Welcome to the Hollands Landing Fishing Guide. Hollands Landing is an exceptional bream fishery in east Gippsland 3 hours drive from Melbourne near townships of Lochsport and Sale. Hollands Landing is one of the most unique and challenging fisheries in the Gippsland region with gnarly structure and strong currents. This system forms part of Gippsland Lakes as it makes its way from Lake Victoria through McLennan Strait and eventually joins into Morley Swamp and Lake Wellington.
It takes some time to understand how to fish this system, however, there are some massive bream here, some of the biggest in Victoria. Hollands Landing stands out from the crowd because of the volume of bream and the crazy sizes they grow to, its surrounding area of Gippy Lakes will also be a premier dusky flathead fishery in years to come.
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Things to do at Hollands Landing
Hollands Landing is quite an isolated area with not much around the main boat ramp other than a good variety of wildlife. The closest townships are Loch Sport, Sale and Maffra. For accommodation and amenities, you are prob better off heading towards bigger townships like Bairnsdale which is a 35 min drive away.
East Gippsland is a beautiful location surrounded by beaches, lakes and rivers. It’s truly a magnificent location for those who love the outdoors, camping, scenic views, mountainside walks and recreational water activities. Close by there is a good range of shops, cafes, restaurants and accommodation. There are many playgrounds for the kids including Patterson Park. Nearby attractions include the Lakes Entrance beach, Buchan caves, Footbridge mini golf centre, Art gallery, Wyanga Park winery, Lakes entrance boat cruises and fishing charters, Griffiths seashell museum, and Raymond Island. Nearby townships include Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Bairnsdale, Metung,
Watch our feature video fishing around the Gippsland Region
Fishing Hollands Landing
The bream fishing at Hollands Landing is next level, I have seen many bream catches up to 50cms over the years which is astonishing. Hollands Landing at first can be a very challenging location to fish as you battle strong currents and very snaggy grounds. It fishes very differently from most other systems in the Gippsland region often requiring heavier setups. Our standard bream fishing is a 1-3kg rod, 2000 reel spooled with 3-5lb fluorocarbon leader however at Hollands I will often fish with a 2-4 or 2-5kg rod 2500 size reel and 6-10lb fluorocarbon leader. Fishing the edges needs to be done carefully as they are full of reeds and timber and lures/soft plastics become snagged easily. We have often had more success fishing just off the edges, the drop-offs well off the banks and in open water along the shallow flats. Also fishing seedless to prevent snagging up so frequently.
You can catch good-sized bream all along the main ramp, in Lake Victoria, the edges and drop-offs of the McLennan Strait and Lake Wellington. We like to cover ground and use our sounder to locate schools of bream fishing the edges, drop-offs and shallow flats. Hollands Landing is home to several national fishing competitions including the Vic Bream Classic, Hobie Classic and ABT. The fish can be quite finicky and it does take some time to work out what type of lures will work on the day. It’s good to take a variety of hard body lures, blades, vibes and soft plastics. It will be helpful to have a variety as the conditions on the day can dictate how you fish. You can fish Hollands Landing all year round targeting bream however it’s most productive in late summer and early spring. It’s not just exceptional bream fishing but you will also catch estuary perch, flathead and mullet. Keep an eye on the weather as fishing here can be challenging after periods of heavy rain as the water clarity becomes very muddy.
When bream fishing we highly recommend fishing with a light 1-3 or 2-4kg graphite spin rod with a 1000, 2000 size reel spooled up with 4-6lb braid and fluorocarbon leader. However, at Hollands, you can certainly fish heavier than this and as we mentioned above I would typically fish with 2-4 or 2-5kg rod 2500 size reel and 6-10lb fluorocarbon leader. The area holds good snags and there will be times when the line of this strength just won’t be strong enough. But that’s the thrill of bream fishing. Soft plastics Cast along the banks, structure and even in open water is a good method. So are fishing blades in the open water and in deeper water. A good sounder will help you to locate schools of bream when covering ground. When it comes to lures the choice of bream lures is almost endless. We recommend reading our guide on the best lures to catch bream
Places to fish near Hollands Landing
Not far from here, you can also try fishing at these destinations
- Bemm River
- Lake Tyers
- Lakes Entrance
- Tanboon Inlet
- Marlo
- Broadribb River
- Metung
- Mallacoota
- Mitchell River
Recommended baits Hollands Landing
- yabbies
- Scrub worms
- sandworms
- maggots
- mussels
- prawns
Recommended lures and soft plastics Hollands Landing
Watch our vid on the best bream lures and soft plastics
It’s not just the lure fishos that have all the fun those fishing with bait can do well too. You can have success fishing with baits using shrimp, yabbies, scrub worms, prawns, sandworms, bardi grubs, maggots, mussels, & chicken. Click here to see our full guide for bait fishing for Bream.
- Blades such as Ecogear VX35 and ZX35, TT Swithprawn, StrikePro cyber vibe
- Shallow and mid diving Cranks such as Jackall Chubby, Breamin 45, Cranka Crank
- Zman slim Swimz
- Zman grubZ
- Cranka crab
- Mussel Vibes
- Clone Prawn
- Berkley powerbait grub
- Damiki Monster Miki 2.5 sp
- Squidge wrigglers
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- EcoGear SX40
- Nories laydown minnow
- Pro lure live Yabby
- OSP bent minnows
Targeting Bream at Hollands Landing
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 imitation, shallow diving cranks, paddle tail soft plastics, curl tail soft plastics, minnow imitations, vibes, and blades. Also, try your luck with surface lures which is an exciting form of fishing with 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 the 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 Estuary Perch at Hollands Landing
Another highlight of fishing in this area is targeting Estuary perch with surface and shallow diving lures. The action can be frantic on warm balmy evenings with low wind. listen for the sound of breaking water which indicates EPs are feeding. The excitement an angler gets from an EP smashing a surface lure on light gear is something that truly needs to be experienced. It almost catches you by surprise when that aggressive strike comes. Small surface poppers, cicadas, blades, surface minnows and pencil lures work well here. So do shallow diving hardbody lures. Noteworthy options include bent minnows, Rapala countdown series, nories laydown minnows and shallow diving cranks. Basically, anything that doesn’t dive too deep and makes a good vibrating action will work well. You can use any colour choice we often start with silvers that mimic small baitfish or mullet.
EPs also respond incredibly well to a whole range of soft plastics lightly weighted. Including curl tails, paddle tails and minnow imitations. The trusty 2.5-inch grubs and minnows are an excellent choice. These imitate small baitfish that the EPs are actively feeding on. We would recommend mixing up the retrieval speeds and pauses and playing around with different colours. Where possible fish along the structure and stay alert for signs such as breaking water. Fishing for Estuary Perch requires finesse. We recommend an ultralight fishing combo consisting of a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo spin rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 1000 or 2000 size reel spooled with 2-8 pound line and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. When bait fishing uses a 2-4 kilo rod around 7 foot in length. Coupled with a 2500 size reel either a float or small running sinker to a swivel and very fine leader.
Targeting Flathead at Hollands Landing
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 an ambush predator that waits in disguise for smaller fish to swim buy 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 for depth drop-offs which is a great location 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 would 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 targeting flathead with bait, we recommend using a paternoster rig or running sinker rig. Use a small ball sinker to swivel, then 50cm of 8-12 leader to a size 6 long shank hook. Good baits choices include pilchards, mussels, squid, chicken, whitebait, Pipis, blue bait and prawns.
Targeting Tailor at Hollands Landing
Tailor is an aggressive predatory fish with sharp teeth that fight hard. They have a similar profile to a salmon and leap out of the water when hooked. They school up in big numbers hunting baitfish in packs and breaking water often a sign that there feeding. You can catch them trolling, casting lures or bait fishing from the banks or surf. Small metal slugs, curl-tail soft plastics, paddle tail soft plastics are great choices. So are full pilchard mullet, blue bait and garfish. Either on a single hook, ganged hooks or even on light wire trace if there cutting through your leaders.
Picking a suitable outfit for tailor can be tricky as they have sharp teeth and can shred your leaders with ease. When fishing in estuary systems we would typically use a 7-foot rod in a 2-4, 3-5 or 4-6 kilo class, paired with a 2500 or 3000 reel spooled with 6-8-pound braid and slightly stronger leader. If you are targeting them in the surf then a long casting surf rod spooled with 14-20 pound braid and equivalent leader would be suitable. Handle them carefully they have sharp teeth that can do some damage. If you’re getting hook-ups but dropping a lot of fish then consider using a stronger leader or light wire trace.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Hollands Landing Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals. Thanks for reading our Hollands Landing Fishing Guide. If you feel this location guide is missing key information or needs any corrections made, then please let us know by emailing our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details in the email. Please also feel free to share any fishing pictures you have from this location with us. Thank you
