Western Port Bay Fishing Report

WESTERNPORT BAY Report – 02.09.2024

Spring is here, however, the weather was horrendous last week with gale-force winds and a cold winter chill. As I cautoned in last week’s report please be very careful when planning your fishing trips. Monday the 2nd of September has winds up to 100 k/ph in some regions around Melbourne and Victoria, so don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger. Unfortunately, a poor angler lost their life this week at Rye Pier in very strong winds trying to recover some tackle that he dropped in the water. Our condolences go out to his family and all who knew him and is a friendly reminder to all to stay safe, no fish is worth risking your life. If you need some alternative fishing ideas from the bay whilst the weather is rough jump onto our freshwater fishing report which has all the info about the latest Stonker trout stocking.

The weather and the fishing here should start to improve quickly after Monday. The water temperature spiked which is pleasing and we got a few decent snapper this week in the top end of Western Port fishing in shallow waters around 5 meters deep and sitting through entire tide changes. Fishing areas pretty much from Hastings through to Lang Lang and concentrating most of our time around Lyalls, Boultons and Bouchers and surrounding areas. Now fishing this early on in the season for snapper can still be a bit inconsistent but sitting through a tide change in these areas should account for a few decent fish. I will deep dive into some helpful tips under our snapper section. Meanwhile, King George Whiting and Squid are still fishing well and gummy sharks are slowly coming back on so it’s a very exciting time right now and the very start of some great fishing ahead over the coming weeks and months.

Let’s get stuck into this week’s report to help get you into a few fish.

Weather Forecast Ahead

It will be another frustrating weather week ahead with very strong winds on Monday and Wednesday, from there scattered showers will settle in for the rest of the week. With heavy showers predicted on Friday and light showers over the weekend. The good news is the weekend ahead looks to have light winds and low volumes of rain. It’s been a frustrating 2-3 weeks of weather so let’s hope we get some better weather in the coming weeks. Do be careful if you plan to hit the water study met eye and always avoid going out if it’s unsafe, this week will have some days better suited to land-based fishing.

Weather conditions are always changing so study the weather forecast frequently before your fishing trip using tools like Meteye, Willys Weather & Windy ( links to these tools can be found in “helpful Links” ). Remember to check wind strength, wind direction, rain, and storm warnings. We have workshop refreshers that help you identify areas with low swell based on wind direction, so look at those if you’re unsure. Know the capability of your boat, kayak or jetski and never take unnecessary risks that might put you or your passengers in danger. Conditions on the water can change quickly so ensure you have all of the necessary safety equipment checked and ready. Remember to be sun smart during Summer as it’s easy to get sunburnt or dehydrated and to wear appropriate clothing in cold and wet conditions.

Water Temp

Water temperatures dropped half a 0.3 of a degree this week because of the cold weather, strong winds and excessive rain.. Overall the water temperatures are now hovering between 12.5 and 14 degrees. Once we get to mid-September we start to see the water temperature rise rapidly and that’s when the fishing gets exciting.

Moon Phase week ahead

The new moon is scheduled for Tuesday 3rd of September so we have very slow tides this week. This can be great for bread and butter fishing like targeting squid and flathead.

SNAPPER REPORT

Snapper season has started in Western Port. It’s still very early in the season but already we’re seeing great catches from members and got stuck into a few good fish ourselves. Some helpful tips to share with you as you try and get stuck into a few decent reds is. Concentrate your time right now on the top end of Western Port as this is historically where snapper congregate first early on in the season due to their usual spawning movements and habits. Use fresh baits like yakkas and salmon even live baits like yakkas and slimeys pinned through the nose will work well. I prefer to use smaller hooks early on in the season often using size 3 and size 4 hooks and I like to keep my drag set very loose as early season they can be extremely finicky and often a big red bite will look more like a pinky or flathead bite at first. Fish through an entire tide change at some point you will often get a round of fish come through, again concentrating your time on the top end. I have spent most of my time fishing around Bouchers, Boultons and Lyallas and odd sessions around Lang Lang, Mosquito Channel, and Joes Island. Tenby and Bluegum Point.

Some good size snapper are being caught however in 3-4 weeks when the water temperature rises another degree or two, we will see good snapper being caught more consistently. As I always say the great thing about fishing in Western Port is that you can use the same setup to target gummy sharks and snapper and are just as likely to catch one whilst targeting King George Whiting.

Areas worth trying

Bouchers – S038.14.934 | E145.26.325
Boultons – 38 16 169 | 145 24 866
Lyalls Channel – 38 14 507 | 145 25 402
Lysarts – S038.17.735 | E145.14.710
Lysarts – 38 18 069 | 145 15 169
Tenby – 38 23 180 | 145 26 464
Tenby Point – S038.23.007 | E145.25.771
Joes Island – S038.16.355 | E145.21.248
Blue Gum Point – 38 22 363 | 145 28 732
Buoy 31 area – S038.18.486 | E145.14.319
Crawfish – S038.16.077 | E145.18.092
Coronet Bay – 38 26 413 | 145 22 708
Cowes – 38 26 366 | 145 14 013
Elizabeth Island – S038.25.068 | E145.22.867
Elizabeth Island – S038.25.712 | E145.22.416
Jam Jerrup – 38 19 630 | 145 28 601
Mosquito Channel – 38 22 767 | 145 24 953
Lang Lang – 38 19 424 | 145 30 349
Lang Lang – 38 18 344 | 145 29 765
Long Reef – S038.16.665 | E145.15.563
Middle Spit – S038.19.089 | E145.15.056
Pelican Island – S038.24.943 | E145.24.320
Pelican Island – S038.24.657 | E145.24.182
Spit Point – S038.22.138 | E145.30.427
The Corals – S038.26.932 | E145.21.388
Ventnor – 38 26 311 | 145 13 215

SQUID REPORT

The winds made it almost impossible to target squid at the end of last week. With large swells the water clarity was terrible, but that should really settle later this week. The squid fishing was a bit slower this week because of the windy and rainy conditions however this often is not a big problem as the strong tides tend to clear up muddy waters pretty quickly in Western Port. We caught good bags and good sizes around Quail Bank, Tyab Bank, Hastings, Crib Point, Stoney Point, Middle Spit, Reef Island, Cowes, Tankerton and Cleeland Bight around the weedy areas along the edges in 3 to 5 meters deep. Catching good volumes and the odd massive one on a full whiting suspended or working a variety of squid jigs. My got continues to be black/red foils and UV white in size 3.

Good areas to target Squid

Hastings – S038.19.795 | E145.13.335
Crib Point – S038.21.261 | E145.13.498
Stoney Point – S038.22.252 | E145.13.559
Reef Island – S038.28.377 | S038.28.377
Tyab bank – S038.16.825 | E145.14.197
Cat Bay – 38 30 207 | 145 08 633
Cleeland Bight – 38 31 606 | 145 20 999
Cleeland Bight – 38 31 613 | 145 21 220
Cowes – S038.26.857 | E145.12.995
Crib Point – S038.21.190 | E145.13.500
Flinders – 38 28 653 | 145 02 798
Flinders – 38 28 788 | 145 02 583
Hastings Island – S038.19.898 | E145.13.108
Newhaven – S038.30.343 – E145.22.424
Quail Bank – 38 15 242 | 145 16 402
Red Rock point – 38 27 040 | 145 11 601
Reef Island – 38 28 179 | 145 23 583
Stoney Point – S038.22.663 | E145.13.688
Tankerton – S038.23.180 | E145.16.056
Tyab Bank – 38 16 443 | 145 14 441

KING GEORGE WHITING REPORT

Whiting

King George Whiting are still one of the best species to target right now in Western Port as they are widespread around Middle Spit, Flinders, Crawfish Rock, Eagle Rock, Lysarts, Long Reef, Stoney Point, Somers, Tortoise Head, Hans Inlet, Tyabb Bank, Browns Reserve, and close at Balnarring, Merricks, and Shoreham. Plus the western arm between Red Rocks, Mcafferties, and Tooradin channel and McHaffie’s Reef, and Dickies Bay near San Remo. Drop the berely pot and fish a spot for 20 minutes if you don’t get any action then make a small move and repeat this process until you find them. Fresh pipis, mussels and strips of squid continue to be dynamite bait choices. Remember to always take a variety of sinker weights and sizes with you as you’ll need to chop and change depending on the stage of the tide that you are fishing.

Areas recommended for Whiting

Middle Spit – S038.20.304 | E145.14.913
Tankerton – S038.23.075 | E145.15.843
Lower Spit – S038.21.766 | E145.15.054
Corinella – S038.23.765 | E145.24.454
Reef Island – S038.28.057 | E145.24.138
Flinders – S038.28.660 | E145.02.220
Bird Rock – 38 25 287 | 145 21 629
Cat Bay – 38 30 051 | 145 08 405
Corinella – 38 23 981 | 145 25 221
Cowes – S038.26.804 | E145.11.986
Crawfish Rock – S038.16.241 | E145.17.484
Cleeland Bite – S038.32.208 | E145.21.113
Crib Point – S038.21.150 | E145.13.325
Dickies Bay – 38 30 797 | 145 23 319
Eagle Rock – 38 15 919 | 145 16 541
Hanns Inlet – S038.23.523 | E145.14.188
Mosqote Channel – S038.23.541 | E145.24.129
Long Reef – 38 17 052 | 145 15 334
Lysarts – 38 17 930 | 145 14 266
Red Rock point – 38 26 772 | 145 11 921
San Remo – 38 30 582 | 145 23 308
Shelley Beach – S038.30.192 | E145.08.000
Stoney Point – 38 21 980 | 145 15 241
Somers – S038.24.767 | E145.10.031
The Spit – 38 20 333 | 145 14 890
Top Spit – 38 16 656 | 145 15 736
Tyab Bank – 38 15 962 | 145 14 866
Tyro Reef – S038.28.684 | E145.09.125
Tortoise Head – 38 25 211 | 145 16 884
Tooradin – 38 16 475 | 145 24 118
Ventnor Point – 38 28 322 | 145 08 484

GUMMY SHARKS REPORT

Gummy Shark

As the water temperature slowly starts to rise the gummy shark fishing should get better and better. Fishing for gummy sharks has been quite hit and miss in recent weeks but we have had some success catching some around a meter mark around Tenby Bay, Lang Lang, Blue Gum Point, and deeper around some bigger models in deeper and more tidal waters around Ventnor, Cowes and Joes Island. We also caught some smaller gummy sharks closer to the top end around Warneet, Cockyanes and Boucher channels in shallower waters around 6 meters deep. Other areas still fishing well include Shoreham, Point Leo, Ventnor and Cowes 15 to 20 meters deep a few hours before sunset and into the dark.

Most of our catches came using fresh baits including Australian salmon, trevally, snook and dropping baits for yakkas before setting into our spot and rods spread well before sundown. Patience can be required for this type of fishing especially when pest species like banjos and port jacksons show up. We often fish with single paternoster rigs to keep baits away from those bottom-dwelling pests. But you will immediately know when you have hooked a gummy with those initial screaming runs. If fishing in deeper waters you have to pick your times to do this, which was generally 90 minutes on each side of slack tide. After this, the tides are roaring and even sinkers above 15 ounces struggle to stay on the bottom. During mid-tide, I will come into shallower grounds where the fishing is easier. Here you can avoid the weed and drop to a much lighter sinker.

Good areas to target Gummy Sharks

Cat Bay – S038.29.339 | E145.07.928
Ventnor – S038.27.752 | E145.07.493
Balnarring – 38 24 554 | 145 08 504
Blue Gum Point – 38 22 161 | 145 28 687
Bouchers – 38.16.436 | 145.23.485
Cockyanes – 38.16.59 | 145.22.487
Cowes – S038.26.540 | E145.13.916
Coronet Bay – 38 25 621 | 145 23 988
Elizabeth Island – 38 25 247 | 145 22 928
Jam Jerrup – 38 20 247 | 145 29 666
Joes Island – 38 16 987 | 145 22 033
Lang Lang – 38 20 071 | 145 30 170
Lyalls – 38 14 878 | 145 25 696
Lysarts – S038.17.984 | E145.14.670
Mosquito Channel – 38 22 631 | 145 26 010
Pt Leo – S038.25.884 | E145.06.222
Point Leo – 38 25 825 | 145 06 078
Somers – 38 24 700 | 146 11 186
Shoreham – 38 26 939 | 145 03 731
Shoreham – S038.26.830 | E145.04.623
Spit Point – 38 21 858 | 145 31 334
Spit Point – S038.21.781 | E145.30.674
Stoney point – 38 23 264 | 145 15 921
Tenby Bay – 38 23 693 | 145 29 211
Tenby Bay – E145.06.222 | E145.30.165
Tyab Bank – 38 16 651 | 145 15 365
Warneet – 38 15 513 | 145 21 043

LAND-BASED Options

Stockyard point for gummy sharks
Corinella pier for pinkies, salmon, trevally, yakka
Tenby Point for gummy sharks, and school sharks.
Lang Lang Beach for Gummy’s (High tide)
Stony Point pier for squid, trevally, and grass whiting

AUSTRALIAN SALMON

Salmon

Big schools this week at the top end of Western Port around Joe Island and Eagle Rock and also scattered around Middle Spit, Elizabeth Island near Corinella and Stoney Point. If you do come across a good patch then soft plastics (3-inch whip baits and 4-inch curtails and paddle tails are a standout ), especially natural colours that match the baitfish. I caught most with translucent and whites. You can also use surface lures, hard-body minnows, and metals. The key to catching them in big volumes when they are busting up is to follow them and work your plastics or lures at a fast to medium pace giving them something to chase. Western Port is very tidal so jig head weights can be a tricky task and depending on where you fish it can be very difficult mid-tide. So baits like pilchard and squid will also work, but I do find the majority of salmon bust-ups in the shallows and often they are on the surface or top third of the water column.