Welcome to the Kerferd Pier Fishing guide. The Kerfred road pier was constructed in 1889 and is located in Port Melbourne roughly 20 minutes drive from the CBD. A popular spot with close by cafes and shops. The pier can produce a wide range of species for anglers all year round. It can also provide spectacular Snapper fishing in the summer months. It’s also a popular spot for walkers and cyclists along the adjacent pathways of Port Melbourne and Albert Park.
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In 2019 the heritage-listed Kerferd Pier underwent a 1.75 million dollar upgrade. Approximately 60 per cent of the timber decking was replaced to make the pier structurally safe. New piles, new decking and new handrails, the light poles remain fitted to the timber structure whilst the light fittings have been upgraded to LED. This is expected to extend the life of the pier for the next 25 years. From Kerferd road pier, you will see the adjacent piers in princess pier, Lagoon pier and station pier.
Fishing Kerferd road Pier Port Melbourne
At Kerferd road pier you can catch
- Snapper
- Flathead
- Barracouta/Snook
- Garfish
- Tailor
- Flounder
- Bream
- King George Whiting
- Australian Salmon
- Trevally
- Snot Nose Trevalla
- Gummy sharks
- Mulloway
- Mullet
As the video above highlights, the immediate area is a terrific fishing location. Snapper and Pinkies are probably the most targeted fish species here in summer. When fishing from a pier like this one an all-round rod setup might be a good option allowing you to target multiple species at once. A 3-5 kilo rod with a 3000 size reel spooled with 15-pound braid and equivalent leader is a great starting point. Another good approach is to use a 10-12 foot surf rod paired with a 4000, 5000, or 6000 size reel. Spooled with 20-40 pound line and equivalent leader finished with 5/0 or 6/0 hooks will allow you to cast out far and target snapper, gummy sharks and mulloway.
Good bait choices include pilchards, blue bait, squid, pipis, mussels, maggots, whiting fillets, and raw chicken. Rigs worth considering are a simple running sinker setup and paternoster rigs. They will allow you to cast far and target multiple species. does the trick in this location for many species. Using burley really does help keep the fish around. If you’re targeting large snapper and gummy sharks then a full pilchard or squid head with a size 5/0 or 6/0 Mustad hook is a great way to go.
When bait fishing for snapper and gummy sharks a suitable setup with your surf rod is a Paternoster rig with a heavy sinker attached to cast out far. This gives you 2 separate baits at different heights.
Another great variation is to present 1 full bait with double snelled hooks. This rig is perfect when your target multiple species such as snapper, salmon, mulloway and gummy sharks
If you’re flicking lures then the choices are endless. Our goto choices have been 4-inch jerk shads, grub styles soft plastics, and curl tails. These rigged on a 1/8 or 1/6 ounce jig head is a great combination for snapper and pinkies. Other good options include crab imitations, blades and vibes. When flicking a 3-5 kilo rod with a 3000 size reel spooled with 15-pound braid and equivalent leader is a great starting point. You could also try going ultra-light such as 2-4 kilo capacity coupled with a 2000 size reel. Spool the reel with 6 or 4-pound braid finished with a rod length of 4 pounds or 6 pounds Fluro carbon leader.
Much patience is needed at Kerfred road pier. Especially if you are targeting a bigger fish with heavier gear and big baits. It’s best to follow the tides. The low tide seems to bring good runs of flathead and salmon and the high tide consistently produces a good volume of snapper, pinkies and bream. The hours of first and, last light are good times to fish regardless of the tides. The full moon is often a good time to target mulloway and gummy sharks and the new moon to target snapper. Many of the bigger fish are often caught at night. Only 2 fishing lines permitted, Always carry your Victorian fishing license, and always follow catch limits. Where possible we encourage catch and release. If fishing from a kayak always take the necessary safety precautions and keep your distance from boats. Here is our guide on Kayak safety
It was quite rocky in the shallower edges so reel your lines in quickly to avoid getting snagged. This pier is in a highly-populated area often there are rows of anglers everywhere so the biggest danger will be avoiding line tangles or walking behind someone who is casting, so be wary of those around you.
Things to do in Port Melbourne
Port Melbourne is a stylish township where high rise residential buildings and cafes run along the bay. It’s a great place for dinner with many restaurants along the bay street. You are only a short distance away from the West Gate Bridge, Melbourne CBD. This stretch is very popular with walking, cycling and jogging along the paved walkways along the beach. There are also dog-friendly beaches. A great time to walk along the beach is at sundown. A scenic area is great for photo opportunities. Take the kids for ice cream and play in the sandy beach area. There are many piers along this stretch such as Kerferd road pier, lagoon pier, station pier and princess pier. Due to its deep waters, many large boats will be moored along station pier. Including the spirit of Tasmania, Queen Elizabeth, large shipping vessels and navy vessels.
A short distance away you can take a hot air balloon ride and overlook the bay and piers along Port Melbourne. You can also jump onboard cruise ships that will take you around Port Melbourne, Williamstown, and stretches of the Yarra River. Of course, this area is also well known as a top fishing location around Melbourne. Hence this Kerferd Pier Fishing Guide. Deep waters are easily accessible and wonderful catches of snapper annually.
Port Melbourne is a hotspot for catching juvenile snapper called pinkies. You can catch them in big numbers as this novelty video highlights catching 50 fish in 1 hour using hot dogs as bait.
Places to fish near Kerferd Road Pier
Not far from here you can also try fishing at these destinations
- Lagoon Pier
- Station Pier
- Princess Pier
- Web Dock
- Port Phillip Bay
- St Kilda Pier
- West Gate Bridge
- Altona Pier
Baits Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
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
- squid
- blue bait
- silver whiting
- garfish
- salmon
- raw chicken strips
- prawns
- maggots
- silverfish
- mussels
Lures and soft plastics for Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
- Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
- Daiwa Baitjunkie 5 inch jerk shads
- Berkley gulp turtleback worm
- Savage Gear Fat Curl tails
- Daiwa Bautjunkie 4 inch grubs
- Zman slim Swimz
- Berkley powerbait grub
- Gulp 3 inch minnow
- Daiwa 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 Snapper at Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
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 is 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.
Check out this instructional video guide on how to catch snapper with soft plastics filmed locally in Port Phillip Bay
Targeting Gummy Shark at Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
We would recommend targeting gummy sharks 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 a 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 Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
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 Snook at Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
These toothy critters are fun to catch on light spinning gear. You will find them in shallow weedy waters often a bycatch for those targeting snapper, whiting and flathead. You can catch snook with staple baits such as pilchard, prawn, and squid. However, Snook loves natural-looking soft plastics retrieved at a medium pace including minnows, paddle tails, and grubs. Add scent to the soft plastics really seems to help. Snook also respond well to shallow and mid diving hard body lures in shiny colours retrieved at a medium pace. Metal slugs and blades trolled slowly also work very well. Do handle snook with care as they have razor-sharp teeth. Despite their sharp teeth it’s still best to target them with light gear that you would generally use for pinkies and flathead. We recommend a 2-4 or 3-5 kilo spin rod paired with a 2500 size reel, spooled with 8-12 pound line and leader.
Targeting garfish at Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
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 snout but very small mouth 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, 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 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 Salmon at Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
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 Mulloway at Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
Mulloway AKA Jewfish are a prized catch that sits on the top of many Victorian angler’s bucket list. A stunning fish with a large mouth and distinctive silver or bronze colour. Patience and dedication are required to catch the elusive Mulloway which can reach up to 1.8 meters and 60 kilos. The minimum legal size is 60cm with a daily bag limit of 5 over the legal size. Live baits are a top choice when targeting mulloways such as mullet, salmon, and whiting. Pinning them behind the neck to allow the bait to swim freely. Other staple dead baits can include pilchard, trevally, garfish, prawns, chicken & squid. A running sinker rig to a single 5/0 – 8/0 hook or a double snelled hook to present the bait nicely. Soft plastics between 80mm and 100mm are also a great option. Good options include flick baits, shads, paddle tails and grubz. You can also purchase pre-made rigs and swimbaits which are designed to imitate a fish in its surrounding such as a mullet.
Choosing a Mulloway outfit Recommended gear to target Mulloway 6-10, 10-15 or 12-24 kilo rod paired with a 4000-8000 spin reel spooled with 20-50 pound line and equivalent leader. Mulloway resides near river mouth entrances. They are often caught near structure such as bridges and pylons. Try to present your baits and lures as natural as possible or use live baits. Mulloway can be caught at any time of the day, but are most active at the night, during peak tides and moon phases. We have found that lures are quite productive during the day and bait more productive at night.
Targeting mullet at Kerferd road Pier, Port Melbourne
This is a great location to mullet a bread and butter species that school up in big numbers. They are fun to catch on light spinning gear and a great fish species to introduce beginners to fishing. Mullet respond well to berley, so berley an isolated area with a mix of bread, tuna oil and chook pellets. Good baits include bread, dough, live maggots, pilchard, and prawns. remember that Mullet have small mouth so remember to cut these baits up into small pieces. You can also use soft plastics small minnow and grub style soft plastic with a slow constant retrieve. Scents such as S-Factor or Procure certainly help. Most mullets are quite small therefore 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.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All images and videos shown on the Kerferd Pier Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals. Thanks for reading our Kerferd Pier 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
