Welcome to the Beaumaris Jetty Fishing Guide. Beaumaris is a vibrant township 20 kilometers from the Melbourne CBD. There is a small jetty along beach road which offers good year-round fishing. This area produces good numbers of garfish and squid offerings in seasonal parts of the year. It’s a great year-round fishing location offering a whole range of species to target. Parking near the jetty is only available for members of the yacht club. So parking can be a little tricky you will generally find available spots in surrounding side streets which isn’t too far of a walk.
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Things to do at Beaumaris
A popular thing to do near Beamuris jetty is to visit the closeby Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. With many shallow rock pools, it’s an awesome way for the family to explore some sea creatures such as zebrafish and Port Jackson sharks. This area is patrolled by Beaumaris Life Saving Club, making it a fun and adventurous location for a swim. You can go for a stroll along Moysey walk, long hollow heathland, or Balcombe park. When on the jetty kids will need to be closely supervised when fishing on Beaumaris jetty as there is a decent drop and the jetty can be slippery with anglers often casting quite close to each other. I have seen people accidentally hook others when casting without looking behind them, this is a narrow pier so always be careful of those around you.
Fishing at Beaumaris Jetty
This is a small jetty surrounded by weeds and reefs. When fishing on the Beaumaris Jetty you can expect to catch garfish, squid, whiting, salmon, snapper, flathead, mullet and some pest species such as toadfish and banjo sharks. Often there are rows of fishermen so be wary of those around you. When targeting bigger species such as snapper good bait options will include squid strips, mussels, pilchard, blue bait, silver whiting, and raw chicken strips. You will also have more success finding snapper and salmon casting out from the end of the jetty. If you targeting smaller species such as garfish then any spots along the jetty will work using maggots, silverfish, mealworms, small pieces of prawn, bread/dough, and chicken as good bait options.
Selecting your fishing gear can be quite tricky as there are many different species to target. The smaller species such as whiting and garfish need light delicate rod setups. Whilst snapper and salmon schools will require heavier gear. This might be a great spot to take a general-purpose rod and try your luck. Allowing you to quickly change rigs and baits.
Beaumaris Jetty is a very popular spot to target garfish. There are plenty of these mini marlins in this area that fire up between tide changes. A quill float and a small size 10 or size 12 hook, and a light nibble tip rod are a great starting spots. Remember to also berley the area very heavily which will bring the garfish in and keep them biting. You will find many gars towards the start of the jetty in the thick weedy areas.
Watch this step by step guide on how to catch garfish with FishingMad
Squid is a popular species to target at Beaumaris Jetty. The area is surrounded by weed beds making a great ecosystem for local squid. You can learn more about targeting squid here by reading our detailed guide on How to catch squid around Melbourne. You can catch squid here during the day and night. An egi rod between 7.5 foot and 9 foot in length is ideal and there are plenty of egi rods on the market fit for purpose. I have found myself fishing with an 8 foot 3-inch rod paired with a 3000 size reel with great success. Squid jigs are prone to snags in this area, and we have found that using slow sinking jigs in the smaller size of 2.5 and 3.0-gram jigs will help avoid this problem.
This spot will fish during the tide change. So check the tide times before fishing. Often your session will fire upon the peak of each tide. Squid fishing is often at its best here during the winter months.
Baits Beaumaris Jetty
- pilchard
- pipis
- glacies
- blue bait
- silver whiting
- salmon
- raw chicken strips
- prawns
- maggots
- squid
- mussels
Lures and soft plastics for Beaumaris Jetty
Check out this instructional video guide on how to catch snapper with soft plastics filmed locally in Port Phillip Bay
- Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
- Zman slim Swimz
- Daiwa Baitjunkie 5 inch jerk shads
- Berkley gulp turtleback worm
- Savage Gear Fat Curl tails
- Daiwa Bautjunkie 4 inch grubs
- Berkley powerbait grub
- Gulp 3 inch minnow
- Dawia Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
- Zman grubZ
- eco gear ZX40
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- EcoGear SX40
- Squidges biotough grub
- Zman StreakZ
- Munroes 3.75 inch paddle tails
- Kietech swim impact fat
- Zerek fish trap
- Samaki Vibelicious
Targeting garfish at Beaumaris Jetty
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 very small mouths so the key to catching them is to use very small size hooks. Small long shanks between size 10 and size 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 a very important tool when targeting garfish, You can purchase premade berley pellets or powder from your local tackle shop or make your own use of 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 foot in length Paired with a 1000, 2000 or 25000 size reel spooled with 4-6 lb line will be a great choice.
Targeting Squid at Beaumaris Jetty
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. We recommend reading our detailed guide on How to catch squid around Melbourne. An egi rod between 7.5 feet and 9 feet in length is ideal and there are plenty of egi rods on the market fit for 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 size 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 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.
Check out this instructional video guide on how to squid filmed locally in Port Phillip Bay
Targeting Whiting at Beaumaris Jetty
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 whiting masterclass as we guide you through everything you need to know to catch whiting.
Targeting Salmon at Beaumaris Jetty
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 their weight. When hooked they produce strong bursts of speed, powerful runs, vigorous head shakes. Do keep an eye out for gutters which are patches of deeper water which Salmon will swim through in schools. These can be identified by a darker colour of the water.
When bait fishing pick a surf rod between 12-15 foot in length which allows for long casts with heavy sinkers and to keep 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 what weight lures you are likely to be casting. We would recommend rods between 9-12 foot in length in 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 Snapper at Beaumaris Jetty
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 great. Good bait options include pilchards, silver whiting, squid, and salmon. When it comes to soft plastics, a 7 foot 3-6 kilo rod paired with a 3000 size reel great. 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.
Targeting Flathead at Beaumaris Jetty
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 by for 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 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 are targeting flathead with bait, we recommend using a paternoster rig or 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.
Targeting Salmon at Beaumaris Jetty
Salmon are powerful sports fish that school up in big numbers. They punch well above their weight and when hooked produce strong bursts of speed, powerful runs, and vigorous head shakes. Keep an eye for gutters which are patches of deeper water that Salmon will swim through in schools. These can be identified by the darker color of the water. Salmon will happily take a range of soft plastics, lures, and baits. Including 3 and 4-inch soft plastics and long-casting metal spoons. You can target them with light spinning gear such as a 2-4 kilo rod and 2500-size reel. However, if you are targeting them land-based on the beach or surf then you will likely jump up to a 5-10 kilo rod that’s between 9-12 feet in length paired with a 3000-size reel spooled with 15-pound braid.
Check out this instructional video guide on how to catch salmon on soft plastics. Crazy action in this one.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Beaumaris Jetty Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.
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