King George whiting
Fish · Last reviewed 2026-10-09
The largest of the whitings: a long, spotted, small-mouthed fish of southern Australian sand and seagrass, caught by day on small natural baits.
Catching King George whiting
Everything here on fishing for it. Each entry opens the page behind it.
- Where
- 2 places FishingHQ documents — strongest claim anywhere: recorded here · From a boat
King George whiting are the largest of the whitings, and among the most recognisable: a long, slender fish, light brown to brownish black above and silver below, marked with dark spots that often run in rows along the body, with small scales and a yellow tail.
They are a southern Australian fish. FishBase gives the range simply as southern Australia, and Tasmania's fishing guide notes that they have increased in number and distribution in Tasmanian waters in recent years.
Two facts from that guide shape how they are fished. They are often caught during the day, which it takes as a sign that they feed by sight. And they have small mouths, used to worms and small crustaceans, so they readily take small natural baits: pipis, marine worms, mussels or squid. Larger fish gather in sand holes, channels and drop-offs into deeper water, where food passes with the tide.
FishBase records a maximum of 72 cm and 4.8 kg and an age of 15 years, living mostly in very shallow water of two to eighteen metres.
Where and when
Where King George whiting is documented
Places where public sources describe this species as fished, with how it is fished and how strongly the evidence supports it. This is not a range map and it is not a recommendation — it is what has been written down about a fishery rather than a record of any individual catch, and being listed is never permission to fish.
Australia
2 documented places
- King Island · IslandRecorded here · from a boat
- The Tamar estuary, Tasmania · EstuaryRecorded here · from a boat
What these strengths mean
- Recorded here
- At least one credible public account of this species being caught here. That is all it means.
The fish
Identification
No photograph of King George whiting has passed identity review yet, so none is shown. A photograph is published only once somebody has checked the animal in it against the diagnostic features described on this page.
- Scientific name
- Sillaginodes punctatus
- Family
- Sillaginidae
- Water
- Saltwater, Brackish
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Regions
- Australia
- The largest of the whitings, with a long, slender body.
- Dark spots, often in rows, along the body: light brown to brownish black above, silvery on the belly, which is unspotted.
- Small scales and a yellow tail fin.
- A small mouth for the size of the fish, which is why it is caught on small baits and hooks.
Size
- Typical
- Not given as a figure by the sources read
- Large
- Up to 69 cm and 5 kg according to Tasmania's fishing guide
Exceptional: FishBase records a maximum of 72 cm, 4.8 kg and an age of 15 years
Lifecycle and reproduction
A bottom-living, non-migratory fish of shallow southern Australian water. FishBase records a depth range of 2 to 200 m but usually 2 to 18 m, a maximum age of 15 years and medium resilience. Tasmania's guide records that the fish has become more numerous and more widely spread in Tasmanian waters in recent years.
Not described by either source read. FishBase's summary gives no spawning account and the Tasmanian guide does not cover breeding, so this record makes no statement about when or where the species spawns.
Feeding and senses
A small-mouthed feeder on worms and small crustaceans. Because of that it readily takes pipis, marine worms, mussels or squid. Larger fish tend to gather in sand holes, in channels and at drop-offs into deeper water, where fish and food move past with the tide.
Tasmania's fishing guide notes that King George whiting are often caught during the day and takes that as an indication that they are visual feeders. That is the only statement about their senses in the sources read.
Through the year
No seasonal pattern is given by the sources read: the Tasmanian guide lists the fish as open all year. What it describes instead is a daily and tidal one, with the fish caught in daylight and the larger ones holding where the tide carries food past.
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: southern Australia. FishBase gives the latitudinal range as 29°S to 41°S, between 112°E and 152°E
This is a biological range — where the species occurs, not a prediction that you will catch one. To browse the fishing geography FishingHQ holds, start at fishing places.
Why anglers care
A prized light-tackle table fish of southern Australia. In Tasmania the state's regional pages list it among the fish caught from a boat on the north-west coast, in the Tamar and around King Island, and its species page describes the fishery there as sustainable. It is a bait fishery on small hooks over sand holes, channels and drop-offs.
Handling and returning
Tasmania's guide says to release the fish in the water, using a dehooker or pliers to remove the hook. Its small mouth makes a deeply taken hook difficult to reach, which is the practical argument for small hooks and for striking early.
Safety and rules
More
Where to go next
Where it lives
- Inshore groundAdults in deeper water to about twenty-five metres, often near reef.
- Seagrass bedsYoung fish in shallow, sheltered parts of large estuaries close to seagrass.
More fish
Not related to this page — just the rest of the section. There is little else joined to this subject yet, and a short page should still lead somewhere.
Sources and evidence
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Family, maximum size, depth range, environment, distribution and the IUCN assessment for Sillaginodes punctatus. FishBase records no IUCN assessment for this species.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Fishing Tasmania: guide to fish species, tiger flathead and King George whiting — Tasmanian Government (Fishing Tasmania) (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: Identifying features of King George whiting, that it is often caught by day and has a small mouth suited to worms and small crustaceans, the baits it takes, where larger fish gather, and its increase in Tasmanian waters.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Why the 2 connections on this page are here, and the sources
Where it lives
Official guidance — 2 connections
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
Inshore ground
Tasmania's fishing guide places adult fish in deeper water to about twenty-five metres, often near reefs.
- Fishing Tasmania: guide to fish species, tiger flathead and King George whiting — Tasmanian Government (Fishing Tasmania) (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: That adult King George whiting are found in deeper offshore waters up to 25 metres, often near reefs.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Seagrass beds
Tasmania's fishing guide places the young fish in sheltered estuary shallows close to seagrass beds.
- Fishing Tasmania: guide to fish species, tiger flathead and King George whiting — Tasmanian Government (Fishing Tasmania) (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: That young King George whiting are found around shallow, sheltered areas in large estuaries close to seagrass beds, and adults in deeper offshore waters up to 25 metres, often near reefs.States this directlyPassage read and verified
How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy.