Scott Gray leaves the boat at home in search of some landbased delights on the southwest coast of Victoria.

During the winter months the southwest coast of Victoria is usually at its most rugged with big southwesterly blows bringing big swells that last for days on end. Getting out to sea in the boat becomes more difficult and dangerous for what is usually only for little extra reward. By this time the tuna have become patchier and the whiting and snapper have become much less prolific.
While I love the open ocean, this is a great time of year to fish the breakwalls and harbours in the region which continue to provide excellent fishing for a range of sportfishing species including Australian salmon, silver trevally and warehou.
There are a number of landbased options in the area and the following provide some top fishing at this time of year.
MOYNE RIVER BREAKWALL
The Moyne river mouth breakwall is an excellent and scenic place to chase some fish from. Schools of trevally frequent the area in the winter months and can be caught all along the rock wall at the river mouth. Schools of salmon occasionally move into the river up to where it forks with the ‘old passage’ but most are taken off the end of the wall. On the south side of the island is the old passage to the sea and occasionally the trevally move into the sand holes in this area. This makes for some excellent fishing only a hundred metres from the car park. Trevally generally average 300 g to 1 kg here, but each year 2 kg plus fish that measure over 50 cm are landed.

APOLLO BAY HARBOUR
Situated in the heart of Apollo Bay, only a short distance from Cape Otway, is the Apollo Bay harbour. There is plenty of foot access to the breakwall on the eastern side and you can walk up and fish at the harbour entrance. I’ve spent many winter days here in search of trevally over the years and it’s not uncommon to catch fish up to two kilograms when there’s a good run of fish. The fish respond well to tide and swell movement at the entrance and berleying with either a berley log or pellets is effective here.
I usually set up a light rod for casting small metal lures to salmon with and a bait rod for fish holding on the bottom. Salmon often move along the wall and sometimes come into range so keep your eyes out. This is a great location to fish from and it is protected from a southwesterly wind. If the fish aren’t co-operating, you can always try the western side of the harbour where you can also fish from the boat launching jetties. Fish the run in tide and stick it out for the best results.
PORT CAMPBELL PIER
Port Campbell pier is situated in the heart of Port Campbell on the Great Ocean Road, not far from the 12 Apostles. The pier is only relatively small with two accessible platforms and is used primarily for launching and retrieving commercial fishing vessels. While the pier is situated in the bay and is somewhat protected from the wind and swell it can still become rough so caution needs to be exercised when there’s a bit of swell running.
Schools of salmon move into the bay from time to time, but the most consistent fishing is for the big silvers that move about in good-sized schools in the cooler months. Like any fishing it can be hit and miss here, but with plenty of berley you can usually hold the school around the pier. The hardest part is landing the larger fish around the pylons so its a good idea to fish a little heavier to start with as some real cracker fish to over two kilograms are caught from this platform each season.
WARRNAMBOOL BREAKWATER
Situated in the township of Warrnambool, the Warrnambool breakwater is a popular choice for anglers in the winter months. While it does produce trevally, it fishes most consistently for salmon by anglers casting lures or fishing with baits at the end of the wall.
PORTLAND HARBOUR
There are plenty of options in Portland harbour, with a long breakwall on the north side, the reclaimed area near the museum and many long piers scattered throughout. Salmon are always a possibility on the outside of the north wall and you can easily drive along the wall and check out what’s going on. This is particularly handy as the wall is several hunderd metres long. Most of my success on trevally here has been inside the harbour around the reclaimed area (western end) and in the canal on the south side. Berley is essential. This is also a great location to target the hard fighting warehou or ‘snotties’ in the winter months with fish ranging from 300 g to 1 kg regularly captured.

Trevally close-up.

TACKLE AND TECHNIQUES
There are a number of ways to fish from structure. You can use 12 ft rods like you would on the beach and that can help to land fish amongst the rocks, but from many of these locations I prefer a light 9 ft outfit spooled with 10 to 15 lb braid. You can hold and fish with them all day and they’re easy to cast with.
I usually run a shock leader of 10 to 15 lb fluorocarbon depending on the situation. You need some strength for lifting fish, but don’t want to put the fish off the bite when the water is clear. I always use circle hooks with the 2/0 to 3/0 range being my all-round favourite on a simple paternoster rig fished on the bottom. I always hold my rod and keep the bait moving as I find I get more bites and convert more of them than when the rod is in a holder. Float fishing is also very effective for the trevally and warehou. When float fishing, use the smallest float possible and start with a dropper that is around mid-water.
There are some really quality fish along this part of the coast with salmon to four kilograms and silvers to three. I’m sure plenty of people hook the larger fish, but either fish too light, miss bites because the leader is too heavy and get broken off or pull hooks because they pull too hard. It’s a bit of a catch 22 when you employ the the lighter leaders as you’ll get more bites but might fall down when it comes to landing them. I believe in getting the bites first and then working the rest out later. One thing I must stress is berley. If you can hold a school of fish in your immediate area, you will experience some awesome fishing.
LURES
I always have a rod rigged up with a lure. If its for salmon, a small metal slug with a single hook is perfect, but if you want a more user friendly lure that suits both silvers and salmon then I suggest a soft plastic in the 3 to 4 inch range. If you’re fishing the bottom then a grub type pattern is ideal, but small minnow pattern will do the job on both species. Remember you can fish two rods at a time so it doesn’t hurt to have the casting rod ready and it also helps to break up a slow bait fishing session.

Bait fishing for silvers in the cooler months is great fun. Fluorocarbon leaders and circle hooks are ideal for catching them with.

BAITS
Without a doubt my favourite baits for this time of year are bluebait and pippies. If fish are a bit tentative on one bait then usually a change to the other will bring about a better bite. Also if you’re finding the fish to be a little finicky, try staying until after dark as this is when the fish will often fire up. With the fish baits I always use bait cotton to ensure the bait stays on. This is particularly handy when using circle hooks as you can really let the fish take the bait in before you lift the rod tip and wind down on the fish.
Scott Gray is located in south-west Victoria, but spends plenty of time chasing fish across Australia and the South Pacific. While he enjoys all forms of fishing you will often find him spinning for big brown trout in the region’s rivers and lakes or stickbaiting for kingfish or tuna along the coast. He has a rich background in fisheries science and education and is currently sponsored by Rapala VMC Australia.