Hastings pier

Fishing Hastings Pier

At Hastings pier, you can target

• King George Whiting
• Australian Salmon
• Trevally
• Snapper
• Mullet
• Gummy Shark
• Flathead

You will also come across some pest species such as stingrays. Best bait options will include pippies, blue bait, prawns, pilchards, raw chicken, squid, and maggots. If you are chasing something bigger than a live mullet or a large piece of squid is a good option. Soft Plastics and Blades also work a treat for pinkies, flathead, and Trevally. The Paternoster rig works well with sinker options to suit your desired casting distance.

Looking for some tips on how to catch whiting. Then watch our detailed guide on how to catch whiting.

Your rod selection will very much depend on what species of fish you are targeting. If you’re chasing the larger species such as gummy sharks or stingrays then you’re going to need a nice heavy outfit. My preference for this is an 8-12 kilo rod and a 4000-6000 reel spooled with 20-pound line. A single large hook or double snelled hook to present a full squid or pilchard. Sometimes I will also chase these species mine with Snapper rods which are 5-8 kilo rod with 12-pound line. This is a fun way of targeting these fish that might get dusted off occasionally.

If you are chasing lighter fish such as salmon, flathead, trevally, or whiting then a nice light general purport 2-4 or 3-5 kilo with a 2500-3000 reel spooled with 6-pound line will work well. This is a great winter location for salmon, but it fishes well for most parts of the year. If you are keen to land a gummy shark then fishing throughout the night will be the best bet as that’s when predatory fish are most active. Always keep an eye on the tide early morning high tide is always great along piers and jetties. High tide usually sees a big run of pinkies in summer, and low tide generally produces a healthy amount of flathead.

Check out this instructional video guide on how to catch snapper with soft plastics filmed locally in Port Phillip Bay

Baits Hastings pier

At this location, we would highly recommend the baits suggested below. There are several ways to present baits including a running sinker rig, paternoster rig, or dropper rig. The rig and sinker choice will be dependent on the species you are targeting and the conditions such as wind and tidal strength.

• pilchard
• pipis
• blue bait
• silver whiting
• salmon
• prawns
• squid

Lures and soft plastics for Hastings pier

• Berkley 4 inch turtleback worms
• Savage Gear Missile
• Halco twisty
• Ecogear Teibo
• JM Gilles pilchard baitfish
• Rapala X-Rap SXR
• Lazer spoons
• Zman slim swimz
• trick swimz
• Halco laser pro
• Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
• Berkley gulp turtleback worm
• Savage Gear Fat Curl tails
• Daiwa Bautjunkie 4 inch grubs
• Zman slim Swimz
• Berkley powerbait grub
• Dawia Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
• Zman grubZ

Targeting Salmon at Hastings pier

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 Whiting at Hastings pier

Whiting is a bread and butter species which are fun to catch on light spinning gear and tastes great. Whiting school up in big numbers and they respond well to berley, so berley an isolated area with a mix of chicken pellets, Tuna oil, and pilchards.  Whiting fishing requires finesse, so we recommend a light 1-3 or 2-4 kilo spin rod around 7 foot in length. Coupled with a light 1000-2500 size reel, spooled with 4 pounds or 6-pound line and leader. When bait fishing a simple running rig with a small sinker to swivel, then 40cm of 4-pound leader to a small baitholder long shank hook or a paternoster rig with 2 hooks and a size sinker depending on your conditions.

 

Targeting Trevally at Hastings pier

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 a fine 8-12-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader.

 

Targeting mullet at Hastings pier

This is a great location to mullet a bread and butter species that school up in big numbers. They are fun to catch on light spinning gear and a great fish species to introduce beginners into fishing. Mullet respond well to berley, so berley an isolated area with a mix of bread, tuna oil and chook pellets. Good baits include bread, dough, live maggots, pilchard, and prawn. remember that Mullet have small mouths so remember to cut these baits up into small pieces. You can also use soft plastics small minnow and grub style soft plastic with a slow constant retrieve. Scents such as S-Factor or Procure certainly helps. Most mullets are quite small therefore a 7-foot rod in a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class, paired with a 1000, 2000 or 2500 reel spooled with a 2-6-pound braid and equivalent leader.

 

Targeting Gummy Shark at Hastings pier

We would recommend targeting gummy shark 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 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.

Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All images and videos shown on the Hastings Pier Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals. Thank you for visiting the Hastings Pier Fishing Guide. If you feel this location guide is missing any key information or needs any corrections made, then please let us know by emailing our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details in the email. Thank you