Cunningham Pier
Pier · Salt water
A large pier on the Geelong waterfront at Western Beach, with restaurants on it. The agency says it reaches deep water and can take a large number of anglers, and names it as the bay's place for silver trevally. It also lists squid, Australian salmon, flathead, garfish and leatherjacket.
FishingHQ describes what this place is, not whether you may fish it. Access, permits and who to ask.
What you can catch here
Documented at this place, grouped by how you would be fishing, with how strongly the sources support each one. This is what has been written down, not a forecast, and being listed is never permission to fish.
From the shore · 3
What these strengths mean
- Regular local target
- Fishing sources describe this as a normal local target here, not merely as caught.
- How breadth is counted
- A fish documented at six marks is shown as six marks: breadth never raises the strength on its own. A fishery account describes the fishing; a recorded catch reports one specific catch. How evidence is weighed.
Fish documented nearby, not here
Nothing below has been documented at Cunningham Pier itself. Each one has been documented at a named place on the same ground, and the places are listed with it. Treat this as what the water around here holds rather than as a catch list for this mark.
Widely documented on this ground
Documented at three or more neighbouring places, fished a way this place is also fished. That is a pattern about the ground rather than about any one mark, and it is the closest this site comes to saying you will probably meet a fish somewhere nothing has been written about.
From the shore
- Yellow-eye mullet — documented at Queenscliff Pier; Werribee River mouth; Ferguson Street Pier
Also documented at neighbouring places
One or two accounts each, on the ground around here. Enough to know the fish is caught in these waters; not enough to say anything about this place.
From the shore
- Barracouta — documented at Sorrento Pier
- Yellowtail kingfish — documented at Mornington Pier
Named only as a group
The guide for Cunningham Pier also names these fish by a name that covers more than one species here. It does not say which, so none is attached to this place.
- flathead — could be Dusky flathead, Sand flathead or Tiger flathead. Several flathead are fished in these states, and the state guides name dusky, sand and tiger flathead separately when they mean one; a guide that says only "flathead" has not said which.
- Australian salmon — could be Eastern Australian salmon (kahawai) or Western Australian salmon. Both Australian salmon species occur in Victorian waters, by FishBase's ranges; in New South Wales only the eastern species does, which is why the name is resolved there and not here.
How people fish it
Practised here: Sea fishing.
Methods the sources name for this ground. Each one is explained in full on its own page.
- Float fishing
Suspending a bait at a controlled depth beneath a buoyant indicator — the most visual, most controllable and most widely applicable method in angling.
- Ledgering
Fishing a bait on the bottom held by a weight, with no float — the simplest way to fish at distance, in depth, or in wind.
- Eging
Jigging for squid and cuttlefish with a barbed, weighted lure worked in lifts and pauses — a Japanese discipline with its own tackle, vocabulary and competitive scene.
Baits and lures for these fish
The baits and lures each of the fish above is commonly taken on, from that fish’s own page. This is what works for the fish, not a report of what people use on this particular water — local knowledge and the conditions on the day still decide.
Lures
- Soft plastics — for Australasian snapper, Silver trevally
- Metal jigs — for Australasian snapper
The ground and the water
- The ground
- A large pier on the Geelong waterfront at Western Beach, with restaurants on it. The agency says it reaches deep water and can take a large number of anglers, and names it as the bay's place for silver trevally. It also lists squid, Australian salmon, flathead, garfish and leatherjacket.
Getting there
What public sources describe, last checked 2026-10-22. Car parks fill, services change and a path existing is not a path anybody may use — none of this is a guarantee of availability and none of it is permission to be anywhere.
- Getting to it
- On the Geelong waterfront at Western Beach, in the city's restaurant district.
Parking
Parking on and beside the pier
Public car park · Charging not established
The agency lists parking on the pier and adjacent to it. Charges, hours and how much of it is for the restaurants are not stated.
Where this access information comes from
- Go Fishing — Port Phillip Bay — Victorian Fisheries Authority (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: The state fisheries agency's entry for this spot: where it is, the fish it lists here, how it says they are fished, and the amenities at the foot of it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
What is there
Public toilets
Toilets are listed by the agency nearby, with shops, cafes and grassed reserves.
Food or shelter
The agency describes restaurants on the pier and shops and cafes nearby.
Through the year
The agency calls it a year-round pier with different fish at different times. Across the bay it gives silver trevally and snapper October to May and King George whiting November to April.
Rules and access
Particular to this water: The Victorian Fisheries Authority lists this among the bay's public fishing spots and tells anglers to carry a licence unless exempt. Its listing is not a statement that the structure is open today: the operator can close it. Restaurants operate on the pier itself.
Beyond what is stated above, FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Victoria licenses recreational fishing in its marine waters, with exemptions the state lists; bag limits, size limits and closed seasons are set by the Victorian Fisheries Authority and change. Marine national parks and marine sanctuaries lie along the bays and coast, and their boundaries are shown by the state's fishing guide app. A pier or jetty being public is not a statement that fishing from it is allowed today. Check the current position with the Victorian Fisheries Authority before going.
Who holds the answer:
- The Victorian Fisheries Authority, which issues the recreational fishing licence and publishes the rules, limits and closures.
- Parks Victoria, for the state's marine national parks and sanctuaries.
- The operator of the pier or jetty, for whether it is open.
- The Victorian Fisheries Authority, which issues the recreational fishing licence and sets and publishes the catch limits, size limits and closed seasons.
- Service Victoria, the state's service through which the licence is bought.
- Parks Victoria, which manages the marine national parks and marine sanctuaries where fishing is prohibited.
- The operator of a pier or jetty, for whether it is open.
- The Victorian Fisheries Authority: issues the recreational fishing licence and publishes the bag limits, size limits and closed seasons for the bay.
Nearby fishing
Other publicly documented places within about 40 km, by distance. Positions are approximate public geography and are never exact marks.
- Queenscliff Pier — 25–40 km · Pier
- Werribee River mouth — 25–40 km · Estuary
- Port Phillip Bay — 25–40 km · Bay
Sources for this place
- Go Fishing — Port Phillip Bay — Victorian Fisheries Authority (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: The state fisheries agency's entry for this spot: where it is, the fish it lists here, how it says they are fished, and the amenities at the foot of it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Buy a Victorian recreational fishing licence — Service Victoria (State Government of Victoria) (Local authority, harbour or protected-area body)Relied on for: That Victoria licenses recreational fishing in all its waters, with exemptions the state lists, and that the Victorian Fisheries Authority issues the licence.States this directlyPassage read and verified
How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy. Last reviewed 2026-10-22.
Before you go
- Fish documented here
- 3 at this place itself. See them.
- Getting there
- Described from public sources, last checked 2026-10-22. Getting there.
- Rules particular to this water
- The Victorian Fisheries Authority lists this among the bay's public fishing spots and tells anglers to carry a licence unless exempt. Its listing is not a statement that the structure is open today: the operator can close it. Restaurants operate on the pier itself. From the body that sets it: Victorian Fisheries Authority and Service Victoria (State Government of Victoria), read 2026-10-22. Applies to: Cunningham Pier.
Nothing here is watched for change. Sources and who to ask.
- Hazards particular to this place
- None recorded for this place; the hazards of the wider coast or water still apply.
Check before you travel
- Whether you may fish here, and whether a licence or permit is needed — start with the Victorian Fisheries Authority.
- The tide times and the forecast for the day you go.
- Anything recorded here was true when it was read; it is not watched for change.