Welcome to the Anglesea Fishing Guide. Anglesea is a beautiful township located before the entrance of the great ocean road. With scenic views, a vibrant township, great surf, clean beaches and many outdoor activities it’s a very popular location during the holidays in Victoria. For fishing, Anglesea offers a wide range of species that can be caught at the beach or in the river. There is plenty of accommodation available to make this a magnificent location to take the family who can enjoy many of the activities along the beaches and estuaries.
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Things to do at Anglesea
This is a great spot for the whole family and the kids will love it. You can hire light boats at the Anglesea river entrance of the main street and fish in the boats with your kids. You can also hire SUP stand-up paddleboards and paddle along the Anglesea river which is a very cool experience. There are many clean beach options to enjoy a day of fun with the family. Some of the beaches have amazing rock formations. The main beach is great for surfing and bodyboarding and offers good size waves all year round with onsite surf life-saving services. There is ample parking on the main street along the beach and river. You can play a game of golf at the Anglesea golf club. A nicely laid out golf course that is home to a large population of Kangaroos. The township is vibrant with shops and Cafes. There is a lot of family-friendly accommodation and playgrounds along the main street. The nearby Great Ottoway National parks offer terrific walking trail options in scenic surroundings.
Fishing at Anglesea River
At Anglesea, there are plenty of fishing options available. Fishing the river fishing the beach and surf. From the river entrance, you can catch many whiting, Pinkies, flathead, and flounder. As you move further down the river you can target bream and mullet walking along the river trail or fishing on many of the scattered jetties. Low water levels in recent years have made fishing along the river very challenging. Some areas have been unfishable and water temperatures have increased seeing low fish numbers. However, after good volumes of rain do target the entrance and the structures to find the fish.
If you fishing the river then we would highly recommend fishing as lightly as possible. We suggest a rod around 7 foot in length, 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class. Coupled with a 2500 or 1000 reel, especially if you flicking soft plastics. Why not read our guide on how to catch bream with soft plastics and lures. Good baits to use in the Anglesea river include mussels, bread, pilchards, chicken, worms & maggots. If you want to fish with lures then the grubz and minnow imitation soft plastics are hard to beat. Examples include the Savage Gear Pro Grub, squidgy Blood worm wriggler, Zman grub, Savage slim minnow, Best with a light jig head would be a great place to start.
Looking for some tips on how to catch whiting. Then watch our detailed Whiting Anglesea Fishing Guide guide below.
Fishing at Anglesea Beach
Whilst at the beach and surf you can target salmon, whiting, snapper, leather Jackets, trevally, gummy shark, garfish, flathead. Basically, there are many fishing options available and many different species to target. If you are fishing from the beach then prawns, pippies and pilchards are a great staple bait. They will allow you to target trevally, salmon, gummy Shark and more.
If your fishing from the Beach you will want a nice long rod to give you ample casting distance. Perhaps a 10 foot rod with a 6 – 10-kilo capacity will allow you to take on some bigger species. When bait fishing we often use a running sinker rig to a swivel and 50cm of a strong leader. Finished with a Pilchard tail or small squid head. If you chasing pinkies then a paternoster rig with raw chicken breast will fish very well. If your beach fishing then sunrise and sundown are hard to beat. I would even fish through the night to target Gummy Sharks.
When bait fishing fin the surf we believe the best setup is a Paternoster rig with a star sinker. As shown in the image below. This gives you 2 separate baits at different heights. You could also attach a surf popper if you wanted to further increase your chances.
Another great variation is to present 1 full bait with double snelled hooks. This rig is perfect when your target multiple species such as salmon, mulloway and gummy sharks
There are scattered marine parks from Anglesea Torquay and point Addis so do make sure you become aware of where these areas as fishing are not permitted in marine parks. The fisheries VFA app is a good way to identify marine parks when on the water.
Baits Anglesea
- pilchard
- pipis
- blue bait
- silver whiting
- salmon
- raw chicken strips
- prawns
- maggots
- squid
- mussels
Lures and soft plastics for Anglesea
Check out this instructional video guide on how to catch snapper with soft plastics filmed locally in Port Phillip Bay
- Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
- Zman slim Swimz
- Daiwa Baitjunkie 5 inch jerk shads
- Berkley gulp turtleback worm
- Savage Gear Fat Curl tails
- Daiwa Bautjunkie 4 inch grubs
- Berkley powerbait grub
- Gulp 3 inch minnow
- Dawia Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
- Zman grubZ
- eco gear ZX40
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- EcoGear SX40
- Squidges biotough grub
- Zman StreakZ
- Munroes 3.75 inch paddle tails
- Kietech swim impact fat
- Zerek fish trap
- Samaki Vibelicious
Targeting Salmon at Anglesea
Salmon are powerful sports fish that school up in big numbers. They punch well above their weight and when hooked produce strong bursts of speed, powerful runs, and vigorous head shakes. Keep an eye for gutters which are patches of deeper water that Salmon will swim through in schools. These can be identified by the darker color of the water. Salmon will happily take a range of soft plastics, lures, and baits. Including 3 and 4-inch soft plastics and long-casting metal spoons. You can target them with light spinning gear such as a 2-4 kilo rod and 2500-size reel. However, if you are targeting them land-based on the beach or surf then you will likely jump up to a 5-10 kilo rod that’s between 9-12 feet in length paired with a 3000-size reel spooled with 15-pound braid.
Check out this instructional video guide on how to catch salmon on soft plastics. Crazy action in this one.
Targeting Snapper at Anglesea
Locally Snapper season starts around October and finishes towards April. The big reds migrate inshore due to the warmer water temperatures which provide ideal spawning conditions. Dawn, Dusk and tide changes are considered the best times to catch snapper. Snapper will take a variety of baits and soft plastics. For bait a 7 to 8 foot rod with a 4-7 kg rating paired with a 4000 or 5000 size reel spooled with 15-30 pound line is great. Good bait options include pilchards, silver whiting, squid, and salmon. When it comes to soft plastics, a 7 foot 3-6 kilo rod paired with a 3000 size reel great. Good soft plastics include jerk shads, whip baits, curl tails or paddle tails between 3 and 5 inches in a variety of colours. We encourage you to read our detailed guide on how to catch snapper.
Targeting Flathead at Anglesea
Flathead is a year-round prospect that can be caught at any time of the day. They are an ambush predator that waits in disguise for smaller fish to swim by for easy feed. This highlights the importance of keeping your baits and soft plastics towards the bottom. If fishing from a boat or kayak we would recommend drifting around the sandy flats until you find a good patch of them. Also, keep an eye out for depth drop-offs which is a great location for an ambush predator to be waiting. We recommend targeting flathead with a 7 foot 2–4 or 3-5 kilo fishing rod paired with a 2500 or 3000 size reel spooled with 8-12lb braid and equivalent leader. You can go lighter, but flathead has bristly teeth that can compromise your fishing line.
Flathead is not fussy and will happily have a go at many various soft plastics and lures. We would highly recommend reading our detailed guide on the best lures and soft plastics to catch flathead. Top choices include worm and yabby imitations, paddle tail soft plastic, curl tail soft plastics, deep diving hard body lures, vibes, swimbaits, and blades. If you are targeting flathead with bait, we recommend using a paternoster rig or running sinker rig. Using a small ball sinker to swivel, then 50cm of 8-12 leader to a size 6 long shank hook. Good bait choices include pilchards, mussels, squid, chicken, whitebait, Pipis, blue bait, and prawns.
Targeting Trevally at Anglesea
Trevally pound for pound is one of the best fighting fish. In certain parts of Australia surface popping for Giant Trevally is one of the bucket list fishing experiences that you must tick off. However, in Victoria, you will mainly be catching the much smaller silver trevally. Good bait options include blue bait, whitebait, raw chicken, pilchards, pippies, squid and mussels. Trevally will also take a range of soft plastics including worm and minnow imitations, small surface poppers, and small metal spoons.
We recommend targeting trevally with a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 2000, or 2500 reel spooled with 4-8-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. If there are larger trevally in the area then you can go heavier moving up the scale to a 3-5 kilo class spin rod spooled with fine 8-12-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader.
Targeting Bream at Anglesea
This is a great location to target bream with lures and soft plastics. The options available are almost endless so make sure you read our guide on the best lures to catch bream. Recommended options include crab imitation, shallow diving cranks, paddle tail soft plastics, curl tail soft plastics, minnow imitations, vibes, and blades. Also, try your luck with surface lures which is an exciting form of fishing with light gear.
Bream is all about finesse fishing so you will need an ultralight spin outfit. We recommend a 7-foot rod in a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class, paired with a 1000, 2000 or 2500 reel spooled with 2-6-pound braid and equivalent leader. There are so many amazing bream outfits on the market and budgets vary greatly depending on your skill level and spending habits.
Bream reside within the structure such as jetty pylons and stumps. Enticing them away from the structure onto your lure will take some time to master. Remember to work your lures and plastics slowly and mix up the retrieval techniques.
If you are targeting bream with bait then we would highly recommend sandworms, maggots, scrub worms, mussels, yabbies, & chicken. A 2-4 kilo class rod paired with a 2500 size reel would be a great option spooled with 6-pound line. We would encourage you to read our detailed guide on Bait fishing for Bream.
Targeting Estuary Perch at Anglesea
Another highlight of fishing in this area is targeting Estuary perch with surface and shallow diving lures. The action can be frantic on warm balmy evenings with low wind. listen for the sound of breaking water which indicates EPs are feeding. The excitement an angler gets from an EP smashing a surface lure on light gear is something that truly needs to be experienced. It almost catches you by surprise when that aggressive strike comes.
Small surface poppers, cicadas, blades, surface minnows and pencil lures work well here. So do shallow diving hardbody lures. Noteworthy options include bent minnows, Rapala countdown series, nories laydown minnows and shallow diving cranks. Basically, anything that doesn’t dive too deep and makes a good vibrating action will work well. You can use any colour choice we often start with silvers that mimic small baitfish or mullet.
EPs also respond incredibly well to a whole range of soft plastics lightly weighted. Including curl tails, paddle tails and minnow imitations. The trusty 2.5-inch grubs and minnows an excellent choice. These imitate small baitfish which the EPs are actively feeding on. We would recommend mixing up the retrieval speeds and pauses and playing around with different colours. Where possible fish along the structure and stay alert for signs such as breaking water.
Fishing for Estuary Perch requires finesse. We recommend an ultralight fishing combo consisting of a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo spin rod around 7 foot in length. Coupled with a 1000 or 2000 size reel spooled with 2-8 pound line and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. When bait fishing uses a 2-4 kilo rod around 7 foot in length. Coupled with a 2500 size reel either a float or small running sinker to a swivel and very fine leader.
Targeting Whiting at Anglesea
Whiting is fun to catch on light spinning gear and tastes great. They school up in big numbers and respond well to berley. Whiting fishing requires finesse, so we recommend a 7-foot, 1-3, or 2-4 kilo spin rod paired with a 1000-2500 size reel. Spooled with 6-10 lb line. A simple running sinker rig to swivel, with 50cm of leader to a small baitholder long shank hook, or a paternoster rig with 2 hooks and interchangeable sinker depending on the conditions. Whiting are also great fun to catch on soft plastics including worm or yabbie imitations with lightly weighted jig head, and surface lures.
Targeting Gummy Shark at Anglesea
We would recommend targeting gummy sharks with a 7 foot 8-15 kilo rod paired with a 4000 to 6000 size reel spooled with 20 to 40 pound line. Finished with a strong leader ranging from 40lb through to 60 pounds. Ideal rigs include a running sinker rig to single or double snelled rig or paternoster rig. You can use an Ezi rig attaching a sinker to the clip and then tying on a pre-made double snelled rig. Octopus or circle hooks from 5/0 to 7/0 are preferred for presenting chunks of salmon, trevally, squid, mackerel, Eel, mullet, pilchard, yakka’s, & garfish.
Targeting Mullowat at Anglesea
Mulloway AKA Jewfish are a prized catch that sits on the top of many Victorian anglers bucket list. A stunning fish with a large mouth and distinctive silver or bronze colour. Patience and dedication are required to catch the elusive Mulloway which can reach up to 1.8 meters and 60 kilos. The minimum legal size is 60cm with a daily bag limit of 5 over the legal size.
Live baits are a top choice when targeting mulloways such as mullet, salmon, and whiting. Pinning them behind the neck to allow the bait to swim freely. Other staple dead baits can include pilchard, trevally, garfish, prawns, chicken & squid. A running sinker rig to a single 5/0 – 8/0 hook or a double snelled hook to present the bait nicely. Soft plastics between 80mm and 100mm are also a great option. Good options include flick baits, shads, paddle tails and grubz. You can also purchase pre-made rigs and swimbaits which are designed to imitate a fish in its surrounding such as a mullet.
Choosing a Mulloway outfit Recommended gear to target Mulloway 6-10, 10-15 or 12-24 kilo rod paired with a 4000-8000 spin reel spooled with 20-50 pound line and equivalent leader.
Mulloway resides near river mouth entrances. They are often caught near structure such as bridges and pylons. Try to present your baits and lures as natural as possible or use live baits. Mulloway can be caught at any time of the day, but are most active at the night, during peak tides and moon phases. We have found that lures are quite productive during the day and bait more productive at night.
Targeting Elephant Fish at Anglesea
Elephant Fish share similar characteristics of a shark but have a unique elephant trunk-like snout that they use to feed on small fish. They do however have good fighting qualities and are much fun to catch on light gear. They are seasonal fish that come into select areas within Western Port and Port Phillip Bay throughout March and May to spawn. Elephant fish are not fussy eaters, and they will happily take a wide range of baits including pilchard, squid and salmon. . We recommend using
Elephant fish has a strong sense and respond well to berley. You can target elephant fish using a 3-5 or 4-6 kilo rod with 3000-4000 size reel spooled with 8 to 12-pound braid. A running sinker to a swivel then 60cm of a strong leader to a circle hook or a paternoster rig with chunks of fresh bait.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Anglesea Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.
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