb Platypus Bionic Braid X9, finished with a 10lb Platypus Hard Armour FC Fluorocarbon Leader. My leader is usually about a rod length long. Scent is hugely important and the Pro-Cure Super Gel in Bloodworm or Crawfish have been my go-to. I usually add this to the lure every five or so casts, or after each time I catch a KG whiting.

Additional Tips?

It’s been interesting getting used to fishing the Finesse WormZ, and what I’ve found is that they work so well that if you’re not catching whiting, you are probably fishing in the wrong spot. Things change throughout the day and one area that doesn’t fish well during a particular stage of the tide could potentially fish much better at another time. Each time we’ve had great success on the Y-Ting System and Finesse WormZ, a whiting has been caught within the first few casts at a spot. Don’t be afraid to move around until you find where the fish are, before committing to a spot for too long.

There you go, some great tips from Lubin to get you stuck into the King George whiting. Make sure you check out and subscribe to his YouTube channel for plenty of fishing action, including multiple videos chasing King George whiting on the Y-Ting System and ZMan 4” Finesse WormZ. The Full Scale - Fishing Adventures at - https://www.youtube.com/@thefullscale-fishingadventures

Yellowfin Whiting

Yellowfin whiting, also referred to as summer or sand whiting, can be a little trickier to crack as they are smaller, and can be less aggressive and on some days very finicky. The key is to mix things up until you fire up the bite, including retrieve, depth and environments being fished. Make note of the moon phase, tides and other variables, so that you can understand the feeding patterns and maximise success.

Where?

Prime areas to target yellowfin whiting include gutters and holes when beach fishing. Move into the rivers and estuary systems and it’s time to keep an eye out for saltwater yabby / nipper beds, undulating sand bottom that allows the whiting to hold in current breaks, weed edges fringing the sand flats, and sand edges in proximity to deeper water.

When?

Available throughout the year, peak season for yellowfin whiting is the spring and summer months, with peak bites often occurring a few days before the full and new moons, when whiting school and feed up prior to spawning. Whiting will bite throughout the day, with peak bite times around the low light periods of dawn and dusk.

Key bite times on the edges can be at the start of the run in and end of the run out, with the high tide flats producing throughout the higher stages of the tide.

How?

It’s important to mix up retrieves and areas fished until you start to understand the movement and feeding patterns of the fish in the system that you’re fishing. Make a long cast and vary the speed of the retrieve and aggressiveness of any twitches and shakes, along with the duration of any pauses, until you work out what the fish want.

We fish the Y-Ting System on 7’ or 7’6”, 2-4kg spin rods, 2500 size reels, 6-10lb braid and 6-10lb leader. This will also handle a lot of your by-catch species that are common when targeting yellowfin whiting, including flathead, bream, trevally, jewfish, and more.

Additional Tips?

Mix it up and scent it up. Bites will often come on the pause and adding a small amount of Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent can encourage the fish to keep biting, bite more aggressively and hang on longer, aiding in bite detection and setting the hook. Have fun with this rig and don’t be afraid to experiment with the Y-Ting System as the by-catch is incredible when targeting whiting.

Other Species

Worms are a popular food source, so we’re not surprised that the by-catch list is growing rapidly, when it comes to fishing the Y-Ting System. The main hook and assist hook combination opens this presentation to many species, as does the stand-up design and worm profile. By-catch species so far have included bream, flathead, snook, snapper, jewfish and grunter.

Notable sessions have included an angler’s first session using the Y-Ting System land-based, producing 10 flathead and 3 bream. The angler wasn’t worried that he couldn’t locate the whiting on this occasion, still taking home a tasty feed of dusky flathead.

It’s Y-Ting Time!

If you’re keen to target a whiting on soft plastics there has never been a better time, with the release of a system designed and dedicated to targeting this popular species. The Y-Ting System makes whiting fishing fun, active and simple, while still ensuring that you get connected to a mixed bag of other species. Get your whiting on!

See you on the water...
Justin Willmer