Port Phillip fishing report: 14 to 21 October 2026
14 to 21 October 2026
Short version: Snapper season is building, with good fish off the piers and on the Bellarine. Squid are thick at Queenscliff and Black Rock, and gummy sharks are biting on the Bellarine.
Snapper: A 50 cm snapper came off Princess Pier on Saturday 17 October, and a 75 cm fish was landed there on the evening of Tuesday 20 October. On the Bellarine side, snapper are on the Portarlington Bight on pilchards or squid, and a few are being caught at Clifton Springs. Pinkies are biting at Black Rock on squid cubes, pilchards and mullet.
Squid: Squid are thick at Black Rock, and natural-coloured 3.5 size jigs are doing the job. Queenscliff has big squid on the sandy shallows and weed beds, best on the run-in tide. Use dark jigs over sand and white glow jigs over weed. Squid are also about at St Leonards.
Gummy sharks: Gummies are biting on the Bellarine. Nice ones have come from St Leonards, and one was caught at night in just 3 to 4 metres of water on a salmon bait and a running sinker rig.
Whiting and flathead: Whiting are in good numbers at St Leonards, but you have to work for them. At Queenscliff, curl-tail soft plastics are catching flathead, trevally and pinkies.
Weekend weather: Light winds and calm water on Thursday. Northerly winds of 15 to 25 knots on Friday, with seas building to 1 to 1.5 metres. A cold front crosses over the weekend. Saturday has a 90 per cent chance of showers and a chance of storms, with winds turning southerly. Sunday is cold and wet, with a top of 16.
Rules check
- Snapper must be 28 cm or more. You can keep 10, with no more than 3 of them 40 cm or longer. Keep them whole until you are off the water. (official source)
- Squid, calamari, octopus and cuttlefish have a combined bag limit of 10. You can't take them in Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries. (official source)
- Gummy shark must be 45 cm or more (partial length). The bag limit is 2 gummy and school shark combined. (official source)
- King George whiting must be 27 cm or more. You can keep 20. (official source)
Rules checked against the Victorian Fisheries Authority on 21 Oct 2026.
Fishing spots in this region
- Altona, VIC
- Carrum, VIC
- Clifton Springs & Portarlington, VIC
- Frankston, VIC
- Geelong, VIC
- Mordialloc & Sandringham, VIC
- Mornington & Mt Martha, VIC
- Queenscliff, VIC
- Rosebud & Rye, VIC
- Sorrento & Portsea, VIC
- Werribee South, VIC
- Williamstown, VIC
Emergency: 000. On the water: VHF Channel 16.
