Welcome to the Werribee Rockwall Wyndham Harbour Fishing Guide. Unfortunately, in October 2020, access to the rock wall was closed for land-based anglers. Several issues had been noted, including a legal dispute over someone injuring themselves on the rocks, resident complaints about litter, commercial works, marina boats being damaged and staff being threatened. There is now a wire fence preventing access onto the Rockwall. It’s an unfortunate situation, as the fishing has come into its own in this location, with regular catches of snapper and mulloway taken from the rocks on both bait and soft plastics.
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Location guide before October 2020 closure
The Werribee Rockwall in Wyndham Harbour forms part of the new Wyndham Harbour establishment. This long man-made rock wall was only established a few years ago. It does, however, provide a great fishing opportunity for local land-based anglers. It allows you to reach decent water depth fishing through the dredged shipping channel and target a good range of species. Their area can be quite weedy at times, so take a moment upon arrival to determine the best side to fish. This is often determined by wind and swell direction. I have seen a lot of good-sized flathead caught from this area, both on bait and soft plastics. The key, though, is casting far enough into an area without weeds.
Things to do at Wyndham Harbour Werribee
The rock wall isn’t the ideal location for the family. You would be better off sticking to Werribee Beach, which has a playground and shallow water that the kids can play in. Nearby attractions include the Werribee River, the Werribee Open Safari Zoo, the historic Werribee mansions and the state rose garden, which is brilliant towards the end of spring. There is also the national equestrian centre and golf course. The river then flows into Port Phillip Bay, which is excellent for boating and fishing.
Fishing at Wyndham Harbour Rockwall
At Wyndham Harbour Rockwall, you can seasonally target
- Snapper
- Flathead
- Gummy Sharks
- Garfish
- Australian Salmon
- Snook
- Mulloway
- Silver Trevally
- Squid
This location fishes well with both soft plastics and bait, especially for pinkies in the warmer months around Spring and Summer. Take some time to study the weather and tides before fishing here, as this can significantly impact your casting distance. Fishing on low tide can be challenging because the waters are shallow, and you inevitably lose some gear along the rocks to snags. Ideally, it’s best to fish during a rising tide. Over the years, many snapper have been caught here. The best time to target snapper here is between October and March, after a few windy days. For bait fishing, ideally use a 9 to 12-foot surf rod and a heavy star or bomb sinker to cast squid or pilchard out into deeper waters and productive snapper grounds.
There are numerous present pest species, including eagle rays, stingrays, banjo sharks, and pufferfish. Good baits include small strips of pilchard, chicken, squid for pinkies and flathead. A whole silver whiting or pilchard if you’re targeting a big snapper or gummy shark. A range of soft plastics will work well here for flathead and pinkies.
Watch as FishingMad launches his boat from Wyndham Harbour and fishes Port Phillip Bay.
We recommend a couple of different setups. When bait fishing, you will need a medium-strength rod. Ideally, a rod that is 7-9 feet in length and allows for casting a far distance is preferable. A rod with a 3-5 or 5-8 kilo capacity is suitable. With a 4000-size reel spooled with 10-pound line. A similar setup for targeting snapper by boat. I also like taking lighter setups with a paternoster rig for flathead and pinkies, which are the most frequent catches. If you’re planning to stick it out and target something big, then walk towards the end of the rock wall and cast as far out as you can with a full pilchard to target sharks and snapper. This is also a good spot to flick soft plastics. You will need to use a heavy jig head to cast out further. Soft plastics slowly retrieved or hopped will allow you to catch snapper, mulloway, flathead and pinkies. Worm, grubz and minnow imitation soft plastics are great choices. Z-man grubZ, squidgee wrigglers, Savage Gear pro grubs, Z-man slim swimZ, and Savage Gear slim minnows are all good choices. Night fishing at this spot is an excellent choice if you are targeting sharks, eels and snapper. I also like fishing at first and last light.
Rod & Reel Setup for Wyndham Harbour Rockwall
Gear selection varies at this location, depending on the species you’re targeting and whether you’re using bait, lures, or soft plastics. For the most part, those using soft plastics 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 6-12lb 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 4-8 kilo fibreglass rod coupled with a 4000-5000 size reel spooled with a 15-20 lb line and leader. You can also choose to go with a longer rod, should you feel the need for greater casting distance. 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.
Watch as FishingMad do some bait fishing at Wyndham Harbour.
Places to fish near Werribee
Not far from here, you can also try fishing at these destinations
- Werribee River
- Kerferd Road Pier
- Station Pier
- Princess Pier
- Web Dock
- Port Phillip Bay
- St Kilda Pier
- West Gate Bridge
- Altona Pier
Best Baits for Wyndham Harbour Rockwall
At this location, we would highly recommend the baits suggested below. There are several ways to present baits, including a running sinker rig, paternoster rig, or dropper rig. The rig and sinker choice will be dependent on the species you are targeting and the conditions, such as wind and tidal strength.
- Pilchards
- Squid
- Pipis
- Blue bait
- Silver whiting
- Raw chicken strips
- Prawns
- Mussels
Lures and soft plastics for Wyndham Harbour Rockwall
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 )
Targeting Snapper at Wyndham Harbour Rockwall
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. Dawn, Dusk, and tide changes are considered the best times to catch snapper. 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 excellent. Good bait options include pilchards, silver whiting, squid, and salmon. For soft plastics, a 7-foot rod with a 3-6 kilo line weight paired with a 3000 size reel is a great setup. Good soft plastics include jerk shads, whip baits, curl tails, or paddle tails between 3 and 5 inches in a variety of colours. We encourage you to read our detailed guide on how to catch snapper.
Watch this instructional video on how to catch snapper with soft plastics in Port Phillip Bay.
Targeting flathead at Wyndham Harbour, Rockwall
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 garfish at Wyndham Harbour, Rockwall
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 to use 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 all about finesse and an ultralight 1-3 or 2-4 kilo nibble tip rod that’s 7 to 9 feet in length. Paired with a 1000, 2000, or 25000 size reel spooled with 4-6 lb line, this setup will be a great choice.
Targeting Whiting at Wyndham Harbour, Rockwall
Whiting is a bread-and-butter species which are fun to catch on light spinning gear and tastes excellent. Whiting school up in significant 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, use 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 two 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 Australian Salmon at Wyndham Harbour, Rockwall
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. When schooled up and actively feeding, they will smash soft plastics, ideally 4″ paddletails and curltails in natural colours, which imitate a baitfish that they are feeding on. 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 and 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.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other photos and videos shown on the Werribee Rockwall Wyndham Harbour Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals. Thank you for visiting the Werribee Rockwall Wyndham Harbour 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
There is a sign at the end of the rock wall requesting that people not walk on the rocks. Of course, everyone does, but this is a very slippery and challenging walking area, so do take care. I have seen some people fall on the rocks and be left with nasty injuries. This can be a very weedy area and at times almost unfishable so that wind direction can play a significant factor. Only two fishing lines are permitted. Always carry your Victorian fishing license, and always follow catch limits. Where possibl,e we encourage catch and release.
