Most fishing in Victoria is in Melbourne’s two large, shallow enclosed bays, Port Phillip and Western Port.
Western Port Bay is 45km long and 30km wide, but is mostly just a shallow maze of sandlfats, seagrass and channels.
These run around French Island in the middle and Phillip Island at the entrance.
Much of the north-eastern area is flats at low tide.
The bay is best known for snapper, king george whiting and gummy sharks.
There is an annual run of elephant fish in autumn between Tortoise Head, Corinella and New Haven.
Squid are abundant at times.
Fishing the bay requires working the tides, as on bigger tides the bay drains, leaving channels.
Fishing can be good on the bigger tides, but a trip requires planning to ensure good fishing time at the chosen spot.
The best boat ramps are at Hastings, Corinella and Stony Point.
For big king george whiting try McHaffey’s Reef and Cat Bay in winter.
Snapper are all year, with a big run in spring. Long Reef, Spit Point, Lysaughts, Crawfish, Bagge, Eagle Rock and Yaringa Harbour are favoured grounds.
Any rubble bottom may produce. For flathead, try the channel edges.
Other species include kingfish, mulloway, salmon and snook.
Mulloway are best in Mosquito Channel, around Pelican Island, Elizabeth Island and near the Corinella hole.
The bay produces some huge mulloway, so be prepared with adequate gear.
Good landbased fishing can be had at Stockyard Point, Lang Lang, Grantville Jetty, Tenby Point, Corinella Jetty and Settlement Point.
At the entrance to Western Port, Phillip Island is reached by a bridge and has its own boat ramps, with landbased fishing at Cowes Jetty, San Remo Back Beach, Newhaven Jetty, Red Rock, Rhyll and Cat Bay.
The waters outside Western Port are renowned for sharks in summer, including makos, threshers, blues and whalers.
There are tiger flathead grounds just outside the bay, and striped tuna are abundant in summer.
Seasons
Juvenile salmon bite all year, while bream are best from June to November.
flathead, garfish and spotted whiting are best in the bay in summer, with 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 & 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 salmon and 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.
The fishing is easier in estuaries when the water dirties from rough weather.
Weather
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.
Victoria’s tidal range is small, with most boat ramps useable throughout the tidal range.
Special features
The unusual and large seven gill shark frequents the bay, and there is an annual run of elephant fish.
Here is a list of recommended tackle for Victorian waters.
Hastings (Mornington Peninsula) tides
Port Phillip fishing spots
Victorian stocked fishing spots
Melbourne dam levels
VIC fishing regulations
VIC marine parks
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