Apollo Bay is a popular seaside holiday village 200km west of Melbourne, featuring a boat harbour with a relatively sheltered ramp.

The harbour provides one of the few safe boat launching sites along the rugged Great Ocean Road.

The town is located next to Barham River, a small but reasonably productive river with trout in the upper reaches and good surf and rock spots nearby.

Good boating grounds lie just south-east of Apollo Bay, within 2km of the boat ramp.

flathead, snapper and gummy sharks are the main offshore target, but there are also leatherjackets, morwong, gurnard, salmon, trevally, kingfish, barracouta, nannygai and king george whiting.

Bluefin tuna are caught from April to September.

Blue and mako sharks are caught out wide, with a chance of thresher sharks showing up.

Southern right whales swim through the area in winter/spring.

Skippers should keep in mind the risk of waves breaking over local reefs, particularly Henty and Bumbry Reefs.

Landbased fishos should try the beach at the Barham River mouth, with mullet in winter and salmon reliable most of the year.

Fishing can be good within the boat harbour for mullet, slimy mackerel, yakkas, squid and trevally, and the outer rock wall is a good spot in suitable weather, with salmon and large silver trevally, and a chance of snapper and gummy sharks.

Keen surf fishermen should try Marengo Beach, which has salmon and big whiting.

Local creeks in this region have brown trout but seasonal rainfall plays a big part in how many fish are about.

The Barham River is the best local trout waterway, with some fish caught at times in Wild Dog Creek and nearby Wye River.

The Barham’s tidal section has black bream and estuary perch. The river mouth is open only intermittently.

Mulloway can be expected around the river mouth during flood events.

Crayfish are caught around Apollo Bay in season.

Keep in mind that this town is very popular during holiday periods.

Nearby fishing spots

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

Kennett and Grey Rivers – mullet, bream and small salmon in the estuaries, with the rocks around Grey River producing trevally,
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 in close, occasional trout in the creek.

Wild Dog Beach – surf fishing for salmon, trevally. occasional trout in the creek.

Aire River – river and surf fishing. More information of Air River fishing here.

Apollo Bay tides
Apollo Bay coastline
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Geelong fishos are well served with jetties to fish from.

These are listed public jetties. Check access arrangements and local regulations before fishing.

Eastern Pier
Yarra Pier
Lascelles Wharf
Point Henry Pier
Rippleside Pier
Cunningham Pier
Refinery Pier
Point Wilson Pier
Former Rippleside Shipyard
Corio Quay
Western Beach Boat Club
Griffins Gully Jetty
Rippleside Jetty
St Helens Jetty
Geelong Trailable Yacht Club
Portarlington Jetty
Point Richards Jetty
Ozone Jetty
Barwon Heads Jetty
Point Lonsdale Pier
Indented Head Jetty
St Leonards Pier
Clifton Springs Jetty
Limeburners Point Jetty
Alexander Thompson Jetty
Bellerine St Jetty
Swan Bay Jetty
Corio Quay
Bulk Grain Jetty

If you have something to add about these fishing spots, post it in comments below.

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Bega River enters the sea through Mogareka Inlet down from Hancock Bridge, the bridge being just 500m from the river’s intermittent sea entrance.

The river’s tidal limit is 11km upstream, about half way to Bega township, and it is navigable to the tidal limit, with depths up to 15m.

The river drops around 116m over its 48km length.

The Bega becomes the Bemboka River upstream, and the Brogo River is a major tributary that features stocked bass fishery Brogo Dam.

Tantawangalo Creek, Sandy Creek and Wolumla Creek are Bega tributaries.

A highly regarded fishing area in the lower tidal section of the Bega River is Blackfellows Lagoon off the Bega River at Kalaru, on Blackfellows Lake Road, where you can expect to catch quality bream and flathead.

Fishing is also usually good around Jellat Jellat, half way between Bega and Tathra.

Bega River sandflats usually hold plenty of flathead, including some trophy fish, with easy access and good spots to be found on the ocean side of the main road bridge.

The area around the bridge has deep water and most species.

The rocks on the north side of the sea entrance fish well for drummer, bream and other rock species.

There are usually bream around most Bega snags, but these fish will feed anywhere there is food.

Estuary perch and mulloway are always a chance in the Bega, with luderick in winter.

Pay attention to rainfall, which will push marine fish down the river.

The Bega is known for a good run of summer prawns, especially after a wet winter.

There are bass in the freshwater reaches.

Tathra Wharf is a great fishing spot that produces yakkas, slimy mackerel, flathead, tailor, salmon, luderick, trevally, squid and barracouta.

For boaters, the coastal reefs to the north and south have blue morwong, flathead, snapper, kingfish and mulloway.

White Rocks to the south is a known snapper spot, and also Goalen Head to the north.

Offshore, flathead fish well from October, with the 50m to 70m depth range north of Wapengo and south of Bournda producing tiger flathead, gummy sharks and gurnard.

Sand flathead are usually found in shallower around the 30m zone, with Tathra Bay as good as anywhere for them.

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