Whiting On The Peach State Beaches

Georgia’s Barrier Islands

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On The Fly Saltwater

June 2026

Article and photos by Jimmy Jacobs

It is said that when you are fly casting for Atlantic salmon in the northeastern states and Scandinavia, or chasing muskellunge on the fly anywhere that you are after a fish of “ten thousand casts.” Along the coast of Georgia, we have a similarly difficult quarry as well, though by no means as glamorous as those other fish.

If you want a challenge, try catching whiting on the fly out of the surf. While it is rather easy to hook these fish on conventional tackle with bait when they are feeding, getting a fly in front of one and convincing it to eat is entirely another game. The one saving grace of targeting them is they usually are found in schools that can sometimes contain dozens of the fish. Obviously, casting into such a crowd improves your odds of finding the one hungry or dumb one. If you are successful, the reward is catching a fish that is great table fare and so prolific that you should feel no pangs of remorse about harvesting a few. In fact, in Georgia there are not size or harvest limits for the species.

These sleek silver fish are also known as southern kingfish and are members of the croaker family. They are commonly found along Peach State beaches and in bays, particularly over soft sand or mud bottom. The best time to fish for them is from spring through fall, with the months of April and May consider the best. Since that pairs up with family vacation season, whiting can offer some fly fishing while the kids and non-fishers enjoy the beach.

When targeting whiting, rod and reel combos in the 7- to 8-weight range work well. While that may seem a bit of overkill for a species that rarely tops 15 inches, you also have to expect to be challenged by wind when casting from the sand. In fact, if you catch one of 20 inches in the 2-pound range, you have a trophy. The state record fish from Peach State waters tipped the scales at 2 pounds, 12 ounces.

When it comes to flies for targeting whiting, imitating their usual forage is the ticket. Whiting feed mostly on shrimp or mole crabs that are also called sand fleas. You see those small crustaceans washing up on the sand with the wave action and then scurrying back toward the water before burrowing into the sand.

One good fly pattern to try when imitating sand fleas is Drew Chicone’s Mole Crab. But whiting can also be taken on bonefish patterns like the Crazy Charlie, or even small Clouser Minnows. The secret is to use a retrieve where the fly is bounding along the bottom kicking up puffs of sand to attract the whiting.

If you opt for a shrimp pattern, one that is quite popular is the Disco Shrimp, which looks a lot like a mini version of the Gurgler patterns used for tarpon. When casting it, or any shrimp pattern for whiting, you want the fly to push water to the front. Again, this is to draw the fish’s attention to it.

With regard to where on the beach to look for the whiting, it’s all got to do with the contours. Theoretically, these fish can show up anywhere in the surf along the sand, but some areas offer a bit better options for finding them.

Scouting a stretch of beach at low tide can narrow the search area. One of the things to look for are troughs running parallel to the incoming waves. As the tide rises these will flood creating deeper channels near the beach that attract the foraging whiting.

The rising tide encroaching to fill a trough along the beach.

Another formation to look for is the drain at one, or both, ends of these troughs. When the tide begins falling the water rushing out through the drain can cut into the beach sand, carrying forage with it. The whiting likely will be just offshore of the drain, checking out what is washed in their direction.

Bear in mind when angling for whiting that if these fish are finding food, they often will remain in that spot for extended periods. If you catch one, there likely will be more there.

That is the micro of finding the whiting. Now for the macro with regard to Peach State beaches.

The three easily reached barrier islands offer the best access for this kind of fishing. In the north there is Tybee Island, just offshore of Savannah. While the entire beach area can hold some whiting, the north end near the mouth of the Savannah River and the southern tip at the mouth of Tybee Creek are usually less crowded with beach goers. Those would be good areas to start your search.

In the Golden Isles region, both St. Simons and Jekyll Islands are good as well. On St. Simons, check out the region from the King and Prince Hotel around to the north past Massengale Beach. Another area is the East Beach up to the mouth of Goulds Inlet.

Fly casting from Jekyll Island’s Driftwood Beach.

On Jekyll Island, the access for beach fishing is good on the north end from the mouth of Clam Creek to the south past Driftwood Beach. Another area to try is just north of Jekyll Point on the south end of the isle.

Regardless of which area you pick, expect to throw some casts. It’s not the easy fishing to be had.