Welcome to the Curdies River Fishing Guide. The Curdies River is located in the Ottaway region of Victoria near Tandarook. The system flows through local farmlands and feeds of the Peterborough coastal reserve and stretches for 66 kilometres. This is an interesting fishing location that offers estuary fishing and holds a healthy number of bream and estuary perch. You will also catch Australian salmon, luderick and trevally. As you move up the river it also excellent freshwater fishing in the upper reaches for trout and redfin.
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The river over the years has had challenges with water depth. Sections historically have been blocked off from shallow bars with high weed vegetations but local groups have worked hard to improve this as part of the river health program. Because of this, its become a great fishing destination for kayaks and vessels that can handle shallow waters.
Things to do at Curdies River
Nearby attractions include the twelve apostles a collection of limestone rocks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park along the Great Ocean Road. For many years they have been a popular tourist attraction. Close by you also have fishing destinations with Port Campbell
The major closet township is Warnambool which is a great place to take the family for a few day stay. In winter there is whale watching, clean beaches, swimming, good accommodation, scenic views and a vibrant town with cafes and restaurants. Nearby attractions include the Lake pertrobe playgrounds, bay of islands spectacular scenic formation the 12 apostles historic rocks, Warnambool botanic gardens, Warnabmool art gallery, Warnambool racetrack and an amazing coastline full of fishing opportunities and Logans beach for whale sightings.
Fishing Curdies River
Because of the changing river depth, the most productive spots have been towards the river mouth. Here you will find good numbers of bream and schools of small salmon. As you move up the river it becomes freshwater where you can target trout and redfin.
The fish can be quite finicky and it does take some time to work out what type of lures, soft plastics, crab imitations or surface lures will work on the day. There is also plenty of land-based fishing with accessible river banks. Here you can target bream, estuary perch, and mullet with shrimp, yabbies, scrub worms, prawns, sandworms, maggots, mussels, & chicken. Click here to see our full guide for bait fishing for Bream.
However many will be fishing this area with lures and soft plastics on light gear. Targeting the edges, bridges and any areas with noticeable drop-offs or structures. Even rolling crank and hard body lure in open water can be effective here. 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. Options include imitation crabs, grub style soft plastics, minnow style soft plastics, shallow diving hard body lures, blades and vibes.
The choice of lures is almost endless to make things easier we created a detailed video on the best lures and how to use them.
Recommended baits Curdies River
- yabbies
- Scrub worms
- sandworms
- maggots
- mussels
- bardi grubs
- pilchards
- prawns
Recommended lures and soft plastics Curdies River
- Cranka crab
- Zman slim Swimz
- Berkley powerbait grub
- Damiki Monster Miki 2.5 sp
- Jackall Chubby
- Savage Gear Fathead Crank
- Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
- Gulp 3 inch minnow
- Dawia Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
- Zman grubZ
- Squidge wrigglers
- eco gear ZX40
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- EcoGear SX40
- Squidges biotough grub
- Nories laydown minnow
- StrikePro cyber vibe
- Pro lure live yabby
- OSP bent minnows
Targeting Bream at Curdies River
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 structure 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.
We recommend watching our guide on great lures to catch bream.
Targeting Estuary Perch at Curdies River
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 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 with 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 foot 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.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Curdies River Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.
Thanks for reading our Curdies River 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
