Marvellous MorningtonBack to Listing
The Mornington Peninsula on the eastern side of Port Phillip Bay offers a huge variety of fish for the recreational angler. Paul Pingiaro tells us how to get amongst them.
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Baitfish boils on the surface around our boat, desperately seeking refuge as schools of hungry Yellowtail kingfish and Australian salmon feast. We fire out our metal slugs and rip them through the school and after a couple of revolutions of the reel we are on. The fish run hard then jump across the surface, indicating that we are both hooked up on big Australian salmon. After about five minutes two very good salmon are beside the boat and promptly released. After this great experience we leave the action and continue our squid fishing. Why? Because there are bigger fish to fry!
We motor about the shallows with our eyes searching for a good-looking reef. After picking a suitable location we position the boat up wind of the reef and drift back over the desired fishing location. Within minutes we are both connected to a couple of squid. These squid are going to be the key to our success. Fresh bait is the secret to a successful day’s fishing. Snapper, whiting, flathead and shark all eat fresh squid in this region and today fresh squid would be our bait of choice.
After half an hour we had managed to land fifteen of these great creatures, providing us with more than enough bait and a couple of tubes left for frying. Now we had our bait it was time to head out to the snapper grounds. Snapper are Melbourne’s most popular recreational fish and Port Phillip Bay has some of the best snapper grounds in Victoria. Ever since the scallop dredging was stopped the soft reefs and offshore sea grass beds have started to reform. This has meant the number of snapper and other fish inhabiting these waters has increased dramatically.
With fresh squid cast into the deep blue water we waited for the rods to spring into life. Right on the top of the tide our lines sing into action as big fish run hard along the bottom. I set the hook on my line and my friend does the same. Suddenly it’s all happening. My fish continues to run along the bottom only stopping to shake its head. After stripping fifty meters of line off the reel I start to regain control.
The fish pulls hard and a telltale nod is evident in the fight. This is a big snapper. As the fish gets to within fifteen meters of the boat it runs again, but this time it only takes about twenty meters of line. As the fish tires its headshakes become more violent, but it’s not long before we have color. As the big red shape moves up through the water, I ready the net. Exhausted, the fish breaks the surface and lies on its side offering an easy netting opportunity. I slip the net under eight kilograms of fine Port Phillip Bay snapper and think to myself, how good is this? Moments later my mate lands a similar fish.
This snapper haven is located at Mornington and the good news is that it is only an hour’s drive from Victoria’s capital city, Melbourne. Options, options, options: Mornington has an extensive coastal reef system. The squid in the area may not always be huge but there are plenty of them. It’s very common for anglers to get their bag of ten. The most popular method to catch these inky critters is with a prawn style jig. The most popular colors in the area are red and blue. The most popular size jig is the 2.5.
Squid in the region are caught by drifting your boat over the reef at a slow walking pace. With the aid of a sea anchor this is very easily achieved in most conditions. The key to success is to use bright jigs on bright days and dull jigs on the overcast days. Squid are best fished for in water depths of two to four metres and over reefs with a good covering of weed. Hotspots are around Sunnyside Beach (North Mornington), Fisherman’s Beach and Mount Martha. A useful tip for scenarios when you can see the squid and they will not take a bait/jig is to try casting the jig behind the squid and moving it quickly over them, then letting the jig sink. Over 80% of your squid will be caught as the jig sinks. This style imitates a frightened and injured baitfish and triggers the predatory instinct in the squid.
Hail To The King:
King George that is. King George whiting are a common catch in the region. The average size fish is around 34cm, but the odd monster of over 50cm lurks in the shadows. The whiting are caught in the same areas as the squid, but instead of on the reefs they are on the broken ground, sea grass and reef edges. Try and find areas where reef meets sea grass and sand. It is in these areas that the favored whiting food, the marine worms live. While there are no sand flats in the area to pump for fresh worms, I’m sure they would be great bait.
The best baits are fresh squid, pippies and mussels. A berley of chook pellets, tuna oil, bread and pilchard is a great mix and will bring the fish on the bite. The best rig for whiting in the area is a running sinker rig, with a trace of eight pound line of about 75cm and a long shank size 4 hook on the end. A good whiting fishing rod is between six and seven and a half feet long and has a light tip with a bit of power in the butt. The line classes to use are two to four kilograms. Reels for whiting fishing are normally spinning reels and capable of holding about 180 yards of the chosen line class. This line capacity is required due to the chance of hooking a good snapper.
The best places to target whiting are Sunnyside Beach, Shag (Bird) Rock and Mount Martha. When whiting fishing it is sensible to have a squid jig over the side. This is a great way to bag a bit of by catch and fresh bait! A berley containing some shellfish is the best bet for getting a few of these critters on the chew. Also try having a piece of red tubing of about 2cm long above your hook. This seems to attract the whiting and increase catch rates.
Mornington’s Mini Marlin:
Over the shallow reefs of Mornington, garfish abound. These fish are fantastic for the kids as well as making great food and bait. Garfish enter the region in the summer months and are a schooling fish. They are attracted with the use of berley. The best berley for garfish is a mixture of bread, tuna oil and fish pieces. This is best fed out slowly in an onion bag or berley bucket on the surface. I personally find that the best rig is an unweighted size 12 hook. I drift out the unweighted bait into the school of feeding garfish. I find this method the simplest and easiest way to land these little critters.
The best bait is either pippies or white bread dough. The best places to fish for garfish are the places you find whiting. Look for broken reef and seagrass beds. Remember, berley is the key. When snapper fishing keep an eye out in your berley trail for garfish. Garfish will travel into the deep water and they just can’t resist a good berley trail. If you do encounter and catch a garfish from out of your snapper berley trail, use it for bait. The results can be outstanding.
Big Reds:
Snapper arrive in Mornington late in September and stay in the region until May. Snapper are pursued avidly in Port Phillip Bay and every weekend hundreds of keen anglers chase them. Snapper in the Mornington region range from juvenile pinkies through to ten-kilogram monsters. For the pinkies, the inshore reef systems are the prime location. The key to success is to fish on the edge of the reef and have a steady flow of berley. The secret to any snapper berley is to have some traces of your selected baits mixed in. It’s the fish equivalent of smelling a steak at a BBQ.
Snapper are best fished with a running sinker rig. When fishing for the big boys I use two chemically sharpened 6/0 suicide hooks, one fixed and the other as a slider. Sinker weights vary, as I like to fish all water levels. Typically, snapper in this area feed from the sea bottom to about five metres up. The best baits are squid, garfish and silver whiting. Baits of pilchards are just too soft and are generally destroyed by flathead.
Typical big snapper outfits are eight kilogram and six to seven foot fast taper rods with matching reels. Reels should be capable of holding 250 yards of eight-kilogram line, and have a smooth drag system. Juvenile snapper outfits are typically the same as you would use for whiting, but the hooks and trace material should be a little heavier. I like to employ a size 1 O’Shanasy or bait holder pattern attached to a six-kilogram trace. The best baits for juvenile snapper are squid, garfish and pilchard.
The best locations for big snapper are Ansetts reef, Fisherman’s Beach and Morrisons Reef. Typically, the best depth for big snapper off Mornington is about 18-20 metres, with the exception being Morrisons reef off Mount Martha being in 12 meters. Ideally arrive at your chosen fishing location an hour to an hour and a half prior to the change of tide. Get your berley flowing and be prepared for the action on the change of the tide. Try and fish with a mate so you can fish up to eight rods. The expert snapper fisho’s in the region catch squid, garfish and barracouta for bait. Fresh squid are the best bait in Mornington. Never move about on or near the change of tide, stay put, as this is the peak time.
Flathead Action:
Known in the region as bay rats, frogs and flatties, flathead are very prolific. The most popular method of bagging a few flatties is to drift with baits. Flathead will take just about any bait including pilchard, squid, bluebait and pippies but the best of all baits is fresh flathead fillets. Flathead are prolific throughout the area, but the best depth of water for these critters is the 12-16 metre mark. The deeper that you fish the smaller the flathead normally encountered. When drifting for flatties you have to make sure that your bait is on the bottom.
Flathead rods are the same as for whiting, with the rig and hook being the same as that used for pinkies. Dropper rigs are also very effective as are soft plastics. Red and pink soft plastics are the favoured colours for this area. Always use quality gear when chasing flathead as there is always a chance of a big snapper being hooked. While flathead can be a pest while you are fishing for other species, they are still great eating and a good fish for the kids to catch. Be careful of the spikes on the flathead as a wound from one of them can be very painful. If you do get ‘spiked’ by a flattie, rub your wound on the belly of the flattie. The slime reduces the pain and bleeding.
Australian Salmon:
Salmon school over the inshore reef systems and are best targeted by trawling or casting small lead lures or soft plastics. The salmon are in the Mornington region from October until late April. Salmon are easily found when they are about, just look for birds working the surface. The salmon feed on small baitfish so big lures are unnecessary. The best brands of lead lures are the Laser or shiny baitfish style. Salmon tackle can be as easy or as complex as you like. The local professionals use heavy hand lines with clear pieces of plastic tubing and a 4/0 hook, while many sport fishermen use graphite rods and braided 2-3 kilogram line.
As for myself, I just use whiting tackle. This keeps control of the number of outfits I take out on a sortie. The best locations for salmon are Sunnyside, Fisherman’s Beach and Bird Rock. Salmon are a great sport fish, but their fight far outweighs their eating qualities so many anglers choose to release them. Salmon do make great bait for sharks, snapper and mulloway, but only if they are fresh. When fishing for Australian salmon always keep your eyes on the sky. Look for birds working the water and be ready. A hot session on the salmon is always memorable.
More Species:
Pike are very common on the Mornington reef systems. They are best targeted by trawling large minnow style lures in water of around 4-9 meters depth. While pike are not my first choice fish, they can provide some good action and with specimens up to five feet on offer, they can provide some good entertainment.
Kingfish are not a regular catch but if you put the time in there are rats on offer. Over the last few years I have been catching more and more of these beauties. In the past, large kingfish lived in the area with some specimens reportedly reaching over thirty kilograms. Unfortunately these large specimens were wiped out with beach hauling and netting. Today you’re lucky if you get a kingfish over four kilograms. The best way to connect to a kingie is to trawl with a ten kilogram outfit and a six-inch or longer minnow lure at about five knots. I choose lures that have the profile of a garfish, long and thin, the same as the kingfish’s favorite food.
Red mullet are very populus on the shallow reefs and seagrass beds. The red mullet is a very common by-catch when fishing for whiting and pinkie snapper. They are a very popular species with the European anglers and provide great entertainment. Leatherjacket are numerous on all of the reef systems in the area. They can be a nuisance species but they can grow to over a kilogram and are great eating. Fishing for leatherjacket can be very frustrating as swarms of these little blighters can make short work of any bait.
Sharks are very common off Mornington. Species include Gummy shark, School shark, Seven Gill shark, Whaler shark, Thresher shark and even Mako shark. Not many people fish for sharks in the area, but they are regularly encountered. Gummy and School sharks are a very popular by-catch for snapper fishermen and can grow to over six feet long. There is not much better than a feed of fresh flake. Sharks follow the schools of snapper, salmon and mullet and are fed well enough to leave people alone.
I have fished Mornington for over twenty years and have never lost a fish to a shark, but I know of many anglers who have. Sharks are mainly encountered while snapper fishing. Often the only indication that you get that the toothies are about is the loss of hooks and bite offs. It seems that every time I use wire traces the sharks just will not take the bait. To seriously target shark species you will need a game rod and reel with at least 500 metres of fifteen kilogram line. The best baits are squid, mullet, salmon and garfish. So hitch up the boat, grab the family and head on down to Mornington. I’m sure that you will not be disappointed, who knows, you may just bag a fish or two.
We motor about the shallows with our eyes searching for a good-looking reef. After picking a suitable location we position the boat up wind of the reef and drift back over the desired fishing location. Within minutes we are both connected to a couple of squid. These squid are going to be the key to our success. Fresh bait is the secret to a successful day’s fishing. Snapper, whiting, flathead and shark all eat fresh squid in this region and today fresh squid would be our bait of choice.
After half an hour we had managed to land fifteen of these great creatures, providing us with more than enough bait and a couple of tubes left for frying. Now we had our bait it was time to head out to the snapper grounds. Snapper are Melbourne’s most popular recreational fish and Port Phillip Bay has some of the best snapper grounds in Victoria. Ever since the scallop dredging was stopped the soft reefs and offshore sea grass beds have started to reform. This has meant the number of snapper and other fish inhabiting these waters has increased dramatically.
With fresh squid cast into the deep blue water we waited for the rods to spring into life. Right on the top of the tide our lines sing into action as big fish run hard along the bottom. I set the hook on my line and my friend does the same. Suddenly it’s all happening. My fish continues to run along the bottom only stopping to shake its head. After stripping fifty meters of line off the reel I start to regain control.
The fish pulls hard and a telltale nod is evident in the fight. This is a big snapper. As the fish gets to within fifteen meters of the boat it runs again, but this time it only takes about twenty meters of line. As the fish tires its headshakes become more violent, but it’s not long before we have color. As the big red shape moves up through the water, I ready the net. Exhausted, the fish breaks the surface and lies on its side offering an easy netting opportunity. I slip the net under eight kilograms of fine Port Phillip Bay snapper and think to myself, how good is this? Moments later my mate lands a similar fish.
This snapper haven is located at Mornington and the good news is that it is only an hour’s drive from Victoria’s capital city, Melbourne. Options, options, options: Mornington has an extensive coastal reef system. The squid in the area may not always be huge but there are plenty of them. It’s very common for anglers to get their bag of ten. The most popular method to catch these inky critters is with a prawn style jig. The most popular colors in the area are red and blue. The most popular size jig is the 2.5.
Squid in the region are caught by drifting your boat over the reef at a slow walking pace. With the aid of a sea anchor this is very easily achieved in most conditions. The key to success is to use bright jigs on bright days and dull jigs on the overcast days. Squid are best fished for in water depths of two to four metres and over reefs with a good covering of weed. Hotspots are around Sunnyside Beach (North Mornington), Fisherman’s Beach and Mount Martha. A useful tip for scenarios when you can see the squid and they will not take a bait/jig is to try casting the jig behind the squid and moving it quickly over them, then letting the jig sink. Over 80% of your squid will be caught as the jig sinks. This style imitates a frightened and injured baitfish and triggers the predatory instinct in the squid.
Hail To The King:
King George that is. King George whiting are a common catch in the region. The average size fish is around 34cm, but the odd monster of over 50cm lurks in the shadows. The whiting are caught in the same areas as the squid, but instead of on the reefs they are on the broken ground, sea grass and reef edges. Try and find areas where reef meets sea grass and sand. It is in these areas that the favored whiting food, the marine worms live. While there are no sand flats in the area to pump for fresh worms, I’m sure they would be great bait.
The best baits are fresh squid, pippies and mussels. A berley of chook pellets, tuna oil, bread and pilchard is a great mix and will bring the fish on the bite. The best rig for whiting in the area is a running sinker rig, with a trace of eight pound line of about 75cm and a long shank size 4 hook on the end. A good whiting fishing rod is between six and seven and a half feet long and has a light tip with a bit of power in the butt. The line classes to use are two to four kilograms. Reels for whiting fishing are normally spinning reels and capable of holding about 180 yards of the chosen line class. This line capacity is required due to the chance of hooking a good snapper.
The best places to target whiting are Sunnyside Beach, Shag (Bird) Rock and Mount Martha. When whiting fishing it is sensible to have a squid jig over the side. This is a great way to bag a bit of by catch and fresh bait! A berley containing some shellfish is the best bet for getting a few of these critters on the chew. Also try having a piece of red tubing of about 2cm long above your hook. This seems to attract the whiting and increase catch rates.
Mornington’s Mini Marlin:
Over the shallow reefs of Mornington, garfish abound. These fish are fantastic for the kids as well as making great food and bait. Garfish enter the region in the summer months and are a schooling fish. They are attracted with the use of berley. The best berley for garfish is a mixture of bread, tuna oil and fish pieces. This is best fed out slowly in an onion bag or berley bucket on the surface. I personally find that the best rig is an unweighted size 12 hook. I drift out the unweighted bait into the school of feeding garfish. I find this method the simplest and easiest way to land these little critters.
The best bait is either pippies or white bread dough. The best places to fish for garfish are the places you find whiting. Look for broken reef and seagrass beds. Remember, berley is the key. When snapper fishing keep an eye out in your berley trail for garfish. Garfish will travel into the deep water and they just can’t resist a good berley trail. If you do encounter and catch a garfish from out of your snapper berley trail, use it for bait. The results can be outstanding.
Big Reds:
Snapper arrive in Mornington late in September and stay in the region until May. Snapper are pursued avidly in Port Phillip Bay and every weekend hundreds of keen anglers chase them. Snapper in the Mornington region range from juvenile pinkies through to ten-kilogram monsters. For the pinkies, the inshore reef systems are the prime location. The key to success is to fish on the edge of the reef and have a steady flow of berley. The secret to any snapper berley is to have some traces of your selected baits mixed in. It’s the fish equivalent of smelling a steak at a BBQ.
Snapper are best fished with a running sinker rig. When fishing for the big boys I use two chemically sharpened 6/0 suicide hooks, one fixed and the other as a slider. Sinker weights vary, as I like to fish all water levels. Typically, snapper in this area feed from the sea bottom to about five metres up. The best baits are squid, garfish and silver whiting. Baits of pilchards are just too soft and are generally destroyed by flathead.
Typical big snapper outfits are eight kilogram and six to seven foot fast taper rods with matching reels. Reels should be capable of holding 250 yards of eight-kilogram line, and have a smooth drag system. Juvenile snapper outfits are typically the same as you would use for whiting, but the hooks and trace material should be a little heavier. I like to employ a size 1 O’Shanasy or bait holder pattern attached to a six-kilogram trace. The best baits for juvenile snapper are squid, garfish and pilchard.
The best locations for big snapper are Ansetts reef, Fisherman’s Beach and Morrisons Reef. Typically, the best depth for big snapper off Mornington is about 18-20 metres, with the exception being Morrisons reef off Mount Martha being in 12 meters. Ideally arrive at your chosen fishing location an hour to an hour and a half prior to the change of tide. Get your berley flowing and be prepared for the action on the change of the tide. Try and fish with a mate so you can fish up to eight rods. The expert snapper fisho’s in the region catch squid, garfish and barracouta for bait. Fresh squid are the best bait in Mornington. Never move about on or near the change of tide, stay put, as this is the peak time.
Flathead Action:
Known in the region as bay rats, frogs and flatties, flathead are very prolific. The most popular method of bagging a few flatties is to drift with baits. Flathead will take just about any bait including pilchard, squid, bluebait and pippies but the best of all baits is fresh flathead fillets. Flathead are prolific throughout the area, but the best depth of water for these critters is the 12-16 metre mark. The deeper that you fish the smaller the flathead normally encountered. When drifting for flatties you have to make sure that your bait is on the bottom.
Flathead rods are the same as for whiting, with the rig and hook being the same as that used for pinkies. Dropper rigs are also very effective as are soft plastics. Red and pink soft plastics are the favoured colours for this area. Always use quality gear when chasing flathead as there is always a chance of a big snapper being hooked. While flathead can be a pest while you are fishing for other species, they are still great eating and a good fish for the kids to catch. Be careful of the spikes on the flathead as a wound from one of them can be very painful. If you do get ‘spiked’ by a flattie, rub your wound on the belly of the flattie. The slime reduces the pain and bleeding.
Australian Salmon:
Salmon school over the inshore reef systems and are best targeted by trawling or casting small lead lures or soft plastics. The salmon are in the Mornington region from October until late April. Salmon are easily found when they are about, just look for birds working the surface. The salmon feed on small baitfish so big lures are unnecessary. The best brands of lead lures are the Laser or shiny baitfish style. Salmon tackle can be as easy or as complex as you like. The local professionals use heavy hand lines with clear pieces of plastic tubing and a 4/0 hook, while many sport fishermen use graphite rods and braided 2-3 kilogram line.
As for myself, I just use whiting tackle. This keeps control of the number of outfits I take out on a sortie. The best locations for salmon are Sunnyside, Fisherman’s Beach and Bird Rock. Salmon are a great sport fish, but their fight far outweighs their eating qualities so many anglers choose to release them. Salmon do make great bait for sharks, snapper and mulloway, but only if they are fresh. When fishing for Australian salmon always keep your eyes on the sky. Look for birds working the water and be ready. A hot session on the salmon is always memorable.
More Species:
Pike are very common on the Mornington reef systems. They are best targeted by trawling large minnow style lures in water of around 4-9 meters depth. While pike are not my first choice fish, they can provide some good action and with specimens up to five feet on offer, they can provide some good entertainment.
Kingfish are not a regular catch but if you put the time in there are rats on offer. Over the last few years I have been catching more and more of these beauties. In the past, large kingfish lived in the area with some specimens reportedly reaching over thirty kilograms. Unfortunately these large specimens were wiped out with beach hauling and netting. Today you’re lucky if you get a kingfish over four kilograms. The best way to connect to a kingie is to trawl with a ten kilogram outfit and a six-inch or longer minnow lure at about five knots. I choose lures that have the profile of a garfish, long and thin, the same as the kingfish’s favorite food.
Red mullet are very populus on the shallow reefs and seagrass beds. The red mullet is a very common by-catch when fishing for whiting and pinkie snapper. They are a very popular species with the European anglers and provide great entertainment. Leatherjacket are numerous on all of the reef systems in the area. They can be a nuisance species but they can grow to over a kilogram and are great eating. Fishing for leatherjacket can be very frustrating as swarms of these little blighters can make short work of any bait.
Sharks are very common off Mornington. Species include Gummy shark, School shark, Seven Gill shark, Whaler shark, Thresher shark and even Mako shark. Not many people fish for sharks in the area, but they are regularly encountered. Gummy and School sharks are a very popular by-catch for snapper fishermen and can grow to over six feet long. There is not much better than a feed of fresh flake. Sharks follow the schools of snapper, salmon and mullet and are fed well enough to leave people alone.
I have fished Mornington for over twenty years and have never lost a fish to a shark, but I know of many anglers who have. Sharks are mainly encountered while snapper fishing. Often the only indication that you get that the toothies are about is the loss of hooks and bite offs. It seems that every time I use wire traces the sharks just will not take the bait. To seriously target shark species you will need a game rod and reel with at least 500 metres of fifteen kilogram line. The best baits are squid, mullet, salmon and garfish. So hitch up the boat, grab the family and head on down to Mornington. I’m sure that you will not be disappointed, who knows, you may just bag a fish or two.
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