Fishing Reports for Victoria, Westernport and Port Phillip Bay

Port Phillip has been quiet in terms of report this past week, but there has still been things happening. The squid fishing has been ok, with some of the southern piers about due to start firing. The northern end of the bay has also been showing quality squid from the piers and inshore reef. Customer Ryan has been catching some decent squid along the reef around Black Rock. Ryan has been finding red and orange jigs have been the standouts around the deeper reef patches. Ryan has caught squid up around 800g, with afternoons fishing better.

Around Brighton there have been good patches of squid on offer when the wind has dropped. The reef points and pier have seen squid to around 600g on darker coloured jigs. Customer Tas has been catching good numbers of 490 glow Yamashita jigs in the 2.5 size. Last light and early into the evening has been the prime time.

There have been good amounts of small pinkies and flathead in the same area, with the Brighton and Ormond shallows holding some quality table fish. Staff member Dylan has been fishing both the beaches and platforms a few afternoons a week, with a couple of flathead and pinkies being about average for a session. Small baitfish or worm pattern soft plastics in the 3inch size on 1/12th jigheads have been the most productive, with flathead to around 45cm and pinkies to 35cm both taking favour to them.

Also from the piers in the area and further down onto the Mornington peninsula there have decent numbers of garfish on the go. While there hasn't been millions of them, there has been enough to put a decent bag together if you're fishing the correct float, rig and berley methods. Customer Stefan has been catching some good bags of them around Frankston on both maggots and silverfish, lightly pinned on Gamakatsu fine wire fly hooks.

Squid fishing around both bays has been pretty good recently, as we've had no rain until just the last 24hrs. Some of the northern regions of both bays will be discoloured and will need a good few days to clean up - but these areas have been a tad too warm for numbers of squid recently anyway. While you will catch squid right up in the warmer water of the bays, the larger squid tend to prefer the cooler oceanic water coming in from the bottom of the bays.

While it's not mayhem yet - it won't be far away. Mornington pier has been starting to produce a few more squid, and in a month or so there should be large numbers of small squid in the harbour. Stock up on small jigs in the 1.75 & 1.8 size while they're in stock! Customer Connor fished the pier recently and caught a few squid to 25cm hood length. Connor found 2 different were effective over 2 days - bright orange and pilchard patterns in size 2.2.

The southern end of the bay has had lots of squid in the 200g size especially around Rye and Rosebud. Customer Jason was out stocking up for a kingfish session recently and found no shortage of squid in around 5m of water off Rye - with darker coloured jigs working the best. Blacks, dark reds and dark greens were the most effective.

Across in Westernport bay the squid fishing has been good further south also. While not known for producing huge numbers, the Flinders area has seen some bigger size as per usual. Customer Ryan caught a couple of nice specimens from the pier in between all the mackerel floats. With all the mackerel around Ryan found the natural mackerel pattern Yamashita worked the best. Just out from the pier customer Justin caught some really solid squid. Fishing the area out from the pier in the boat can be effective with size 3.5 fast sink jigs, as there is some undercurrent that will keep lighter jigs from reaching the 'kill zone'.

Customer Brendan also found some nice squid out in Westernport over the weekend. Brendan found a UV orange belly/brown back Yamashita jig did the damage. Brendan was targeting the edge of the grass beds in 6m of water to catch his squid.

Westernport has been fishing well for all bread and butter species with plenty on offer. The squid fishing around the southern end of the port has been good for numbers and size of late. Customer Igor fished around Cat bay and Vetnor in search of some bigger squid recently and found some quality models fishing Egi Oh K Yamashita jigs around the reef and heavy weed. The 'K' series jigs have a different body buoyancy and will 'hoer' on the bottom a bit more than a regular jig, and will soft hands they can be walked through heavy structure without hanging up.

Customer Trent also did well on the squid in a similar area of the port down close to Phillip Island. Trent fished with a few mates and caught squid to 1kg on a variety of jigs, with size 3.0 and 3.5 getting down to the bottom easier in the current. Red foil and black jigs were the most productive on the day.

Some of the piers in the port have fishing well for squid, with Flinders the standout.  Customers Angelo and Ryan have fished the pier recently and found the daytime fishing better than after dark. The nights here have seen the pier packed with anglers chasing the yakkas, so the days have been much quieter. Angelo has been finding the colour 17 and 'White cow' clicks jigs have been go-tos in size 3.0 recently. Ryan has been finding red foil jigs in size 3.5 and also dark greens have been the best for him, especially late in the afternoon.

The large summer garfish have pricked many anglers attention recently, with some exceptional size fish about in decent numbers also. Many of the shallow banks have been holding the fish but the middle spit has also been an excellent place to start a berley trail. Customer Edly stopped at the spit recently after looking for the kingfish and got a great feed of gars. Edly found good numbers of gars in 2.5m of water and boated them on small sabiki rigs under a float.

On the kingfish front, there have been fish caught from West head and the 'Knobbies' around to Cape Woolamai and back to Cape Schank. A good sounder is your best friend is locating these fish, as their position will change depending on tides and current. Customer Andrew came past the store for some terminal tackle to hit up the kingfish and he managed a lovely fish out in the Western entrance. Andrew found live yakkas trolled slowly were the gun bait.

Port Phillip has still been busy with holiday boaties over the past week, and most of the reports have been bread and butter fishing for pinkies, whiting and squid. The rip has seen some kingfish caught but this week has been a bit patchy. For the persistent anglers some of the pinkies have been reasonable, but you'll have to fish through the smaller ones until a few larger fish come through. Customer Darcy slogged away from the rocks recently in search of a better fish, and managed a nice fish of around 3kg from near Mt Martha. Pilchard was the go for him, and most of the better fish have been taken late into the night.

While the whiting fishing has been patchy around the full moon, there have still been plenty of anglers getting into a few of them. Customers Bashir and Danny have been doing alright on the whiting fishing out from Altona. Fishing the broken ground between 4 - 6m has been the go, with pipi and mussel being the most effective baits.

Most of the whiting have come on the bite before dark, which has been when a bit of the water traffic has slowed down. It pays to have multiple rods rigged and plenty of baits prepped around this time, as the small pinkies have also been ravenous around last light.

The other hots area for the whiting at present has been around Sorrento. Customer Josh fished out from here during the week and found some nice fish over 40cm. The best bait was pipi, but fresh cuttlefish is also very good in this southern section of the bay. Fishing the broken ground wide of the moorings and around the broken patches of the 'south sand' has been effective, especially when fishing in depths of 5 - 7m.

The squid fishing around the bay has been good, without being red hot. Most of the piers and everyday areas have been producing some solid squid, but no real monsters this week. Staff member Dylan has found that red and orange jigs have been super effective this week, moreso than most other colours. Dylan has been fishing the piers between Mornington and Sorrento, with size 3.0 being the most 'universal' size.

Customer Noel fished from the pier at Sorrento during the week where he managed a nice cuttlefish. Noel caught the cuttlefish on a red  foil jig, while conditions were cloudy and overcast. Fishing your jigs very close to the bottom and almost dragging them above the sand is a very good way to land cuttlefish, as they seem to prefer the jig 'hovering' just above the bottom. Fishing this method 'tip run' style is the best way to keep contact with the jig, and be ready to strike or move it from the weed as soon as you feel the drift change.

Port Phillip has been producing a bit of mixed bag fishing recently. While the snapper have all but gone quiet, there have been patches of fish around that have been eating. If you were to target them the southern region around Mt Martha has been the area to look around, in depths of 18 - 20m. Customer Simon got out recently after purchasing a new outfit for the bay and christened it nicely with a couple of nice fish at 6.5 and 5.2kg. Simon caught both fish on squid, in 17m off Mt Martha.

There have been some whiting reports floating around the bay, but not as many as Western port. Many anglers don't fish for the whiting as much in the bay but they are there to be caught. Friend of the store Bruce fished with mates out from Queenscliff to land a bag of nice whiting to 41cm. Run out tide was the better time with fresh squid and pipi doing the damage on size 2 long shank hooks. During the whiting fishing some nice squid also found themselves on a 'sleeper' jig behind the boat as they chased the hooked whiting in. The area between here and St Leonards has been more consistent for KGW lately.

There have been whiting caught up the top end by anglers persisting. Customer Bashir and mate fished out from Black Rock to land a nice bag of fish around the reef. Fishing pipi and prawn was the go on these fish, and constantly moving from the schools of pinkies. The area between Black Rock and Brighton has been producing whiting around the shallow broken ground.

The large gummies have showed up in the southern channels of the bay recently for anglers after them. Fishing the south channel has been the go for these larger fish, but many of the neighboring channels have been producing smaller table fish. Customer Josh fished the south channel and Rye channel recently to land a couple of quality gummies. Josh found that salmon and squid were the productive baits for the session.

Around the head and the 'rip' the kingies are starting to show up. While not red hot just yet they are about to go. Customer Damien has been helping out aboard 'Reel Time' Fishing Charters and over the weekend they landed their first solid king for the season at 13kg. The fish was caught in shallow water around the rip and gave some real heat when hooked. This is just a taste of things to come, so the time to get prepared is now!

While reports have thinned off a little from Port Phillip, there is still plenty going on! The snapper have slowed off a little with their usual pre-xmas spawning movements, but there are still plenty of patches of fish to catch. The southern end of the bay seems to be the go at the moment, as the water temp is slightly lower and more conducive to a snapper bite.

Out from Mornington, customers aboard 'Relax, Go Fishing' charters have been getting some solid fish to around the 6kg mark throughout the week. Baits of silver whiting have been very effective along with squid, and a few fish taking the usual pilchard as well. The productive areas have been from Mt Eliza through to Mornington in 16-17-18m of water.

Out from Black Rock customer Adrian has been catching some nice fish to around 4.5kg on pillies. Adrian has been fishing around the reef edge in 9m and fishing pilchards. Using a strong berley trail of pilchard cubes has been the best way to keep the nearby fish interested, with a handful of cubes going in every 40 minutes or so. Customer Michael has been getting a few fish still out from Carrum also. Michael has been fishing nearby to the outer artificial reef in 18m and finding the odd fish around sunrise. Fresh squid has been Michael's preferred bait.

Customer Mick came into the store recently to set up some Port Phillip 'specific' gear. After realizing that some of his stuff was more suited to Western port Mick purchased a lighter outfit to tackle the finicky nature of Port Phillip's snapper. Very next session Mick was out and into fish to about 3.5kg, with long octopus tentacles getting the bites.

Down along the Peninsula there have been some squid caught from some of the piers. Dirtier water and winds have slowed things a bit but persistence and constant jig changes has been the way to piece a bag together. Staff member Don got down to Mornington and although conditions weren't super favourable he still managed a decent haul. Switching between rattle and non rattle 2.5 size jigs was the go, with UV colours and rattles getting bites before the other jigs.

At the bottom of the peninsula there has been some movement from the schooling kingfish. While not 'on fire' yet, there are fish around - and they are worth targeting. Friend of the shop Bruce fished around the heads and offshore towards Barwon over the weekend to get into a few school sized fish. Bruce's best tactic was to run a 'Fanasty squid' hardbody behind the boat and pin a long squid strip on a dropper behind the lure. The lure works to get the king's attention and the squid strip seals the deal.

The squid fishing has been good during the spell of warm weather we've had lately. The warm and clear conditions have kept the water clarity very good and the bait has been plentiful in the shallows around the reefs. The better areas continue to be the southern end of the bay but there have been some good catches coming from the top end around Black Rock and Beaumaris. The best areas to head before the big deluge of freshwater are from Mornington or Mt Eliza further south.

Customer Ryan fished from the shore up around Beaumaris during the week to land a good bag of squid and a couple of pinkies. Ryan was fishing with a newly purchased 'Black Water' squid rod and felt that the rod performed exceptionally with all jigs sizes. Ryan found that gold base jigs in size 2.5 were the most effective for him fished in the darkness. A second rod with fresh squid strips accounted for the pinkies, which came from no more than 2.5m of water around the broken reef.

Around Mt Martha the squid fishing has been good, with customer Bryan catching some nice squid and cuttlefish out from Martha Point. Bryan was fishing out of the kayak and found that larger jigs were more successful, especially in natural colours. Whiting and yakka patterns with silver foils were the best. 

Customer Tas has been catching some nice squid around Mornington and Mt Martha recently. Tas has been catching squid to around 1kg on a variety of jigs and has just started using the EZ change clips, letting him change through jig colours/size very quick and making the most of the bite.

Snapper reports have slowed up a little from the port as anglers flock to Port Phillip - but the fish are still there to be caught. They are spread around the port fairly well at present, and you can find a quiet pocket to target them in easily enough. Customer Frank fished out from Corinella and landed snapper up to 6kg on pillies recently. Further south around Rhyll the fish have been going fairly well out from Observation Point and across on the Corals. Customer Bart fished out off Observation in 17.5m during the week and landed fish to 4kg on pilchards.

The gummies have been turning up on snapper bait as usual for anglers in the port. Customer Chris landed 2 table sized sharks during a snapper session recently up around Joe's Island. The myriad of smaller feeder channels and gutter in this region of the port are home to a large amount of smaller gummies, and they can easily be intercepted by sitting along the gutter edges on a run out tide as they move back through the channels. Fresh squid and yakka are very effective baits in the murkier water.

On the gummy front, customer Tony caught a nice one while out on the snapper over some shallow reef not far from the corals. The nice gummy weighed around 9kg and took fresh squid. For anglers out on the banks in the same area, the whiting have been biting quite well. The shallows of Coronet Bay have been producing school fish to 32cm, while the top end banks have been holding better sized fish. The deeper water off the banks has been the holding ground for the big fish, but is hard to fish unless you're fishing smaller tides.

On the squid front Flinders had been producing some nice models up until the heavy rain. Customer Angelo has been caught some nice squid to around 1.5kg on his last outings to the pier. Angelo has caught on a mixture of silver whiting baited jigs and the Clicks 'Black Opal' in size 3.0.

Squid reports have been good over the past week even with the rain that has washed into the bays. Westernport has seemed to be consistent with the squid fishing and there have been some big squid caught. Customer Justin caught some nice models around the 1kg size up along the shallower banks of the top end.

Customer Chau and his brother fished out from Hastings recently to land some thumping squid on the banks. The guys managed squid to 2kg on a mixture of jigs, with blacks and greens working - along with jigs baited with silver whiting. 

Customers Stan and Stephan fished the Sorrento and Blairgowrie area of Port Phillip recently with some big squid landed. Covering ground from 4m to 10m in depth they found some good patches of squid. Size 3.0 jigs were most effective when fished with small chin weights to get down faster, with red, UV clear and UV black the best performers.

The rocky sections of the bay's shoreline have been producing average sized squid as per normal. Ledges such as Mornington and Mt Martha have had squid in the 20cm size range caught on size 2.5 and 3.0 jigs. Some anglers fishing slow sinking 3.5 jigs have also been luring in larger squid with the extra distance on the cast, so if you haven't used a jig like this it may just land you that big one from your favourite land based location.

The run of large squid has lasted around Mornington of late, with local angler Mario landing a good bag of big squid from the area. Again size 3.0 and 3.5 jigs have been the go, covering the water more effectively and catching the attention of the bigger squid. Customer Jo also caught some nice ones at Mornington and also Beaumaris. The Beaumaris region is very shallow and rocky so size 2.5 or 3.0 shallow jigs are the go.

Port Phillip's snapper bite has picked up over the last few weeks, and even moreso this week. The fish have been more active and bites have been occurring around first light and also in the afternoon. The northern section of the bay has been more productive with Patto - north the real better section. Customer Harry and mate Stephen fished around the reef off Black Rock in 7m during the week to land a couple of nice table fish on silver whiting. Silver whiting has picked up dramatically over the last week as a bait also.

Customer Sam got out on Thursday morning and scored a nice fish in 15m off Frankston in flat conditions. The Frankston - Seaford area has been holding smaller patches of fish but certainly not as much boat traffic as further north around Black Rock. Customer Danny has been bagging fish to 3.7kg off Black Rock himself with both pilchard and garfish working well.

Staff members George and Chris fished out from Black Rock on Sunday afternoon. With sloppy southwest conditions and a late tide change the fish were going to bite. The guys found some small reef ledges in 13m that were holding fish nearby so started berleying. After about 15 minutes a few rods went off and the guys had a decent bite for about 2 hours, with 8 fish to around 4kg coming aboard. The smaller fish were around 40cm but still happy to nail a whole silver whiting on tandem 5/0 and 6/0's.

Out from Carrum on the mud there have been fish to be caught. With a lot more moving about to find active fish and a bit of intuition as to which direction to head in, there hasn't been as many boats. The areas that seem to be holding numbers of fish seem to be around the 15m line from Carrum, 13m off Seaford and again 15m out from Mordialloc. Customer Zoran got out with his Dad a couple of times over the weekend and scored some nice fish to 4kg out in 15m from Carrum. Silver whiting and pilchard worked equally on these fish.

There have still been some quality squid on offer in the bay, especially from Frankston south. Around Mornington there have been some better than average squid about, so upsizing to bigger jigs is a very good idea. Around Sorrento and Portsea the large squid have been about, with slack water producing more for anglers the shallower water. Across at Queenscliff the big squid have still be about, as staff member George found out. George fished with mate of the store Bruce and AFL footballer Bachar Houli. The boys fished just outside Queenscliff harbour over the grass beds in 3m of water to land over 20 big squid. Hayabusa and Shimano jigs were the best performers of the session.

After cleaning up on the squid the guys targeted whiting just north of Queenscliff. Fishing the tide around last light in 3 - 6m of water some nice whiting were caught on pipi and fresh squid. With the bite a bit slower than normal changing to lighter leader and smaller hooks converted a few extra fish.