Trevor Hawkins nominates some of his favourite Gippsland estuaries.

Whittling down the East Gippsland estuaries to my favourite few is like picking a favourite rod, fly or lure and like them, each waterway has its own charm or fish producing qualities that makes it just that little bit unique. In fact, what often appeals to me about some of the estuaries I’ve listed, has nothing to do with how many or how big the fish are that they hold, it’s often as much about the unique location or aesthetics that ticks the boxes for me. Two of the estuaries I’ve nominated are large waterways in anyone’s book, and in the case of the vast Gippsland Lakes system in particular, there are effectively ‘waters within waters’ that would require more than half a dozen articles to even scratch the surface. Maybe one day somebody will write an entire book about fishing the place.

MY LIST
Well, I’m not going to rank them in order of preference, that’s way too hard. I do have a stand out favourite though. Those that know me will know exactly what it is too – I never seem to shut up about the place.
In saying that though, I’d be happy to fish any one of the waters listed below for a whole season. I don’t think I’d get bored either. There’s enough water and variety within each to offer something for all anglers, be they bait, lure or fly casters.
MALLACOOTA
Like a number of other estuaries in Victoria’s far east coast, Mallacoota’s distance from any major cities goes a long way to protecting its uniqueness. On top of that the place is pretty open and illegal fishing practices aren’t so easily hidden from watchful eyes as they might be on the smaller ‘boutique’ estuaries nearby.
This vast, open estuary offers a unique mix of rivers, channels and sand flats that produce quality sport fishing for a large list of species and angling methods. Above Gypsy Point, the Wallagaraugh and Genoa Rivers off spectacular ‘wild’ river scenery on top of first class bass, EP (estuary perch), flathead and bream fishing for those with a boat or better still, kayaks or Canadian canoes. There are kilometres of tree-lined banks and enough structure to keep lure and fly fishers happy for months, as well as many recognised ‘named’ pools where bait fishers can catch a feed.
Downstream from Gypsy Point the river progressively opens up and then enters an area known as the Top Lake; this section of river and lake offers a diverse selection of shallow edges, riparian and in stream structure, flats and deep holes to keep anglers exploring. The deep holes found throughout the area play home to vast amounts of bream and big flathead. It is also in this area and down through the Narrows that you’re probably most likely to encounter the occasional mulloway.
The Bottom Lake probably attracts the most tourists and angler attention. The vast area of shallow, clear water sand flats known as Goodwin Sands, offers sight fishing for cruising bream and whiting that is second to none in my opinion, while the weed banks to the west provide fantastic dusky flathead fishing. There is a constant ebb and flow of tailor, salmon and snapper in and out of the estuary depending on the seasons and once you add all of that up, it’s easy to see the appeal of this wonderful waterway.
Mallacoota is a real gem in the crown that always lives up to the big wraps bestowed upon it.
For those that prefer smaller waters, nearby Betka River offers easy kayak launching towards the mouth and some good, if not spectacular bream fishing, as well as impressive EP fishing further upstream.
BEMM
The Bemm River and perhaps more importantly, Sydenham Inlet, gets huge wraps for the massive number of good sized bream and more recently, large dusky flathead that get taken day-in-day-out by anglers chasing a feed of fish.
It does have more of a reputation among anglers chasing a feed than sport though and that’s disappointing because the place has the potential to be a standout sport fishery because of the huge number of fish that it produces.
The shallow inlet can chop up extremely dangerously in any wind and visiting anglers need to show it respect. Kayak anglers can do very well here, but again, need to be respectful of the dangerous conditions that can whip up at a moment’s notice. The river is an absolute gem for lure and fly casters targeting dark snags for bream and EPs and nearby Swan Lake can give up thumper EPs for those in the know.
I truly believe that this estuary will get the recognition it deserves one day. I also think, with some intelligent marketing from local businesses and tourism marketers, that it will become a serious ‘go-to’ sport fishery. It’s a waterway that deserves to be respected and cherished for more than how many fish can be caught and killed on any given day.
There are good supplies and accommodation at Bemm River township but no fuel outlets.

WINGAN INLET
Ok, I can’t write this without giving away the fact that I absolutely love this place. Thankfully, no big boats can be launched on this shallow inlet, and that alone goes a long way to making this place a kayaker’s heaven. On top of that the camping is great (if you ignore the sandflies) and the nearest supplies are about one hours (rough) drive away at Cann River.
It’s a hidden jewel that has its fair share of devoted followers, but having said that, away from peak holiday times, you often get the whole remote camp area and inlet to yourself.
Most tourists’ head for the more popular Thurra River camp area down at Point Hicks and this area, and nearby Mueller River, also offer some fantastic kayaking, bream and EP fishing for those that don’t mind slightly bigger crowds.
Both Wingan and Mueller Rivers have been known to get a bit of a thumping from illegal fishing and this is mostly due to the isolation, but despite this, the place offers good, reliable and sometimes fantastic lure, fly and bait fishing – especially during the warmer months. Some of the bream (black and yellowfin) and dusky flathead in this waterway are absolute thumpers. I’ve found this estuary, more than some others along this coast, to be extremely tide dependant at times. You really can go from catching fish after fish one minute and then experiencing a total shut down the next. If you visit, be patient, fish the tides and explore a bit and I reckon you might just fall in love with the place as much as I have.
On the bottom of the tide, even Hobie pedal and Native Watercraft propel yaks can’t get across some of the shallow flats without dragging the bottom, so planning is necessary if you want to access some areas at low tide. Tying up and wading down around the river mouth often provides some great shallow water sight fishing (on surface lures) and the surf beach often produces good spinning for Australian salmon. There is also a good head of EPs a couple of clicks upstream, closer to the rapids.
GIPPSLAND LAKES
I really don’t know where to start when discussing this huge system. Despite the less than enthusiastic fisheries management/protection and heavy fishing pressure that this waterway receives, it still draws huge tourism dollars and crowds and people still manage to catch fish.
The rivers that flow into the lakes are the lifeblood of the whole system and provide breeding habitat for vast numbers of black bream that the Gippsland Lakes are renowned for.
From Lakes Entrance in the east, where the whole system flows into the ocean, right through to Hollands Landing in the west, there are numerous shallow bays, piers, jetties and secluded arms that provide anglers with a vast array of angling options. For those into overnight tour (sea) kayaking, launching from Hollands Landing (or even up near Sale) and working towards the east provides one of the best ways to explore the secluded inlets and remote surf side camp areas and isolated fishing locations throughout the whole system.
The Gippsland Lakes can offer easy, relaxed fishing from jetties and riverbank fishing platforms through to ‘middle of nowhere’ remote fishing for any number of estuary species. There is a large variety of estuary species to be caught for those willing to move away from the traditional bream rigs too. EPs can be taken in good numbers throughout the river and creek systems, vast schools of tailor move up and down throughout the system at times as do mullet. Big dusky flathead are about but rarely targeted as are luderick, and whiting are in good numbers down closer to Lakes Entrance in particular.
The Gippsland Lakes are known as the boating capital of Australia and with that title comes hundreds and hundreds of jetties and piers that are like high-rise buildings for black bream. Sportfishers fishing out of boats or yaks could do far worse that spending plenty of time searching the jetties and moorings around Metung and Paynesville as a starting point.
Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance are the two major gateway towns to the Gippsland Lakes and the local tackle shops or some of the bait suppliers along the highway can usually steer you in the right direction when visiting this bream fishing nirvana. It’s a huge system and getting a heads up about where to start never hurts.

MARLO
Marlo sits above the Snowy River estuary where this iconic river flows into the sea. In some ways this estuary seems to miss out on the kudos that nearby systems get and I can’t really work out why. The estuary has a good tidal flow, there are good flats and channels and two rivers acting as fish feeders. In fact the Brodribb River would go close to being one of the best EP rivers in the whole region, in my opinion, and yet the system rarely gets the nod from serious sportfishers. The nearby Corringle surf beach is a different story however, with its great gummy shark and Australian salmon fishing.
There is a good boat ramp down from the pub near the entrance, as well as kayak launching sites nearby. Accessing the Brodribb is tough for yak anglers though… maybe this slows anglers down a little?
Perhaps other anglers do well here but don’t publicise the fact. Whatever the reason, this place should get better recognition. The estuary and two rivers offer fantastic fishing for fish species that show up in the nearby Gippsland Lakes system, although from my experience, the Marlo fish often average out at a bigger size than in the Gippsland Lakes.
Nearby Cape Conran offers wonderful rock fishing for Australian salmon, pinkie snapper, wrasse and tailor and not far away is the Yeerung River estuary which offers some great small water wilderness kayaking.
A FEW MORE
Cann River and Tamboon Inlet can’t be overlooked. I prefer heading upstream on Cann River in my kayak or accessing some remote camp sites along the shorelines and while the fishing can get very good at times, it’s a waterway that I prefer more for its remote beauty.
Lake Tyers, just east of Lakes Entrance, also offers great fishing and kayaking but probably receive too much boat and angler traffic for its size. In my opinion it is screaming for an intelligent stocking and fisheries management plan to address the heavy angling pressure it receives. Despite this, it’s a beautiful little estuary that offers some good fishing in great scenery, especially up along the more remote arms and inlets.
EXPERIENCE IT
The above may sound a bit like a tourism promotion, but in reality, the area does offer some wonderful fishing in many diverse and visually spectacular locations.
The sheer number of top angling waters is so great that you can plan your fishing to suit the type of water or angling method you prefer. The area offers everything from intimate secluded waters that take some effort to reach, through to large estuaries that cater for anglers looking for family-friendly fishing holiday destinations.

Trevor is a Pro Staff member, Field Editor and illustrator for AFN publishing. He has over forty years fishing experience with flyfishing and light line lure fishing being his favourite angling methods. He also enjoys kayaking, hiking and AFL Football. He lives on the shores of the Gippsland Lakes in Eastern Victoria.