Rye Pier

Welcome to the Rye Pier Fishing Guide. This very popular and vibrant township is excellent for weekend getaways with the family. It’s roughly 100 kilometres or 90 minutes away from Melbourne. It’s an entrance to Port Phillip Bay directly opposite the Bellarine Peninsula, with the next closest land spot being Queenscliff. Many visitors travel further to Sorrento to catch the ferry to Queenscliff. With clear waters, weed beds and fishing in roughly 6-meter deep water, it offers a vast array of fishing species to target and excellent land-based squid fishing.

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Things to do at Rye

Rye is a popular destination along the Mornington Peninsula next to popular townships such as Sorrento and Portsea. The beaches are often packed with people swimming, kayaking and snorkelling. There are terrific walks along the cliffside to take in the multi-million dollar houses overlooking the ocean and playgrounds for the kids. It’s beautiful with surrounding beaches, rock pools, ocean views and plenty of photo opportunities. Parking, toilets, shops, parks, BBQS and cafes are available. It’s also a spot to catch the renowned ferry to the Bellarine Peninsula. It’s the direct entrance to Port Phillip, and the ocean surrounds the township. The town has lots of character, with lovely beachfronts, historic shopfronts, restaurants, and cafes, and many overlook the harbour.

Snorkelling is a great option for encountering squid, octopus, sea dragons, crabs, and stingrays at night. Local charter boats are also ready to take you out for a day’s fishing. Not too far away includes a scenic walk or bike ride of the Point Nepean trail to see the further point of the Mornington Peninsula. There is also a championship golf course. In the not-too-far distance, you have the Peninsula hot springs, wineries, lighthouses, championship golf courses, mazes and gardens, adventure playgrounds and much more. The Mornington Peninsula is an excellent destination for families, with many activities to suit everyone. Nearby townships include Cape Schnack, Rye, & Sorrento.

Fishing at Rye Pier

At Rye Pier, you can target

• Squid
• Garfish
• Flathead
• King George Whiting
• Trevally
• Snapper
• Australian Salmon
• Sharks ( Gummy, Seven gill, bronzewhaler )

Rye Pier can be a busy land-based fishing destination during the holidays. In 2017, upgrades of $1.2 million were approved for Rye Pier, including an extra boat ramp and a second pier. There is ample access for both boats and kayaks. Rye has its boat ramp located on 2460 Point Nepean Road, Rye. The boat ramp recently finished a 1.23 million dollar renovation, making it an excellent launching facility. Rye pier will give you a maximum fishing depth of roughly 6 meters.

There are many different species of fish that you can target, and they all require slightly different setups. Squid is likely the most targeted species at Rye Pier. This is very productive at night, focusing your energies on areas lit up with lights on the pier using size 2.5 and 3.0 squid jigs. The area has plenty of weed beds, which make an excellent ecosystem for squid. Cuttlefish and Octopus will also be welcome bycatch when targeting squid. The fishing for squid can be exceptional at night, and the pier is often full of anglers during the dark. You can learn more about targeting squid here by reading our detailed guide on How to catch squid. We have done exceptionally well here on dawn and dusk using black and white coloured squid jigs. Stay nimble and look for signs on the pier, such as ink stains and visible weed beds. The best way to catch squid is with squid jigs cast out and worked with a series of lifts and pauses. Suspending a silver whiting or flesh bait on a prong can also work well. If you are chasing squid, a light fishing rod between 7.5 feet and 9 feet is ideally paired with a 2500 or 3000 size reel spooled with 10 to 15-pound braid and an equivalent leader. There are plenty of egi rods on the market fit for purpose. A general-purpose medium fishing outfit is ideal for other types of fishing in this area. This will allow you to cover a whole range of fish species. Perhaps starting with a 7 foot or 8-foot rod paired with a 3000 or 4000 reel spooled with 10-15-pound lines.

Check out a recent video of us fishing the Bellarine and Mornington Peninsula.

At this destination, you can also catch snapper, whiting, salmon, flathead, mullet, garfish, trevally, wrasse, leather jacket, rays, gummy sharks and bronze whaler sharks. Fishing for 2 hours on either side of the tide is best, or fishing at dawn or dusk. A good all-around option is a general-purpose fishing rod combo, allowing you to target multiple species at once. This might be a 3-5 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 3000 size reel spooled with 8-pound line. You’re most likely to catch many small pinkies, whiting, garfish, leather jackets, and flathead, so you don’t need to fish too heavily, but you must be prepared for the odd large snapper. Using a basic paternoster rig with fresh bait will work well for many fish species on Portsea pier. If you specifically target garfish, whiting, and leather jackets, consider using small hooks, as these species have small mouths. Small hooks, such as a size 12 long shank, will increase your catch rates. We would also recommend berleying the area you are fishing, which is a great way to attract garfish and whiting. You can buy premade berley or make your own using breadcrumbs and tuna oil. Good bait options include pilchards, silver whiting, pipis, raw chicken, squid strips, maggots, and silverfish. You can fish this area with soft plastics to target pinkies and flathead.

Other great locations to fish near Rye Pier

Not far from here, you can also try fishing at these destinations

• Blairgowrie Pier
• Dromana Pier
• Flinders Pier
• Gunamatta Surf Beach
• Mt Martha Rocks
• Mornington Pier
• Portsea Pier
• Rosebud Pier
• Rye Pier
• Sorrento Pier

Boat Ramps along the Mornington Peninsula

Along the Monrington Peninsula, you have several boat ramps to launch from along this beautiful coastline. Sorrento boat ramp off St Aubin’s Way, Rye boat ramp off Pt Nepean Road, Mornington, Schnapper Point, Martha Cove, Olivers Hill and Safety Beach of Marine Drive. You also have smaller ramps, such as Tootgarook and Anthony’s Nose.

 

Baits Rye Pier

At this location, we highly recommend the baits suggested below. There are several ways to present baits, including a running sinker rig, a paternoster rig, or a dropper rig. The rig and sinker choice will depend on your target species and conditions such as wind and tidal strength.

• silverfish
• maggots
• squid
• pilchard
• pipis
• blue bait
• silver whiting
• garfish
• salmon
• prawns
• mussels

Lures and soft plastics for Rye Pier

• Squid jigs
• metal lures
• Berkley gulp turtleback worm
• Zman Slim Swimz
• Berkley powerbait grub
• Gulp 4-inch minnows
• Zman grubZ
• eco gear ZX40
• Daiwa Double Clutch
• EcoGear SX40
• Squidges biotough grub
• Zman StreakZ
• Kietech swim impact fat
• Zerek fish trap
• Samaki Vibelicious

 

Targeting Squid at Rye Pier

Squid is a commonly targeted species here as it is full of weed beds, making it the perfect squid ecosystem. You can learn more about targeting squid here by reading our detailed guide on How to catch squid. Stay nimble and look for signs on the pier, such as ink stains and visible weed beds. The best way to catch squid is with squid jigs cast out and worked with a series of lifts and pauses. Suspending a silver whiting or flesh bait on a prong can also work well.

There are plenty of egi rods on the market fit for purpose. Generally, a whippy medium to light rod between 7.5 feet and 9 feet in length is ideal. Paired with a 3000-size reel spooled with 10-pound braid and leader. Squid jigs can be prone to snagging in this area, and we have found a lot of locals using the smaller size of 2.5 and 3.0-gram jigs and working them slowly to avoid this problem. If the tide is running too strongly and your squid jig is not reaching the bottom, you can always add a small chin weight to get it into the strike zone. Targeting squid is a fun form of fishing 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. Cast your squid jig to allow time for the jig to sink, 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 required.

Check out this instructional video guide on squid locally in Port Phillip Bay.

 

Targeting garfish at Rye Pier

Garfish or mini marlins are a fun local fish species to target. Generally caught between 20cm and 40 cm with no minimum legal-size limit but a daily bag limit of 40. Garfish have large snouts but tiny mouths, so the key to catching them is using tiny hooks. Small, long shanks between sizes 10 and 14 are ideal choices.  The preferred rig setup should consist of using a pencil or quill float, and then having a small split shot roughly 20cm above the hooks to keep the bait down. The floats will help suspend baits such as glacies, maggots or small pieces of fish flesh. berleying is an essential tool when targeting garfish. You can purchase premade berley pellets or powder from your local tackle shop or make your own using tuna oil, chook pellets and bread. Catching gars is about finesse and an ultralight 1-3 or 2-4 kilo nibble tip rod, 7 to 9 feet long. Paired with a 1000, 2000 or 25000 size reel spooled with 4-6 lb line will be a great choice.

Watch a detailed guide on how to catch garfish with FishingMad.

Targeting Whiting at Rye Pier

Whiting is a bread-and-butter species that is fun to catch on light spinning gear and tastes great. Whiting school is up in big numbers, and they respond well to Berley, so Berley is 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 Snapper at Rye Pier

Locally, Snapper season starts around October and finishes towards April. The big reds migrate inshore due to the warmer water temperatures, which provide ideal spawning conditions. The best times to catch snapper are Dawn, Dusk, and tide changes. Snapper will take a variety of baits and soft plastics. For bait a 7 to 8 foot rod with a 4-7 kg rating paired with a 4000 or 5000 size reel spooled with 15-30 pound line is great. Good bait options include pilchards, silver whiting, squid, and salmon. Regarding soft plastics, a 7 foot 3-6 kilo rod paired with a 3000 size reel is great. Good soft plastics include jerk shads, whip baits, curl tails, or paddle tails between 3 and 5 inches in various colours. We encourage you to read our detailed guide on how to catch snapper.

Targeting Salmon at Rye Pier

Australian Salmon are such a fun species to target. They school up in huge numbers and punch well above their weight. When hooked, they go on powerful runs, leaping out of the water with vigorous head shakes. Australian Salmon will happily take a range of soft plastics, lures, and baits. We have had the most success casting 3 and 4-inch paddle tail soft plastics in natural colours and long-casting metal spoons and working them at a fast to medium pace. You can target them with light spinning gear such as a 2-4kg or 2-5kg spin rod and 2500-size reel. If you target Australian salmon on the surf, watch for gutters and patches of deeper water that salmon swim through in schools. The darker colour of the water can identify these, and you will likely jump up to a 5-10 kilo rod between 9-12 feet in length paired with a 3000-5000 size reel spooled with a 15-20 pound braid.

Check out this instructional video guide on how to catch salmon on soft plastics. Crazy action in this one.

 

Gummy sharks are a welcome catch in this area, and not being too far from the entrance ( Port Phillip Bay heads into the Bass Strait), they can be common catches. They are magnificent-looking sharks that fight well and also taste great. We recommend targeting gummy sharks with a 7-8 foot rod that’s 5-10kg or 8-15kg paired with a 6000 to 8000 size reel spooled with 40-60 pound line and finished with a strong leader ranging from 40lb through to 60 pounds. Ideal rigs include a running sinker rig, single or double snelled rig, or a paternoster rig. You can use an Ezi rig, attach a sinker to the clip, and tie it 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, & garfish.