Does Anyone know if the big ones show up in the surf as the water cools ? I fished for them in the spring and fall from my boat out in the inlets and in front of the beaches for 25+ years. I sold my boat last year and have been mostly surf fishing this year. The last few trips I have caught plenty of small whiting but no big ones. I see from other reports that most are small too. Any info is much appreciated.
Whiting spawn in the spring through late summer. I usually catch the bigger fish starting in late March to May or so. Big being 15" plus. And not unlike most other fish, they will “feed up” in the fall months, Oct. Into Dec. bigger fish then also, as long as we dont’t get some crazy cold snap. Caught some fat ones last Nov. Some in the 2lb+ range.
Maybe I’ll see you out again Jack?
A two pounder from Nov. 2014
“There’s a fine line between fishing and standing in the surf like an idiot.”
Thanks DP. That’s the ones I’m looking for.
I’m sure I’ll see you out there some over the next few months. I usually fish IOP because it’s closer. However, after seeing some of those big Reds being caught on Folly, I’m going to try out there some too. This is my favorite time of year.
Jack Taylor
Hey Jack. You don’t have to believe the story but… you asked. Did a fall camping trip on Capers some years back (10 years)? We were fishing all day and all night. The sun went down and we decided to fish the low tide gullies as the beach started to flood again. The reds were not huge but, they raged from 14 to 30 inches that particular weekend. I snagged a good fighting fish and pulled in a 21 inch fish. It was 22 inches but let’s just say 21 inches. Dragged it on the sand, wasn’t the big fish for the day and I walked it back to the surf for a quick release and geared back up for the next fish. Shouted what I caught to the guys on the other sides of me and waited for the next bite.
Now I had time to assess the fish. The scales on this fish were tiny with reference to a red fish. The nose on this fish were not blunt like a red fish but, more pointed but the mouth was on the bottom like a Drum. The color was not orange or red or blue but, silver. The fish was a big bull whiting. Or not? 
I believe you Ty. I’ve camped on Capers is October a few times and caught a lot of those big whiting like you described. I also used to catch them big like that in Capers and Prices Inlets too.
Jack Taylor