Question: In Florida most everyone is familiar with a fish that is commonly called whiting. Catch them off of piers and the beach. Generally, under 2 lbs.

Up north/Long Island, I used to catch virtually the same fish and they were called kingfish.

I looked up whiting and kingfish on the web and it seems to me that whiting looks quite different that kingfish. The kingfish pictured looks like the fish commonly called whiting in Florida. Kingfish have that mouth that is slightly under the snout.

Anybody know for a fact whether the Florida "whiting" is actually a kingfish? I bought some frozen whiting from Publix and I don't think they are the fish that I catch in Florida that are called whiting.

that fish like many fish has several names in various regions... I do think there are at least two variations though.... the ones up North I believe have darker markings with some vertical striping when compared to ones down this way.... names I have seen, Sea Mullet, kingfish ( not to be confused with King Mackeral), Virginia kingfish,whiting, and Roundheads, I think I have heard of one more but can't recall it now... good eating and the head with a inch of meat left on, makes one of the absolute best baits for big Drum (Channel bass, redfish, bull reds, etc ) in the outerbanks that there is

Atlantic Kingfish?

Here

Gulf or Gray Kingfish
http://www.acfishing.com/fishid/gkingfish.html

Southern Kingfish
http://www.acfishing.com/fishid/skingfish.html

Northern Kingfish
http://www.acfishing.com/fishid/northernkingfish.gif

yep...a lot of that hillbilly inbreeding going on with that fish

OK Tommy, on that site whiting shows up as something quite different.
http://www.acfishing.com/fishid/

I'm concluding, therefore, that what I'm buying at Publix is NOT what I'm catching off the FLA beaches. Haven't eaten it yet - hoping it's as good as the FLA fish.

Thanks, all, for the help.