Whiting bite/run

Can someone educate me on the whiting bite or run ? Like when do they show up , rigs, technique, bait prefrence, and is the entrance to the intercoastal waterway north of the harbor the best place ? I ask because I have two younger children that would have a ball doing something like this with me .We spend alot of time fishing out of our scout all around charleston and I’m just looking to do something different with them besides trout,redfish,and flounder all the time. Oh yeah and they make a good fish sammich too !!! Any input is appreciated Thanks .

Dear Rob…Can’t say I’m a whiting expert, but I catch them in bunches in Sept. and October. Not to say that they are not available during the summer, but the fall seems to group them up and get them chewing. Fishing off a dock with some structure around it is always a safe bet. You can use a two hook drop rig with a 2oz. bank sinker and some fresh caught mullet, shrimp, or cut up a small whitey and let them go all cannibal on it. Easy peasy, and they fry up real nice!

Sol Mate
Mako 20B
225 Optimax

Thanks bossdog , I just realized that this was posted in the reports and not in the discussion if somebody knows how to move it please do so . Thanks ! For some reason I was thinking that we were about to have a run here soon . Am I ahead of myself by a few months ?

I have caught many around the Jetties during the summer with cut shrimp on the bottom. You can keep the kids busy with whiting and and chunk half a crab or cut mullet out and catch some BIG redfish at the same time.

Connor Malark

They are starting to show up in the surf right now. If you find a creek near the harbor you can probably find them as well. The big ones should be here now or very soon. I just use a Carolina rig with a small number 1 circle hook and fresh cut shrimp the size of my finger nail. The jetties hold them in numbers as well. By May they should be everywhere and the breeder size ones will have some size to them.

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

-Benjamin Franklin

Malibu Stealth 12
2008 Carolina Skiff JVX16/ Yamaha F60

When the big ones are bitin’ I’ll put on a whole shrimp. They can’t resist.

Fresh peeled shrimp pieces about the size of a pinto bean. Cut fresh mullet works too but, tend to pick up more sharpnose. #4 or #6 Mustad Mutu Light circles on a two or three hook bottom rig - snelled J hooks work too. Ive always caught the biggest ones in deep cuts in creek channels especially off a creek fork. Same off the surf - a deeper trough along the beach or where two bars have a gap. Our surf is generally flat as a pancake. It doesn’t have to be but, 6-10" deeper than the rest to hold fish.

J Ford

PEELDED!!! Do you soak them in cocktail sauce too? Just kiddin’. :smiley: I always leave the shell on, helps keep it on the hook. Also, I like to put them in the freezer, loosely packed in a zip lock, 2-3 hours before hand, firms the up a bit. Qubes of Whiting work good too when they are feeding fast.

I always peel the shrimp when I surf fish because I think it stays on the hook better! Pinto bean size is perfect too!

Always worked well for this fella :wink:

“mr keys”

Try the Folly River around bird key island,sometimes you can hook 2 on one peice of bait,they are fun to catch.

Double D.

Thanks everybody ! I thought for some reason their was a whiting bite in the north part of the harbor at the entrance to the ICW . Seems like I remember a few years ago about this time of year seeing boats stacked up over ther catching them .I’ll give it a shot and report back .

Rob you are thinking of the SPOT run! All the same tackle and tactics apply except maybe stay in the harbor and near the surf rather than back in creek holes. Spots are delish!

Stono Inlet in deep channels I’ve seen people fill 48qt coolers with whitings when there biting good. But the later in summer the better, but you could still probably catch more than a couple in that area at this time of year but its still slow fishing so probably won’t be hot action like the summer. That area is known as the “kitchen”.

BOATLESS

Did somebody say spot run? Can I get a little more info on this? Used to love catching spots in the fall up in NC but never have much luck finding them in Charleston…

Perception Pescador Angler 12

I like the stono river near sol legare. Good bottom there for whiting.