Melbourne's fishing is dominated by Port Phillip Bay, and the bay's calendar is dominated by the spring snapper run. Around that sit consistent whiting, squid and bream fisheries that run most of the year.
This guide covers the areas worth your fuel and the timing that makes each one work.
Port Phillip Bay snapper
From October to December, big snapper move into the bay to spawn. The grounds off Mordialloc, Frankston, Altona and Werribee all fire, with fish taken in eight to eighteen metres of water.
Anchor up-current of a mark, run a steady berley trail and fish fresh pilchard, squid or silver whiting on a running sinker rig. Dawn, dusk and the hour either side of a tide change produce most fish.
A rising barometer after a southerly blow is a well-known trigger. Watch the forecast and be on the water the morning it settles.
Whiting, squid and flathead
King George whiting are the bay's most reliable table fish. Work sand patches among weed in three to eight metres with pipi or squid strip baits and a light berley trail.
Southern calamari sit over the same weed beds. Cast jigs on the edges of the ribbon weed in clear water — early morning and last light are best.
Sand flathead spread across the open bay floor and will save an otherwise slow session; drift with a paternoster rig and keep moving until you find them.
Rivers and the Gippsland Lakes
The lower Yarra and Maribyrnong hold surprisingly good bream, best on small plastics and hard-bodies worked along rock walls and pontoons on a rising tide.
Three hours east, the Gippsland Lakes are Victoria's premier estuary system — bream, dusky flathead and estuary perch across an enormous area of shallow, structure-rich water.
In the lakes, wind direction matters more than tide. Fish the bank the wind is pushing into and you will usually find the bait, and the fish with it.
Key takeaways
- ▸Snapper run October to December in eight to eighteen metres.
- ▸Berley constantly and fish tide changes in low light.
- ▸Whiting and calamari over sand patches among weed.
- ▸In the Gippsland Lakes, fish the wind-blown bank.
This guide is general information only. Fishing regulations differ by state and change regularly — confirm current rules with your fisheries authority before you fish.