Port Phillip Bay
Bay · Salt water · in Victoria
The large, almost enclosed bay south of Melbourne, with Geelong on its western arm and the Mornington Peninsula along its east. The state agency's guide numbers eight public spots on it: piers at Queenscliff, Geelong, Williamstown, Mordialloc, Mornington and Sorrento, and the mouths of the Werribee and Patterson rivers. It also names St Kilda, Kerford Road, Brighton and Beaumaris piers as places for particular fish.
FishingHQ describes what this place is, not whether you may fish it. Access, permits and who to ask.
Fishing places on Port Phillip Bay
8 publicly documented places inside this one, each with its own ground, catch and access.
Pier
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.
Documented here: Australasian snapper, King George whiting, Silver trevally
Pier
A pier at the end of Ferguson Street in Williamstown, among moored boats with a view of the city across the water. The agency says fishing close around the pylons produces bream and silver trevally, while casting as far as possible from the end is the way to target snapper and flathead. It also lists Australian salmon, yellow-eye mullet, garfish and rock ling.
Documented here: Australasian snapper, Silver trevally, Yellow-eye mullet
Pier
A long pier off Beach Road in Mordialloc, with Mordialloc Creek running into the bay alongside it. The agency names it as the bay's place for Australian salmon and yellow-eye mullet, and lists squid, snapper, flathead, silver trevally, garfish, King George whiting, leatherjacket and bream. Bream and mullet are caught in the creek all year.
Documented here: Australasian snapper, King George whiting, Silver trevally and 1 more
Pier
A popular pier on Schnapper Point Drive in Mornington that also acts as the breakwater for a boat harbour. The agency says anglers can cast into the open bay on the breakwall side or fish the quieter lee side, and that fishing straight up and down around the pylons is productive; it names the pier as the bay's place for leatherjacket. It lists squid, Australian salmon, snapper, flathead, silver trevally, King George whiting, leatherjacket, garfish and yellowtail kingfish.
Documented here: Australasian snapper, King George whiting, Silver trevally and 1 more
Estuary
The short estuary of the Patterson River at Carrum, reached at several points on both banks; the agency suggests starting from Launching Way on the southern side, which gives jetties, landings and open bank. Australian salmon and flathead are caught from the rock wall at the mouth, and bream, yellow-eye mullet, silver trevally and mulloway further upstream. The agency names it as the bay's place for bream.
Documented here: Dusky kob, Silver trevally, Yellow-eye mullet
Pier
A long pier at the end of Symonds Street in Queenscliff, on the south-western side of the bay near its entrance, with a large shelter shed and a lower landing that can also be fished. The agency says it produces a variety of fish and is best known for squid, and names it as the bay's place for them. It also lists yellow-eye mullet, Australian salmon, flathead, garfish, silver trevally and King George whiting.
Documented here: King George whiting, Silver trevally, Yellow-eye mullet
Pier
A very wide pier on the Esplanade at Sorrento, near the bay's entrance, which also carries the Queenscliff–Sorrento and Searoad ferry terminals. The agency says it gives access to deep water and names it as the bay's place for King George whiting. It lists squid, Australian salmon, snapper, flathead, silver trevally, King George whiting, leatherjacket and barracouta.
Documented here: Australasian snapper, Barracouta, King George whiting and 1 more
Estuary
The mouth of the Werribee River at Werribee South, on the northern side of the bay, fished from several jetties and a long stretch of sandy beach. The agency says the jetties are good platforms for bream, the beach gives good-sized flathead in the warmer months and large mullet in winter, and also lists yellow-eye mullet, Australian salmon and silver trevally.
Documented here: Silver trevally, Yellow-eye mullet
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 · 4
- Australasian snapperSeasonal1 placePort Phillip BayOver bayAround Jan–May, Oct–Dec
- King George whitingSeasonal1 placePort Phillip BayOver bayAround Jan–Apr, Nov–Dec
- Silver trevallySeasonal1 placePort Phillip BayOver bayAround Jan–May, Oct–Dec
- Yellow-eye mulletSeasonal1 placePort Phillip BayOver bayAround Mar–Sept
What these strengths mean
- Seasonal
- Well supported, and concentrated in part of the year rather than spread through it.
- 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 Port Phillip Bay 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.
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 Flinders Jetty; Cowes Jetty
- Gummy shark — documented at Merricks Beach; Cowes Jetty
- Elephant fish — documented at Cowes Jetty
- Estuary perch — documented at Tooradin Inlet
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Spinning
Casting an artificial lure and retrieving it so that it moves like something alive — the most direct form of lure fishing.
- 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
- The large, almost enclosed bay south of Melbourne, with Geelong on its western arm and the Mornington Peninsula along its east. The state agency's guide numbers eight public spots on it: piers at Queenscliff, Geelong, Williamstown, Mordialloc, Mornington and Sorrento, and the mouths of the Werribee and Patterson rivers. It also names St Kilda, Kerford Road, Brighton and Beaumaris piers as places for particular fish.
Through the year
The agency gives peak months across the bay rather than for any pier: snapper and silver trevally October to May, King George whiting November to April, Australian salmon and yellow-eye mullet March to September, squid April to October, bream June to November, flathead October to March. For most fish it recommends the morning or late afternoon, a few hours either side of high tide.
The months the sources attach to each species here. Where a species carries no season it is listed underneath rather than assumed to run through the year.
| Species | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australasian snapper — seasonal, recorded in October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May. | ||||||||||||
| King George whiting — seasonal, recorded in November, December, January, February, March, April. | ||||||||||||
| Silver trevally — seasonal, recorded in October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May. | ||||||||||||
| Yellow-eye mullet — seasonal, recorded in March, April, May, June, July, August, September. |
Rules and access
Particular to this water: The state's fishing guide app shows the boundaries of the marine national parks and sanctuaries in and around the bay, which the agency's guide does not mark. Check them before fishing anywhere not named here.
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.
- Werribee River mouth — 10–25 km · Estuary
- Queenscliff Pier — 10–25 km · Pier
- Mornington Pier — 25–40 km · Pier
- Sorrento Pier — 25–40 km · Pier
- Mordialloc Pier — 25–40 km · Pier
- Ferguson Street Pier — 25–40 km · Pier
- Patterson River — 25–40 km · Estuary
- Devilbend Reservoir — 25–40 km · Reservoir
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.
Something wrong or out of date?
If something on this page has changed, email us from your own account using the link that fits, with a link to where you saw the change if you can. Every report is checked by a person before anything is changed, and a report never appears on the site by itself. Please don’t send exact private marks.
Before you go
- Fish documented here
- 4 at this place itself. See them.
- Getting there
- Not recorded. FishingHQ holds no sourced description of the way in.
- Rules particular to this water
- The state's fishing guide app shows the boundaries of the marine national parks and sanctuaries in and around the bay, which the agency's guide does not mark. Check them before fishing anywhere not named here. From the body that sets it: Victorian Fisheries Authority and Service Victoria (State Government of Victoria), read 2026-10-22. Applies to: Port Phillip Bay.
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.