# Whiting, other names?



## Kellercl

Is whiting the same as gulf king fish? I hear people refer to whiting all the time, but I am not clear on what whiting actually is.


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## Dr. Bubba

Gulf kingfish, southern kingfish, northern kingfish = whiting/roundhead/sea mullet/Virginia mullet/yummy


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## notso

Dr. Bubba said:


> Gulf kingfish, southern kingfish, northern kingfish = whiting/roundhead/sea mullet/Virginia mullet/yummy


You forgot sea monkeys...


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## KingKrimpet

Tasty


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## Kellercl

Perfect, thanks for the help. It all makes sense now. I think this year I am going to keep a few whiting to eat, I have never tried them before. I had zero idea people at them.


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## Fishman

Dave you got that right. Tasty


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## KingKrimpet

Fishman said:


> Dave you got that right. Tasty


Dave


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## Fishman

KingKrimpet said:


> Dave


Dr Bubba


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## MetroMan

Good eats!!!

It can get confusing with the regional name differences. Theres also the popular whiting thats in the cod family as well, found in the deep north atlantic waters.


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## SnookMook

Yes, Gulf whiting is what we call them down here in Florida.



















They're proper name is actually Gulf kingfish. You can also catch the other two species the Northern and Southern in Florida as well and the Gulf can also be caught on the Atlantic side.

They are very good to eat.


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## Kellercl

Thanks for the pictures. I catch a bunch of those on the Atlantic side. Next time I will be eating few.


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## GreenFord

Cut bait two weeks ago....


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## Charlie2

*Whiting Name*

We always called them Ground Mullet when I was growing up. Later, I found out that they were called Whiting. C2


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## SnookMook

On a side note; little ones 6-10 inches, are prime big snook bait in the surf down here along the Gulf coast of Florida. 

I lay a sabiki rig out in the trough with little pieces of shrimp to catch the little whiting and then throw them back out for the big snook.

That's an old Florida cracker Gulf coast trick. Works like a charm down in Sanibel and Captiva for you guys coming down for vacation.


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## robc22

*whiting*

Always know as whiting up here....some times called silver hake or frostfish......


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## MDubious

You guys think this is the most multi-name species on the East Coast? Being born and raised on LINY and when I lived in OCNJ we called them kingfish. When I went to SC for school they're whiting, and now in NC where I live they are Virginia Mullet.


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## tjbjornsen

Yeah, I must have thrown a zillion of them back over the years before I got yelled at by an old timer on the beach, telling me they were great eating.
He was right, I was schooled!
Good dinner there!


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## Dr. Bubba

notso said:


> You forgot sea monkeys...


that's what I'm using from now on...


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## KCR

*Sea Mullet*

They are called Sea Mullet on the Outer Banks. I was in Rodanthe last week and we hit'em good. Had the tasty buggers fried, sauted in a pan and broiled along with several blowtoads for dinner 4 nights that week and still brought some back to the burgh!


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## Fishbreath

Kellercl said:


> Thanks for the pictures. I catch a bunch of those on the Atlantic side. Next time I will be eating few.


Since you'll be there in October, and if'n you do get a bunch of them sea monkeys/kingfish/whiting/roundheads/sea mullets, you may want to cut off the head (with some shoulder) of a few of them and use the head as bait for some nice spot tails aka red drum...


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## jrbudda

I'm glad I found this thread, thought I had lost my mind there for a bit trying to send my friend a picture of a 'whiting', everything in google looked wrong! More globally it's some type of deepwater cod.

As if these fish didn't have enough names, it seems wikipedia has given them yet another: Kingcroakers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingcroaker


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## AbuMike

Call the heads Bait......


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## sunburntspike

AbuMike said:


> Call the heads Bait......


AWESOME bait!!!!!


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## SmoothLures

jrbudda said:


> I'm glad I found this thread, thought I had lost my mind there for a bit trying to send my friend a picture of a 'whiting', everything in google looked wrong! More globally it's some type of deepwater cod.
> 
> As if these fish didn't have enough names, it seems wikipedia has given them yet another: Kingcroakers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingcroaker


Looks like someone took it upon themselves to change it. Says the page was "formerly kingfish" Really odd. I guess to him king fish means King mackerels. Never heard of king croaker lol. 

Yes if you buy whiting in the store you're getting a fairly fishy tasting deep water fish, not the delicious whiting you catch in the surf.


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## BubbaHoTep

SmoothLures said:


> . . . .Yes if you buy whiting in the store you're getting a fairly fishy tasting deep water fish, not the delicious whiting you catch in the surf.


Right. Those are in the hake/cod family as MM said.

I have heard people call them kingcroakers. I've also heard spots called spotted croakers. It's not that common, though.


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## Fishbreath

Dr. Bubba said:


> Gulf kingfish, southern kingfish, northern kingfish = whiting/roundhead/sea mullet/Virginia mullet/yummy


What Doc said.....and they're delish!!!


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## repair5343

S. Fla their croakers


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## RuddeDogg

Ling up here in Yankee Land.


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## Captain Awesome

With all the talk of how tasty they are (getting me hungry), I have always just kept a couple, what I could eat fresh. Do they freeze well or is that not recommended?


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## repair5343

Its a fish, freezes very well but fresh is always better.


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## plotalot

Here in Bammer they are called ground mullet or whiting. Over in Louisiana they're called channel mullet. It doesn't look like a mullet to me, so I just call them good groceries.


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## SmoothLures

They freeze fine.


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## SnookMook

I caught some real nice size ones a couple of weeks ago in the surf down south near Englewood and Little Gasparilla. These guys were pushing 14-15 inches which is good for the Florida's southwest Gulf Coast. I've only caught them that size once before and I think they were spawning. I was near one of the passes. 

I got some real nice fillets out of those fish and they were delicious.


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