Fishing Marlo
General fishing in Marlo is heavily influenced by the dynamic nature of the river mouth which ensures a constant influx of predatory fish. The extensive estuarine system provides endless kilometres of navigable waters teeming with baitfish. Strong tidal currents flush nutrients through the channels, creating highly productive ambush zones for lure casters.
Land-based anglers find highly rewarding opportunities with numerous jetties, boardwalks, and accessible beaches scattered around the estuary. You can successfully target luderick and bream around the Marlo Jetty or chase salmon off the crashing surf beaches. The shallow feeder drains and mudflats also provide fantastic wade fishing scenarios for light tackle enthusiasts.
Offshore and boat fishing provides incredible access to heavy reef systems teeming with snapper and gummy sharks. Crossing the coastal bar requires vigilance, but the rewards are massive for boaters targeting the thirty-metre depth lines. Inside the system, navigating the estuarine channels requires constant attention as submerged sandbars frequently shift with the tidal flow.
Top 10 Species
Landbased
- Marlo Jetty: Marlo Jetty is an incredibly popular shore-based structure for catching quality luderick and black bream. Fishing the top of the tide with a light westerly wind provides the clearest water conditions for these species. A light float rig baited with local sandworm or weed is the most reliable setup for this location.
- Frenches Narrows Boardwalk: Frenches Narrows Boardwalk offers a fantastic elevated platform for anglers wanting to cast lures into deeper water. You will experience the best fishing here during a fast run-out tide when bait is flushed from the shallows. Hopping small blade lures or soft plastic vibes along the channel floor is a proven technique for flathead.
- Corringle Beach: Corringle Beach is a wild stretch of coastline perfect for land-based anglers targeting large Australian salmon in the surf. A high tide occurring at dawn or dusk presents the ultimate window for fishing the deep gutters. Using a twelve foot surf rod to cast metal slugs or pilchards on a paternoster rig is highly effective.
- Second Island Foreshore: Second Island Foreshore provides easily accessible sandbanks for shore-based fishers looking to wade and target whiting. Fishing the shallow margins during a rising tide brings the fish right up to your feet. A light spinning rod rigged with a running sinker and fresh pipis will consistently catch quality fish.
- Snowy River Mouth Sandspit: Snowy River Mouth Sandspit is a dynamic land-based zone where estuary waters aggressively meet the ocean swell. Anglers should time their sessions for the incoming tide to intercept mulloway entering the river system. Casting large soft plastics or soaking live mullet on heavy tackle is required to stop these powerful fish.
Offshore
- Marlo Offshore Reefs: Marlo Offshore Reefs provide incredible bottom fishing action for gummy sharks and large snapper in thirty metres of water. Boaters must carefully cross the Marlo bar on a high tide with low swell to safely access these grounds. Anchoring and deploying a steady berley trail while fishing fresh squid baits on heavy paternoster rigs is essential.
- Brodribb River Junction: Brodribb River Junction is a wide deep channel accessible by boat that holds massive aggregations of estuary perch. You should fish this junction during a neap tide when the water currents are manageable. Casting sinking vibes or deep diving crankbaits into the drop-offs will trigger aggressive strikes from schooling fish.
- Lake Corringle Feeder Drains: Lake Corringle Feeder Drains are incredibly shallow estuarine waters that require a very small boat or kayak to access. Fishing these drains on a run-out tide intercepts flathead waiting to ambush bait flushing from the lake. Unweighted soft plastics twitched slowly across the surface are the most effective way to fish this weed-choked environment.
- The Snowy River Snags: The Snowy River Snags offer boaters kilometres of submerged timber that act as prime real estate for trophy black bream. Drifting silently past these structures on a high tide is the best way to present lures without spooking the fish. Casting crab imitations or small paddle tail plastics tightly into the wood on light fluorocarbon leader yields the best results.
- Cape Conran Offshore Grounds: Cape Conran Offshore Grounds are a short boat run from Marlo offering exceptional drift fishing for tiger flathead. Anglers should target the sandy patches between reef systems during periods of low wind and minimal swell. Drifting with a standard dropper rig loaded with bluebait is a surefire way to secure a feed of flathead.
Hot Spots
- Old Slips drop-off: The Old Slips drop-off is a steep underwater ledge where massive dusky flathead congregate to ambush passing mullet.
- First Island Weed Beds: First Island Weed Beds provide a shallow estuarine hunting ground perfectly suited for sight-casting surface lures to bream.
- The Old Slipway remains: The Old Slipway remains offer submerged structural havens that consistently produce trophy luderick on float rigs.
- French Narrows Shallows: French Narrows Shallows provide excellent wading flats for land-based fishers targeting cruising whiting.
- Snowy River Backwaters: Snowy River Backwaters feature sheltered muddy banks where massive black bream feed actively during the top of the tide.
Local Bait Tips
- Soft Shell Bivalves: Soft shell bivalves are a phenomenal local bait for bream that can be hand-gathered from the shallow mudflats at low tide. You must ensure you harvest these by hand to strictly comply with Victorian rules banning cast nets and illegal dredging.
- Sandworms: Sandworms can be pulled directly from the Marlo surf beaches using a fish frame to bring them to the surface. Extracting worms by hand is the only legal method since cast nets are strictly prohibited across all Victorian waters.
- Bass Yabbies: Bass yabbies are highly effective for whiting and can be manually pumped from the estuarine sand banks during a run-out tide. You must use a legal hand-held bait pump and strictly adhere to VFA catch limits while completely avoiding cast nets.
Boat Ramps
- Marlo Boat Ramp:
Marlo Boat Ramp: Located on Beach Road in Marlo, this facility sits on the Port of Snowy River where the river meets Bass Strait. It is a single-lane concrete ramp with an adjacent timber boarding jetty for staging. This location is subject to extreme, highly dangerous maritime hazards, including the dynamic and shifting Snowy River ocean bar, severe sand shoaling, strong estuarine tidal currents, and variable water levels, with a complete absence of marked channels on the seaward side of the ramp.
- Brodribb River Boat Ramp:
Brodribb River Boat Ramp: Located near the mouth of the Brodribb River in Marlo, this single-lane concrete ramp provides access to the Port of Snowy River. It features an adjacent boarding jetty for staging. Boaters face hazards from shifting sandbars, fluctuating river levels, and a total absence of marked channels. Upstream navigation is restricted by the Brodribb River Bridge, which has a vertical clearance of 3.5 metres at mean tidal level that can be completely lost during flood events.
- Loch End Boat Ramp:
Loch End Boat Ramp: Situated on Loch End Road near Marlo, this facility launches into the Port of Snowy River. It is a single-lane concrete/asphalt ramp with zero car-park capacity, and no staging jetty or pontoon is specified in official sources. Boaters face hazards from fluctuating river water levels, local sand accumulation, and a lack of marked channels on the seaward side of the ramp.
- Corringle Slips Boat Ramp:
Corringle Slips Boat Ramp: Located in the Corringle Slips Foreshore Reserve on the Snowy River estuary, this facility provides access to the Port of Snowy River. It is a single-lane concrete ramp equipped with an adjacent boarding jetty. Boaters must navigate without the aid of marked channels and face estuarine tidal currents, shallow sandbanks, and shifting sandbars.
- Cape Conran Boat Ramp:
Cape Conran Boat Ramp: Situated within the Cape Conran Coastal Park, approximately 15 kilometres east of Marlo, this facility provides direct ocean access to Bass Strait. It is configured as a single-lane concrete ramp built with a longer and steeper gradient to minimise sand accumulation, featuring a large concrete turning apron. Staging is supported by an extended boarding jetty that provides ample space to tie up vessels. Being fully exposed to the open ocean, the ramp is subject to high-energy swell, heavy sand and kelp accumulation, and a hazardous area of offshore rock reefs which has been marked to assist with navigation.
Bait and Tackle
- MARLO BAIT & TACKLE: Marlo Rd, Marlo (Snowy River) VIC 3888 | Phone: (03) 5154 8245
Basecamp & Accom
- Marlo Ocean View Caravan Park | 14 Argyle Parade, Marlo VIC 3888 | 03 5154 8268
- Marlo Hotel | 19 Argyle Parade, Marlo VIC 3888 | 03 5154 8201
- Corringle Slips Campground | Corringle Road, Marlo VIC 3888 | 13 1963
Emergency & Safety
- Emergency: 000 | Marlo Coast Guard, Marine Parade, Marlo VIC 3888, VHF Channel 16
