Welcome to the Kirk Point Fishing Guide. Kirk Point is located in Port Phillip Bay situated between Geelong and Werribee South. Often also referred to as Point Wilson. This area is shallow but holds good volumes of King George Whiting, squid, flathead and snapper seasonally.
In 2023 Kirks Point took on a major 4 million dollar boat ramp upgrade. This was a massive improvement to the old ramp which was tricky to launch your boat from. The new ramp has 2 paved boat lanes, a fixed jetty, a break wall to shelter you from the wind and weed, night lights, paved parking for cars and trailers, and webcams. It’s great for small boats, jet skis and kayaks, bigger boats should look to launch from Limeburners Point, St Helens in Geelong or Werribee South.
BECOME A FISHINGMAD MEMBER AND UNLOCK ACCESS TO
Workshops | Giveaways | Podcasts | Competitions | Reports | Maps | GPS Marks | Rigging Tutorials | Sounder School | Exclusive Footage | Tackle Talks | Gear Guides | Kayak Club | Much More
Fishing Kirk Point
At Kirks Point, you can seasonally target
- King George Whiting
- Squid
- Flathead
- Snapper
- Gummy sharks
- Australian Salmon
- Garfish
- Leather jackets
- snook
Watch Al from FishingMad catching heaps of fish launching from Kirk Point on his kayak
The immediate area from Kirk Point boat ramp is shallow and weedy. You do need to take care when launching a boat, especially on low tide. However, these shallow weedy grounds are home to great volumes of King Goerge Whiting, Squid, Flathead, Snook and Australian Salmon. As well as snapper and gummy sharks out deeper seasonally.
Good fishing spots in these areas include Long Reef and out further towards the shipping channel. From here you can also head over and fish Avalon, Point Wilson, Limeburners, Geelong or Werribee. In 2021 VFA built 3 major rocks reefs as part of the 35 million dollar funding to improve fishing. These reefs can be found here
Coordinates for Corio Bay Rocky Reefs:
- Merv’s Reef (St Helens): 38° 07.228’ 144° 21.658’
- Moolap Reef: 38° 06.374’ 144° 28.581’
- Wilson’s Reef: 38° 03.436’ 144° 36.588’
You can read more about fishing for snapper by reading our Snapper Fishing Guide this article contains lots of helpful tips to help you catch a big red. This, however, is a year-round fishing destination. Many of the fish species are seasonal so gummy sharks and salmon will be more active in the cooler months and snapper pinkies will be more active in the warmer months. bread and butter species such as squid and flathead can be caught all year round. In Port Phillip Bay you’re likely to come across Snapper ( pinkies ), flathead, whiting, salmon, squid, Gummy sharks, gurnard, snook, mulloway, bream, trevally, garfish, and leather jacket.
Best Baits Fishing Kirk Point
Our bait recommendations at Kirk Point include staple baits you can pick up from most tackle stores including pipis, and pilchard. Fresh baits such as squid, salmon, and garfish are also great options. The are several ways to present baits including a dropper rig, paternoster rig, or running sinker rig. The rig choice will be dependent on the species you are targeting and the conditions such as wind and tidal strength. Where possible fish with as little weight.
- pipis
- squid
- pilchard
- blue bait
- silver whiting
- garfish
- salmon
- raw chicken strips
- prawns
- mussels
Best Lures and Soft Plastics for Kirk Point
Fishing with soft plastics can be very productive around Kirk Point. Just keep in mind that it is very shallow and weedy so it’s best to use a light jig head. Im often fish mostly with a 1/12 or if the current is up as heavy as 1/8. When targeting King George Whiting ill often also run an assist hook or stinger which can really increase catch rates. In summer the area can be plagued with small pinkies which we refer to as pink piranhas. In these situations, it’s a good idea to increase the soft plastic to something bigger.
Here are the plastics we have had the most success with.
- Berkley gulp turtleback worm
- 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
- 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
Rod, Reel, and line setup for Kirk Point
There are many options and it depends on the species that you’re targeting. For bread and butter species such as flathead and king George whiting a 2-4 or 3-5 kilo rod that’s around 7 foot in length coupled with 2000, 2500 or 3000 size reel spooled with 8-15 pound line and equivalent leader. You can also use a similar outfit when targeting squid however you may choose to go to a slighter longer rod and a slighter heavier line and leader.
When targeting snapper a rod between 7 and 8 feet in 4-7 kilo class is perfect. Coupled with a 3000, 4000, or 5000 size reel spooled with a 15-30 pound monofilament line. Bait runners are an excellent choice for snapper fishing and should be an item you consider. When rigging for snapper go with single or double-snelled size 5 or 6 hooks. You can fish these with a very small sinker or completely unweighted. Often I will use pre-made rigs and simply run a very small size 1 ball sinker on the inside of the leader. This would also be a suitable outfit for targeting small gummy sharks. However, if you are chasing a bigger model gummy shark then we would recommend a heavier outfit. Perhaps a 7 foot 10-15 kilo rod spooled with 20-50 line and equivalent leader.
Whiting fishing at Kirk Point
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 everything you need to know to catch whiting.
Squid fishing at Kirk Point
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 sizes 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 Snapper at Kirk Point
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.
Targeting Gummy Shark at Kirk Point
We would recommend targeting a 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 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 Kirk Point
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 by 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 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 baits choices include pilchards, mussels, squid, chicken, whitebait, Pipis, blue bait, and prawns.
Targeting Salmon at Kirk Point
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.
Targeting Snook at kirk Point
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. Adding 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.
Thank you for visiting the Kirk Point 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
