East Rocky Lagoon is part of the Western Lakes system on the Tasmanian high plateau.

This lagoon is a strict catch and release fishery that produces big trout.

The Western Lakes area dominated by large wild brown trout, with rainbow trout present in some waters.

This is a wilderness area with sudden onsets of harsh weather, but the fishing experience in good conditions is unique.

The early season is usually spent fishing for tailers in shallow, weedy lake margins at waters Lake Kay, Double Lagoon, Howes Lagoon Bay and Talinah Lagoon.

When tailers aren’t visible blind casting to undercut banks with a wet fly can work well.

December to February is the best time for sight fishing, with Lakes Ada, Augusta, Chipman and Double, and Third and Second lagoons being among the best.

Dry fly fishing works well when mayfly hatches are under way from December to February at Lake Kay, Howes Lagoon Bay and Carter Lakes.

For spin fishing and trolling try Lakes Augusta and Ada.

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Most landbased fishing around Melbourne is done within Melbourne’s two large, shallow enclosed bays, Port Phillip and Western Port, but the city also has surf and rock fishing along the coast outside the bays.

Landbased fishing is generally done from jetties and rock walls, but there is beach and rock fishing to be had, and some riverbank fishing.

Some of the jetties have artificial reefs installed within casting distance.

Here’s some reliable landbased fishing spots in and around Melbourne.

– Cowes Pier, Phillip Island.
– Rhyll Jetty, Phillip Island.
– Newheaven Jetty, Phillip Island.
– San Remo Jetty, San Remo.
– Queenscliff Pier, Queenscliff.
– Barwon Heads Pier, Barwon Heads.
– Mornington Pier, Mornington.
– Sorrento Pier, Sorrento.
– Docklands, Melbourne.
– St Kilda Pier, St Kilda.
– Brighton Pier and Rock Wall, Brighton.
– Portarlington Pier, Portarlington.
– Flinders Pier, Flinders.
– Point Leo Beach, Point Leo.
– Patterson River, Carrum.
– Cunningham Pier, Geelong.
– Werribee River, Werribee South.
– Gunnamatta Beach, Fingal.
– Cape Woolamai Beach, Cape Woolamai.
– Cape Woolamai Back Beach, Cape Woolamai.
– Kilcunda Beach. Kilcunda.
– Stony Point Ferry Terminal, Stony Point.6. Altona Pier, Altona.
– Furguson Street Pier, Williamstown.
– Station Pier, Port Melbourne.
– Mordialloc Pier, Modialloc.
– Sandringham Rock Wall, Sandringham.
– Frankston Pier, Frankston.
– Princess Pier, Port Melbourne.
– Black Rock Pier, Black Rock.
– Balnarring Beach, Balnarring.
– Somers Beach, Somers.
– Mount Martha Rocks, Mount Martha.
– Shallow Inlet, Sandy Point.

Melbourne’s two vast bays are mainly sandy-bottomed, with seagrass beds. The bays produce flathead, king george whiting, pink snapper, yellowtail kingfish, black bream, Australian salmon, garfish, yellow-eye mullet, silver trevally, barracouta, mulloway, squid, flounder and leatherjackets.

Geelong’s jetties alone will keep family fishos occupied, with juvenile Australian salmon, squid and bream all reliable.

Elephant fish, gummy sharks, seven-gill sharks, school sharks, various rays and estuary perch are also caught.

What you catch will depend on where you fish, with the low-energy locations within the bays producing mostly smaller fish, and the surf and rock spots outside producing bigger fish.

You will need to gear up accordingly, with light spinning rod/reel combos with 4kg to 6kg line being ideal within the bays for smaller fish, and heavier surf gear required on the southside beaches.

Bigger fish can be caught from Melbourne landbased locations, especially at night, and you’ll need the right gear, such as a long gaff or drop gaff, to land big fish.

Elephant fish usually run in Western Port between March and May.

In the surf, Australian salmon prevail, with gummy and school sharks, mulloway, pink snapper and tailor adding excitement.

Gummy and school sharks are caught in the surf at night and are highly regarded as table fare.

Mulloway and snapper move in close after storms, and mulloway are targeted when rain flushes estuaries and creeks.

Melbourne landbased fishing sasons

In Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay, juvenile salmon bite all year, while bream are best from June to November.

Flathead, garfish and king george whiting are best in the bay in summer, with sand whiting biting through to April.

Silver trevally and snapper are best from October to May.

Mullet are from April to October.

Kingfish are best in summer.

Squid can be caught all year, but are usually best from June to October.

Mulloway bite well around Melbourne in winter.

Bait, lures and tackle

Pilchards, bluebait, prawns and squid are popular baits.

For pink snapper, fish fillets or small whole fish work well.

For those who make the effort, local bait such as worms and bass yabbies, can make all the difference.

Lure fishing is popular, especially for Australian salmon, barracouta and yellowtail kingfish, where chrome slices are a good all-round lure.

Bream and estuary perch are often targeted with small minnow lures and soft plastics.

Paternoster rigs are popular for bait fishing.

In Victoria’s estuaries, with small tides and often clear water, a light-tackle approach is crucial.

The fishing is easier in estuaries when the water dirties. Night fishing can also work wonders.

Melbourne landbased fishing weather

Victoria is the second wettest state after Tasmania.

At Melbourne Airport the mean wind speed is between 20km/h and 24km/h through the year, with April, May and June being calmest and August and September the windiest.

Melbourne winds tend to blow northerly in winter, and southerly in summer.

Easterlies are rare.

Winter fronts bring gales, while summer brings strong afternoon sea breezes.

Keep this is mind when planning your trips. Lee shores might be calmer for landbased fishing, but at times some wave action can be helpful when fishing.

Rock fishing outside the bays can be dangerous as wave action is far more severe.

Victoria’s tidal range is small, being near 1m at Portland and under 2m at the NSW border. Nonetheless, high tides tend to be the best time for Melbourne’s landbased anglers.

Melbourne landbased fishing holiday locations

Some of Victoria’s coastal towns are great destinations for landbased fishing holidays.

To the west some of the major stops are Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Fairy, Portland and Nelson (Glenelg River).

To the east are Port Albert, Lakes Entrance, the Ninety Mile Beach, and Mallacoota.

There are many smaller communities with holiday facilities and good local fishing.

Here is a list of recommended tackle for Victorian waters.

Book your fishing stay early at Booking.com

Melbourne (Williamstown) tides
Melbourne dam levels
VIC fishing regulations
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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.

Book your fishing stay early at Booking.com

Aire River tides
Aire River campground bookings
Aire River coastline
VIC fishing regulations
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