Welcome to the Warmies Fishing Guide. The Warmies or the Hotties get their iconic name from the Newport power station that runs annually in Winter, flushing warm water directly into the inlet and heating the temperature of the surrounding water. When this happens, it attracts Tailor, Australian Salmon, Mullet, bream, pinky snapper and even prized catches of Mulloway. During these times, it’s common to see rows of anglers standing side by side, keen to get into the action. When the power station is running, you can almost catch a fish and cast with bait and lures.
The Warmies, also known as the Hotties, are located beyond the West Gate Bridge, behind the popular kids’ attraction Scienceworks in Spotswood. Close to the townships of Newport and Williamstown. It’s a well-known fishing destination on the Yarra River, which feeds water from the entrance of Port Phillip Bay. It’s a challenging fishing destination with lots of snags that offer a large variety of fish species that can be caught all year round. Snapper in summer, Mulloway in winter and a must-visit land-based fishing destination when those pumps are running.
BECOME A FISHINGMAD MEMBER AND UNLOCK ACCESS TO
Weekly Fishing Reports | GPS Marks | Workshops | Giveaways | Podcasts | Competitions | Forums | Maps | Rigging Tutorials | Sounder School | Exclusive Footage | Tackle Talks | Gear Guides | Kayak Club & Much more….
Things to do at the Warmies or Hotties
Located in Newport is Scienceworks, which is a popular destination for families, particularly during school holidays. There is also the Punt ferry service, which operates daily and transfers cyclists from one side of the Yarra River to the other. Along the Yarra River, there are walking tracks, cycling tracks and plenty of open grasslands to run around. Just be careful near the pretty slippery rocks. Do keep an eye on the kids. While fishing, my young kids caught jellyfish and blue-ringed octopuses from this location.
Watch this fantastic episode of FishingMad fishing at the Warmies/Hotties Newport Power Station.
Fishing the Warmies or Hotties
The Warmies offers seasonal fish species such as
- Tailor
- Australian Salmon
- Snapper ( pinkies )
- Mullet
- Mulloway
- Flathead
- Snook
- Bream
- Gummy Sharks
- Silver Trevally
- King George Whiting
The Warmies is an excellent land-based fishing destination for big runs of Australian Salmon and Tailor during the winter months between June and August, especially when the pumps are running. I prefer to target them with soft plastics, and they will happily take a wide variety of soft plastics, lures and baits. Here, you will also get a big run of pinkies and Snapper between January and March. Over the years, we have seen some big snapper caught here with bait and soft plastics. If you’re brave enough to fish through the night, you’ll have a decent chance of catching a prized mulloway. The peak hype of fishing the Warmies is those days when the pumps are running. That mass of warm water brings in salmon and tailors in huge numbers. This is where you are likely to see anglers standing side by side in masses, trying to get into the action.
When fishing at the Warmies with bait, we suggest using pilchards, raw chicken, squid, maggots, scrub worms, and mullet, which are all good options. A paternoster rig works well with sinker options to suit your desired casting distance. In winter, pelagic species such as salmon and tailors come through in big numbers when the pumps are running. During these times, small slugs and metal lures will also work well. You can cast them far and retrieve them at a medium to fast pace. Soft plastics also work really well in this area if you can avoid getting snagged. Soft plastics work well on flathead, pinkies, bream, salmon and other species. The key to fishing the Warmies is really honing in on a target species. Knowing which part of the year they are active and picking gear that’s specific to that target species.
Watch FishingMad fish the Warmies during a cold winter.
Rod & Reel Setup for the Warmies
Gear selection is mixed at this location. One day, you might target more finesse species like bream or mullet, and the next day, you may target bigger species like snapper, Australian Salmon, or Mulloway. So, it really depends on what species you’re targeting and whether you’re fishing with bait, lures, or soft plastics. For the most part, you will have success here chasing a variety of species with a 7-foot, 2–4-kg spin rod coupled with a 2500-size reel spooled with a 6-10lb line and leader. A combo that is sensitive to feel the bites and inquiries, yet lightweight enough to cast all day. If you plan on casting larger soft plastics or light metal lures for tailor and Australian salmon, then bump that up slightly to a 7-foot 3-5kg rod paired with a 3000-size reel. If you are targeting bigger fish with bait such as snapper, mulloway or Gummy Sharks, then you’ll need a heavier outfit such as a 4-7 kilo rod coupled with a 4000-size reel spooled with a 12-20 lb line and leader. You can also choose to go with a longer rod, should you feel the need for greater casting distance.
We recommend a light spinning outfit for smaller species such as mullet, bay trout, bream and pinkies. A 7-foot, 1-3kg or 2-4kg spin rod paired with a 1000, 2000 spin reel spooled with a 4-8 lb braid and finished with a 1-rod length of 3 or 5 lb fluorocarbon leader. Join the braid and fluoro using an FG, double uni or your preferred knot. This is suitable for casting small, lightly weighted soft plastics or fishing with baits suspended from a float or running sinker rig. The range of rods and reels on the market is massive, with budgets varying wildly. Therefore, it’s essential to pick something that matches your skill level and budget.
Best Baits for the Warmies Port Melbourne
When fishing at the Warmies, we highly recommend the following baits: baits presented on a light-running sinker rig, paternoster rig, or baits suspended from a float. The size of the bait, hooks, and sinker will very much depend on the species you are targeting; however, small baits on a float are frequently used here for mullet, salmon, tailor, pinkies, bream, and trevally.
- Pilchards
- Squid
- Pipis
- Blue bait
- Silver whiting
- Raw chicken strips
- Prawns
- Mussels
- Maggots
- silverfish
- Live baits ( including mullet, yakkas or baytrout for mulloway )
Best Lures and Soft Plastics for the Warmies Port Melbourne
At this location, we would highly recommend the following soft plastics. Ideally rigged on a 1/12, 1/8 or 1/6 jig head in size 2-0 through to 4-0. Casting them out, allowing them to sink to the bottom, and working them slowly, imitating a wounded baitfish. This works excellently for pinkies, snapper, Australian salmon and flathead.
- 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 )
Tips for fishing the Warmies
- Soft plastics work great in this area and allow you to walk the banks. Small soft plastics like 2.5-inch grubz and paddle tails for pinkies, tailor, mullet, juvenile salmon and 4-inch curltails and paddle tails for Australian Salmon, Snapper and Mulloway.
- If you’re bait fishing, berley up an isolated area hard and re-berley regularly, as this will bring in the bait and smaller fish like mullet.
- It can be a highly polluted area with poor water clarity, so we recommend not eating fish caught in this area. Consult the EPA if you need more specific details.
- It can be muddy, slippery, and have sharp rocks. We prefer to wear boots in this area.
- Respect the boat traffic coming in and out from the ramp and give them plenty of space
- It is a very snaggy area, so retrieve your bait, plastics and lures quickly when near the bank edges
Targeting Australian Salmon at the Warmies
I prefer targeting Australian Salmon with light spin gear. It makes the experience enjoyable and easy to use. A 7-foot 2-5kg spin rod paired with a 2500 or 300 size reel and 12lb braid and leader works excellently. Winter is a great time to target salmon as they’re active and school 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 two baits at different heights. You could also attach a surf popper above.
Targeting Tailor at the Warmies
Tailor are aggressive predatory fish with sharp teeth that fight surprisingly hard. They have a similar profile to an Australian Salmon and often leap out of the water when hooked. They school up in big numbers, hunting baitfish in packs and breaking the water, usually a sign that they are feeding. You can catch them trolling, casting lures or bait fishing from the banks. Small metal slugs, curl-tail soft plastics, and paddletail soft plastics are great choices. So is full pilchard mullet, blue bait and garfish. Either on a single hook, ganged hooks or even on light wire trace if they’re shredding your leaders. When fishing in estuary systems, we typically use a 7-foot rod in a 2-4 or 3-5kg class, paired with a 2500 or 3000 reel spooled with 6-8-pound braid and a slightly stronger leader. Handle them carefully; they have sharp teeth that can cause damage.
Targeting Snapper at the Warmies
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 lighter or heavier. Recommended bait options include pilchards, either whole or half, silver whiting, squid, garfish, mackerel and mullet. The best soft plastics are large jerk shads, whip baits, curl tails or paddle tails. Most are between 4 and 7 inches in size, generally coupled with a ½ or ¼ ounce jig head. Some good options include Savage Gear Fat Curl Tails, Daiwa Bait Junkie Jerk shads & Berkley 7-inch turtleback worm, and Zman curl tails.
Targeting Mulloway at the Warmies
Mulloway, AKA Jewfish, is a prized catch that sits at the top of many Victorian anglers’ bucket lists. A stunning fish with a large mouth and distinctive silver or bronze colour. Patience and dedication are required to catch the elusive Mulloway, which can reach up to 1.8 meters and 60 kilos. The minimum legal size is 60cm, with a daily bag limit of 5 over the legal size. Live baits such as mullet, salmon, and whiting are a top choice when targeting mulloways, and pinning them behind the neck allows the bait to swim freely. Other staple dead baits can include pilchard, trevally, garfish, prawns, chicken & squid. A running sinker rig to a single 5/0 – 8/0 hook or a double-snelled hook to present the bait nicely. Soft plastics between 80mm and 100mm are also a great option. Good options include flick baits, shads, paddle tails and grubz. You can also purchase pre-made rigs and swimbaits, which are designed to imitate a fish in its surroundings, such as a mullet.
Choosing a Mulloway outfit. Recommended gear to target Mulloway 6-10, 10-15 or 12-24 kilo rod paired with a 4000-8000 spin reel spooled with 20-50 pound line and equivalent leader. Mulloway reside near river mouth entrances. They are often caught near structures such as bridges and pylons. Try to present your baits and lures as naturally as possible, or use live baits. Mulloway can be caught at any time of the day, but are most active at night, during peak tides and moon phases. We have found that lures are quite productive during the day, and bait is more productive at night.
Targeting Flathead at the Warmies
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 for catching flathead. Top choices include worm and yabby imitations, paddletail and curl tail soft plastics, deep diving hard body lures, vibes, and blades. If you are targeting flathead with bait, we recommend using a paternoster rig or running sinker rig. Good bait choices include pilchards, mussels, squid, chicken, whitebait, Pipis, blue bait and prawns.
Targeting Bream at the Warmies
This is a great location to target bream with lures and soft plastics. The options available are almost endless, so make sure you read our guide on the best lures to catch bream. Recommended options include crab imitations, shallow diving cranks, paddle tail soft plastics, curl tail soft plastics, minnow imitations, vibes, and blades. Also, try your luck with surface lures, an exciting form of fishing that utilises light gear. Bream is all about finesse fishing, so you will need an ultralight spin outfit. We recommend 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. There are so many amazing bream outfits on the market, and budgets vary greatly depending on your skill level and spending habits.
Bream reside within structures such as jetty pylons and stumps. Enticing them away from the structure onto your lure will take some time to master. Remember to work your lures and plastics slowly and mix up the retrieval techniques. If you are targeting bream with bait, then we would highly recommend sandworms, maggots, scrub worms, mussels, yabbies, & chicken. A 2-4 kilo class rod paired with a 2500 size reel would be a great option spooled with 6-pound line. We would encourage you to read our detailed guide on Bait fishing for Bream.
Targeting Snook at the Warmies
These toothy critters are fun to catch on light spinning gear. You will find them in shallow, weedy waters, often a bycatch for those targeting snapper, whiting and flathead. You can catch snook with staple baits such as pilchard, prawn, and squid. However, Snook loves natural-looking soft plastics retrieved at a medium pace, including minnows, paddle tails, and grubs. Adding scent to the soft plastics seems to help. Snook also respond well to shallow and mid-diving hard body lures in shiny colours retrieved at a medium pace. Metal slugs and blades trolled slowly also work very well. Do handle snook with care, as they have razor-sharp teeth. Despite their sharp teeth, it’s still best to target them with light gear that you would generally use for pinkies and flathead. We recommend a 2-4 or 3-5 kilo spin rod paired with a 2500 size reel, spooled with 8-12 pound line and leader.
Targeting Gummy Shark at the Warmies
We would recommend targeting gummy sharks with a 7-foot 8-15 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. Ideal rigs include a running sinker rig, a single or double-snelled rig, or a paternoster rig. You can use an Ezi rig, attach a sinker to the clip, and then 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’s, & garfish.
Targeting mullet at the Warmies
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 responds 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, pilchards, and prawns. Remember that Mullet have small mouths, so cut these baits into small pieces. You can also use soft plastics, small minnows, 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.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other photos and videos shown on The Warmies Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals. Thank you for visiting The Warmies Fishing Guide. If you believe this location guide is missing key information or requires corrections, please email our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details. Please also feel free to share any fishing pictures you have from this location with us. Thank you
The most significant hazards you will face while fishing in this area will be snags. So many casts will get stuck amongst rock and debris, making it a frustrating place to fish. So, make sure you have plenty of spare rigs and lures. Throughout certain parts of the year, the Warmies can be infested with plague proportions of starfish, jellyfish and large rats. I have also caught a few blue ring octopus and scorpionfish, which are very venomous. There is always a debate about eating fish from this area, and that will be a personal preference. Don’t forget in 2018 there was a chemical spill in Footscray which caught fire and contained asbestos. So always be a little mindful of keeping and catching fire from this area.
