I include in the category of "Lesser Fish" fish such as Sand trout, Golden Croaker, Spot Croaker (SPOT also called Norfolk Spot are a prime game fish in Virginia), Whiting, etc. My easiest access is at Corpus since I am a retired Navy Officer and can stay CHEAP at the Naval Air Station.

Where do I go to be sure to find a good mess of these fish on a reliable basis.

We used to use bloodworms as bait for spot. Any idea if the bait shops have bloodworms??

You can find whiting & sand trout just about anywhere on the beaches/surf. You might try the PINS at Malaquite Beach - Corpus is not far. You should be able to locate the whiting and sand trout close to the entrance and not have to venture into the 4x4 only zone. Croaker are generally small around here and the Golden Croaker tough to find...never heard of the spot or bloodworms. Might try some Fish Bites. Good luck.

that pier on the naval base in corpus is awesome!

I use to fish there all the time during the winter and had golden croaker out the wazoo. I've also caught a few spots off that smaller pier/boat sotrage area right across the street. Try the big pier, and the small one, Both hold a good amount of those lesser fish. (which i happen to love cause they taste so FREAKIN good)

The pier on the navy base in Corpus is an excellent place for sand trout, croaker, and whiting at night.

Thanks for the tip on the Naval Base Pier. I am a retired Navy Officer and can stay cheap at the Officers barracks, and eat at the Officers Club. Cheap vacation.

What would one use for bait??

I used dead shrimp; but most of the croaker and sand trout were caught with the chartreuse crappie jigs (the ones with the feathers). I would just swim the jig right next to the pier and they would kill it.

piece of dead shrimp fished on the bottom. It's a never lose tactic.

You can kill the whiting at Bob Hall pier with a pound of shrimp you can catch lots of whiting.

This time of year, the whiting (properly known, strangely enough, as "Gulf Kingfish," and locally as "shoemakers") tend to be really thick in the surf. You needn't wade far offshore, either; often, the first gut will hold lots of fish. They tend to run only a pound or so, but fight like the dickens and freshly filled and fried, make great eating.
The best tip I can give is to use a long, narrow-gap single hook. Conventional wide-gap croaker hooks are generally a bit too large for the whiting's small mouth.
Long-shanked hooks make it much easier to extract the barb from a fish. Rigging-wise, I use a Carolina Rig (egg sinker over a barrel swivel and leader), cast it as far out as possible and then let the weight roll back inshore. Somewhere along the path, it will intercept fish.
As for bait, you can't beat fresh dead shrimp. It only takes a half-section or less of shrimp to garner the attention of even a big whiting. The biggest I have see yet was caught by my friend Doug Corry at Rollover Pass about 10 years ago. It weighed just over three pounds.