 The bait used is normally anything from the surrounding environment which the whiting naturally prey on, with polychaetes, bivalves, crustaceans such as prawns and crabs, cephalopods and small fish effective for most species.As with most species, live bait is known to produce better catches.Lure fishing for whiting is not normally practiced, but saltwater flies have been used to good effect, as have small soft plastic lures and surface lures like poppes and stick baits imitating a fleeing fish or prawn.