Welcome to the Corner Inlet Fishing Guide. Corner Inlet is most accessible by boat from Port Welshpool, around 3 3-hour drive from Melbourne via the South Gippsland Highway. Approximately 200km south-east of Melbourne. It’s located between Port Welshpool and Wilson Promontory National Park. It’s a beautiful location, tucked away from offshore waters, with stunning scenery and breathtaking views. Corner Inlet is 600 square kilometres in size, providing ample fishing opportunities for gummy sharks, snapper, king george whiting, squid and Australian salmon seasonally. This is an excellent location for fishing in early Spring for snapper and late Summer through to early Autumn when you can catch gummies, snapper and king george whiting in good volumes.
Heading out of Corner Inlet into the Bass Strait, you can target big gummy sharks, snapper, as well as kingfish and tuna. However, for those seeking comfort and shelter, Cornet Inlet offers numerous excellent weedbeds and a thriving ecosystem that supports a good volume of squid and king george whiting.
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Fishing at Corner Inlet
Corner Inlet is a great place to catch
- Snapper
- Gummy sharks
- King George Whiting
- Squid
- Australian Salmon
- Silver Trevally
- Flathead
Cornet Inlet is a magnificent fishery, and on its day, it can produce huge snapper in good volumes. Corner Inlet is best accessed by boat launching from Port Welshpool. Instead of heading offshore into the Bass Strait, you venture right into the Inlet. Please note that sections of Corner Inlet are a marine park and a marine sanctuary. Use the Fisheries App (Can I fish here? Feature) to ensure you’re not fishing in any prohibited areas. Corner Inlet is a critical fishery and a significant supplier of local seafood that supports the regional towns of southern Gippsland. Land-based anglers can fish beautiful beaches like McLoughlin’s Beach, which is excellent for king george whiting, squid, and flathead. Those with boats, however, can launch from Port Welspool and find some exceptional snapper and gummy shark fishing grounds out deep and in shallow, a fantastic ecosystem for squid and king george whiting. There are so many options, and it depends on the species of fish you’re targeting. Most of Corner Inlet is relatively shallow but very tidal. We have had great success looking for drop-offs on your sounder and anchoring there with some fresh bait like freshly caught squid.
The entrance of the corner inlet is very shallow, so do be careful when navigating in and out of the inlet. Also, watch out for any visible snags or structures as you move about. Early Spring, when snapper come on the bite, we find that the top end of the inlet fishes better as the water temperature is slightly warmer than it as the season moves on and the water temperature rises, they spread out across the inlet. We tend to fish a bit heavier than normal here because of the strong tides, which require heavy sinkers, and sometimes very large fish. Primarily fishing with a 8-12kg rod and 8000 size reel. However, typically, when targeting snapper, a rod between 7 and 8 feet in 4-7 kilo class is perfect—coupled with a 4000 size reel spooled with 12-18 pound monofilament and single or double snelled size 5 or 6 hooks. This would also be a suitable outfit for targeting small kingfish and gummy sharks. However, if you are chasing bigger model kingfish and gummy sharks, we recommend a heavier outfit. Perhaps a 7-foot 10-15-kilo rod spooled with 30-50 line and equivalent leader. There are also big sharks in this area, which would require something substantially heavier.
Watch as we target gummy sharks and snapper
Places to fish near Corner Inlet
Not far from here, you can also try fishing at these destinations.
- Western Port
- Tenby Bay
- Stockyard Point
- Kilcunda Surf Beach
- Port Welshpool
- Wilsons Prom Tidal River
- Andresons Inet
- Venus Bay
Best Baits fishing at Corner Inlet
- Salmon
- Pilchard
- Squid
- Trevally
- Scad
- Crabs
- Garfish
Lures and soft plastics for Corner Inlet
Primarily, you will be bait fishing here as the tides and currents can make it quite difficult to have success with soft plastics and lures. This can be done around high tide on slack water, but most fishing here land-based will be fishing with bait.
- Berkley Gulp Turtleback worm
- 2.5″, 3″ and 4″ curltails ( Gulp Nemesis, Daiwa Wave Minnow, Zman grubZ, Squidges Wrigglers )
- 3″ and 4″ paddletails in natural colours ( Keitech easy shiner, Zman StreakZ, Munroes 3.75-inch paddle tails )
- 4″ and 5″ inch jerk shads ( Zman scented jerk shads, Berkley Gulp
- Squid and Yabbie Imatations ( Nomad Squidtrex, Berkley Turbo Shrimp, Clone Prawn, Nomad Jerksquid )
- Shallow mid diving hard body lures ( Daiwa Double Clutch )
- Vibes and Blades ( Zerek fish trap, Samaki Vibelicious, EcoGear SX40 )
Targeting Gummy Shark at Corner Inlet
We recommend targeting gummy sharks here with a 7-8 foot. 6-12 or 8-to 15-kilo rod paired with a 4000 to 6000 size reel spooled with 20 to 40 pound line. Finished with a strong leader ranging from 40lb through to 60 pounds. I prefer fishing for gummy sharks here with a paternoster rig. It’s easier to cast long distances and allows you to present multiple baits at different heights. You could also use a running sinker rig, a single or double snelled rig. You can use an Ezi rig, attaching a sinker to the clip and then tying on a pre-made double snelled rig. Octopus or circle hooks from 5/0 to 7/0 are preferred for presenting chunks of salmon, trevally, squid, mackerel, Eel, mullet, pilchard, yakka’s, & garfish.
This is our preferred fishing rig when land-based fishing for gummy sharks.
Watch as we target gummy sharks, Snapper and whiting at Western Port.
Targeting Snapper at Corner Inlet
We encourage you to read our detailed guide on how to catch snapper. Snapper season locally starts around October and finishes after March. The big reds migrate inshore during this time of year because water temperatures have increased, providing ideal spawning conditions. Dawn and dusk are generally considered the best times to be on the water. The most common snapper rods are 7 feet 6 inches in length with a weight class of 4-7 kilos paired with a 4000 or 5000 size reel spooled with 15-30 pound braid or mono and 40 pound leader. You can choose to fish with lighter or heavier gear. Recommended bait options include pilchards, either whole or half, silver whiting, squid, garfish, mackerel and mullet. The best soft plastics are jerk shads, whip baits, curl tails or paddle tails. Most are between 3 and 5 inches in size, generally coupled with a 1/8 through to 1/2 ounce jig head.
Targeting Whiting at Corner Inlet
Whiting is a bread and butter species which are fun to catch on light spinning gear and tastes great. Whiting school up in big numbers and they respond well to berley, so berley an isolated area with a mix of chicken pellets, Tuna oil and pilchards. Whiting fishing requires finesse, so we recommend a light 1-3 or 2-4 kilo spin rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a light 1000-2500 size reel, spooled with 4 pounds or 6-pound line and leader. When bait fishing a simple running rig with a small sinker to swivel, then 40cm of 4-pound leader to a small baitholder long shank hook or a paternoster rig with 2 hooks and a size sinker depending on your conditions.
Watch our 25-minute whiting masterclass as we guide you through everything you need to know to catch whiting.
Targeting Salmon at Corner Inlet
Winter is a great time to target salmon as they’re active and schooling up in big numbers. Salmon is a powerful sports fish that punches well above its weight. When hooked, they produce intense bursts of speed, powerful runs, and vigorous head shakes. Do keep an eye out for gutters, which are patches of deeper water that Salmon will swim through in schools. The darker colour of the water can identify these. When bait fishing, pick a surf rod between 12-15 feet in length, which allows for long casts with heavy sinkers, and keeps your lines high above the crashing surf. These will be 6-10 kilo class. We recommend a Paternoster rig with a star sinker. Giving you 2 baits at different heights. You could also attach a surf popper above. Port Phillip Bay Fishing Guide
When lure fishing, first consider the weight of the lures you are likely to be casting. We recommend rods between 9-12 feet in length, in a 5-10 kilo class, paired with a 3000 size reel spooled with 15-pound braid. Good lure options include Savage Gear Missile, Halco twisty, Ecogear Teibo, JM Gilles pilchard baitfish, Rapala X-Rap SXR, Lazer spoons, Zman slim swimz, trick swimz, Halco laser pro.
Targeting Squid at Corner Inlet
Squid is a frequent catch here in the shallow areas with a good volume of broken grounds, weeds and rubble. Squid love the shallow, clear waters, and you can catch some huge ones here. Targeting squid is a fun form of fishing that is growing in popularity with the reward of fresh calamari. Squid can be caught all year round; you will find them in shallow, weedy areas, and they respond well to jigs in clear water conditions. We recommend reading our detailed guide on how to catch squid. You can use a standard 2-4 kilo 7 foot spin rod or a dedicated egi rod between 7.5 feet and 9 feet in length is ideal, and there are plenty of egi rods on the market that fit the purpose. We recommend an 8-foot 3-inch rod paired with a 3000-size reel spooled with 15-pound braid. Squid jigs are prone to snags in this area, and we have found that using slow-sinking jigs in the smaller sizes of 2.5 and 3.0-gram jigs will help avoid this problem. Cast your squid jig to allow time for the jig to sink, and then do a series of lifts and pauses to imitate a wounded prawn. The natural temptation is to strike. Instead, a subtle lift to keep line tension and a constant slow reel is all that’s required.
Targeting mullet at Corner Inlet
This is a great location to mullet a bread and butter species that schools up in big numbers. They are fun to catch on light spinning gear and a great fish species to introduce beginners to fishing. Mullet respond well to berley, so use berley in an isolated area with a mix of bread, tuna oil, and chook pellets. Good baits include bread, dough, live maggots, pilchard, and prawns. Remember that Mullet have small mouths, so cut these baits into small pieces. You can also use soft plastics, such as small minnow and grub-style soft plastics, with a slow, constant retrieve. Scents such as S-Factor or Procure certainly help. Most mullet are pretty small; therefore, a 7-foot rod in a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class, paired with a 1000, 2000 or 2500 reel spooled with 2-6-pound braid and equivalent leader.
Targeting Flathead at Grantville Jetty
We encourage you to read our detailed guide on how to catch Flathead. Flathead is a year-round prospect that can be caught at any time of the day. They are ambush predators that wait in disguise for smaller fish to swim by for an easy feed. This highlights the importance of keeping your baits and soft plastics towards the bottom. If fishing from a boat or kayak, we would recommend drifting around the sandy flats until you find a good patch of them. Also, keep an eye out for depth drop-offs, which are great locations for an ambush predator to be waiting. We recommend targeting flathead with a 7-foot 2–4 or 3-5 kilo fishing rod paired with a 2500 or 3000 size reel spooled with 8-12lb braid and equivalent leader. You can go lighter, but flathead has bristly teeth that can compromise your fishing line.
Flathead is not fussy and will happily have a go at many various soft plastics and lures. We highly recommend reading our detailed guide on the best lures and soft plastics to catch flathead. Top choices include worm and yabby imitations, paddle tail soft plastic, curl tail soft plastics, deep diving hard body lures, vibes, swimbaits, and blades. If you’re targeting flathead with bait, we recommend using a paternoster rig or a running sinker rig. Using a small ball sinker to swivel, then 50cm of 8-12 leader to a size 6 long shank hook. Good bait choices include pilchards, mussels, squid, chicken, whitebait, Pipis, blue bait and prawns.
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