Fishing Aire River, Victoria

Aire River is one of several great fishing locations along the Great Ocean Road, south-west of Melbourne.

The river is in the picturesque Otways region, close to other fishing gems such as Apollo Bay.

The beauty of Aire River is variety, with river, estuary and surf fishing.

There is good bankside access to the lower river, with campgrounds on either side of the estuary near the estuary bridge.

The river’s catchment begins in the mountains, where there is annual rainfall of well over 1000mm.

This upper section holds brown trout, with natural recruitment taking place in the gravel shallows each year.

Fishing access to the upper river is difficult as there aren’t many nearby roads, and the topography is steep, with thick vegetation.

There are campsites upstream at Aire Crossing, and this spot produces brown trout, along with some estuary perch, grayling, eels and river blackfish.

There is about 11km of river below the Aire Crossing to the Great Ocean Road bridge and this can be fished by kayak, but there are rapids and falls along the way that require portage so it is not a trip for the unfit or unskilled paddler.

As well as trout, various galaxias, congoli, smelt, gudgeon, lamprey, rainbow trout, tench and Tasmanian mudfish have been recorded in the river’s freshwater section.

The lower tidal section of the river is where most fishing happens, with 9km of estuarine water available, and this section is ideal for canoes and dinghies except when floodwaters are flowing hard.

The lower Aire River is primarily a bream fishery, but there is often a good annual run of sea trout.

Estuary perch are a real chance, but are notoriously unreliable.

Bream are caught all year.

Yakkers can quietly fish the many bankside reeds for bream and perch with tiny lures or bait presented on light tackle.

Landbased fishos should use earthworms for bait as these will catch bream, estuary perch and sea trout, sometimes when packet baits are ignored.

In fact, the humble earthworm is an under-rated bait in estuaries, where all fish – including marine species – probably feed on them during and after flooding.

Small soft plastic lures can work well in the lower Aire River by casting from shore.

Juvenile salmon and mullet are usually about in the lower river and on the nearby beaches, with better mullet and salmon on the surf beaches in winter and autumn.

The sea trout usually run in the lower river in winter and early spring, with reasonable flow bringing the fish on.

Flathead and flounder are also caught in the river.

The bridge pylons are a good place to try for bream and flathead.

There is plenty of space for fishing from shore near the estuary bridge but holiday periods can be busy.

For those fishing the nearby surf such as Glenaire Beach, salmon and gummy sharks are available, along with occasional silver trevally and mulloway.

When the Aire River mouth opens mulloway are a better chance on the nearby beach.

The east and west campgrounds on the lower river mouth are close to bankside access.

The western campground has an unsealed ramp and a jetty, and the east campground has two unsealed ramps.

Facilities include toilets, picnic shelters, tables and fireplaces.

Lastly, there is plenty to see in the region for those who don’t fish, with some great bushwalks nearby.

Fishing spots near Aire River

Apollo Bay – the town has a great marina rock wall to fish, with sheltered boat launching in the port/marina. The nearby Barham River has trout, estuary perch, mullet, bream and small salmon. Read more about Apollo Bay fishing here.

Wye River – the estuary has mullet, bream and small Australian salmon. Occasional trout upstream.

Kennett and Grey Rivers – mullet, bream and small salmon in the estuaries, with the rocks around Grey River producing silver trevally, pink snapper, salmon and whiting when it is suitably calm.

Cape Patton and Smythes Creek – rock fishing, with some flathead and sand whiting over sand areas.

Pettitcoat Creek – the beach produces king george whiting. The south side of the beach fishes well just before low tide in suitably calm weather for snapper.

Skenes Creek – king george whiting on nearby grounds, occasional trout in the creek.

Wild Dog Beach – surf fishing for Australian salmon, silver trevally. Occasional trout in the creek.

Here is a list of recommended tackle for Victorian waters.

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