Welcome to the Flinders Pier Fishing Guide. Flinders Pier is located roughly 1 hour and 25 minutes or 100 kilometers away from Melbourne along the Mornington Peninsula. The pier is 250 meters long overlooking Western Port, Phillip Island, and the Bass straight. Flinders is a charming township with beautiful scenic views. The township got its name from the explorer Matthew Flinders who was one of the first settlers in the immediate area in 1854. The township now has amazing fishing opportunities and a big reputation for squid. Thanks to a recent 2 million dollar major renovation back in 2010 this pier has become a top-quality fishing location. With crystal clear waters, weed beds, and fishing in roughly 6 meters deep water it offers a vast array of fishing species to target and an excellent land-based location for targeting squid.
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Things to do at Flinders Mornington Peninsula
This is a beautiful spot with surrounding beaches and rock pools. This is a popular destination for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving. Weedy sea dragons have been heavily featured in this area within the weed beds underneath the pier. Port Jackson sharks can be spotted. The immediate area has toilet facilities and ample parking is available in front of the pier. The kids will need to be closely supervised when on the pier.
Flinders is a bright small seaside township along the Mornington Peninsula. The town has cafes, a bakery, boutique shops, cottages, a golf course, and breathtaking views. The township is quite small however it’s very popular and has a high property market value. The beach is popular for swimmers and snorkelers. With Port Jackson sharks are a common encounter for snorkelers. There are many great walking trails for those to get some exercise and take in the stunning views. The Flinders golf course is very unique with many holes carved around beachfront and cliff faces. The course too has stunning views overlooking western port and bass straight and is certainly a course worthy of travel. Then there is the pier which is a major drawcard. The recent renovation makes it an excellent fishing destination.
In the not too far distance, you have the Peninsula hot springs, wineries, lighthouses, championship golf courses, maze and gardens, adventure playgrounds and much more. The Mornington Penisula is a great destination for families with many activities to suit everyone in the family. Nearby townships include Cape Schnack, Rye, Sorrento, and many more.
Watch us fishing the Mornington Peninsula and Flinders pier.
Fishing at Flinders Pier
At Flinder Pier you can catch
- Squid
- Whiting
- Salmon
- Wrasse
- Barracouta
- Pike/Snook
- Snapper
- Trevally,
- Leather jacket,
- Port Jackson sharks/Rays
Flinders pier has a great reputation for quality squid fishing. The whole pier is surrounded by weedy vegetation which makes amazing grounds for large squid. It does take some time to master fishing here. You’re also likely to catch whiting, salmon, wrasse, barracouta, pike, snapper, trevally, leather jacket, port Jackson sharks, and rays. For these fish, we would recommend using the following baits pilchards, blue bait, silver whiting, raw chicken, and squid. Some of our most memorable catches have been very golden trevally and large squid.
You will catch many small fish such as leather jackets but need to be prepared for the odd large fish such as a Trevally, snapper, or Shark. Often I will use a running sinker rig to a swivel and 50cm of strong leader finished with a Pilchard tail or small squid head. If you chasing pinkies then a paternoster rig with raw chicken breast will fish very well. Soft plastics are a great option to use at Flinders Pier. We would recommend lightly weighted curl tails paddle tails and minnow imitations. These will allow you to target multiple species of fish. These can fish cast out into open water or fish hard up against the pier.
Squid is the most targeted species at Flinders pier and for good reason. 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 using slow sinking jigs in the smaller size of 2.5 and 3.0-gram jigs will help avoid this problem. Fishing at dawn or dusk on the incoming high tide will be your best chance especially when the wind is chopping up a little
Baits Flinders Pier
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.
- pilchard
- pipis
- blue bait
- silver whiting
- salmon
- raw chicken strips
- prawns
- maggots
- squid
- mussels
Lures and soft plastics for Flinders Pier
Check out this instructional video guide on how to catch snapper with soft plastics
- 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
Here are some suggestions on the best flathead lures and soft plastics
Targeting Squid at Flinders Pier
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 Flinders Pier
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 25-minute whiting masterclass as we guide you through on everything you need to know to catch whiting.
Targeting Salmon at Flinders Pier
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.
Targeting Snapper at Flinders Pier
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 Gummy Shark at Flinders Pier
We would recommend targeting gummy shark 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 to single or double snelled rig or paternoster rig. You can use an Ezi rig attaching a sinker to the clip and then tying 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 Flathead at Flinders Pier
We encourage you to read our detailed guide on How to catch Flathead. Flathead is a year-round prospect which 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 your 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 baits choices include pilchards, mussels, squid, chicken, whitebait, Pipis, blue bait and prawns.
Targeting Trevally at Flinders Pier
Trevally pound for pound is one of the best fighting fish. In certain parts of Australia surface popping for Giant Trevally is one of the bucket list fishing experiences that you must tick off. However, in Victoria, you will mainly be catching the much smaller silver trevally. Good bait options include blue bait, whitebait, raw chicken, pilchards, pippies, squid and mussels. Trevally will also take a range of soft plastics including worm and minnow imitations, small surface poppers, and small metal spoons.
We recommend targeting trevally with a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 2000, or 2500 reel spooled with 4-8-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. If there are larger trevally in the area then you can go heavier moving up the scale to a 3-5 kilo class spin rod spooled with a fine 8-12-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader.
Flinders can be a very windy destination. Gale force winds from where the bass straight meet western port can blow directly on those fishing and walking the pier. Make sure you check weather conditions before fishing. Also, there are often many rods being cast in a condensed area so be mindful of others casting around you
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All images and videos shown on the Flinders Pier Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.
Thank you for visiting the Flinders Pier Fishing Guide. If you feel this location guide is missing any 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. Thank you