Welcome to the Lake Tyers Fishing Guide. Lake Tyers is a diverse fishing system located a 4 1/2 hours drive from Melbourne, in east Gippsland about 20klm northeast of Lakes entrance. The Gippsland region stretches from East Melbourne to the New South Wales border. Gippsland is around 42,000 square kilometres home to 14 National Parks. It’s a scenic destination, the entrance surrounded by lush sand, crashing waves, and housing along the rolling hills whilst the rivers are a labyrinth of arms that travel for kilometres.
Lake Tyers is renowned as one of the best fisheries for large flathead in Victoria with flathead up to a meter in size not uncommon and a prized catch. It also holds a healthy number of bream and other estuary species including tailor, garfish, trevally, mullet and King George whiting. A great fishing location for land-based anglers, kayakers and boats. With stunning views a spot where ocean waves are separated by a small sand bar to the estuary. When the mouth opens it can also be a prime spot for catching prawns.
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Watch our feature video of fishing at Lake Tyers
Things to do at Lake Tyers
East Gippsland is a beautiful location surrounded by beaches, lakes and rivers. It’s truly a magnificent location for those who love the outdoors, camping, scenic views, mountainside walks and recreational water activities. Close by there is a good range of shops, cafes, restaurants and accommodation including Lake Tyers Caravan Park which is only a 2-minute drive to Lake Tyers boat ramp. There are many playgrounds for the kids including Patterson Park. Nearby attractions include the Lakes entrance beach, Buchan caves, Footbridge mini golf centre, Art gallery, Wyanga Park winery, Lakes entrance boat cruises and fishing charters, Griffiths seashell museum, and Raymond Island. Nearby townships include Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Bairnsdale and Metung.
Fishing Lake Tyers
At Lake Tyers, you can target
- Bream
- Dusky Flathead
- Estuary Perch
- Poddy Mullet
- Trevally
- Tailor
- Australian Salmon
- Piny Snapper
- King George Whiting
- Mullet
- Luderick
Lake Tyers is a beautiful fishing destination and offers great fishing for land-based anglers as well as boats and kayaks. Lake Tyers is the mecca of flathead fishing. With regular catches of dusky flathead up to a meter in size. Read our detailed guide on how to catch Dusky Flathead here. These big fish are growing in numbers and popularity and will reside in the shallows, typically less than 2 meters deep. It’s also a great fishery for bream, luderick, tailor, leather jacket, trevally, estuary perch, whiting, poddy mullet and mullet. Nearby areas are also considered great fishing destinations such as Lakes Entrance and Marlo.
The choice of bream lures is almost endless to make things easier read our guide on the best lures to catch bream.
The Lake is huge and separates into many individual channels and arms including Fisherman’s landing arm, blackfellows arm, Toorloo arm, Nowa Nowa, Reedy’s arm and Cameron’s arm. Each of these channels and arms has unique fishing characteristics which can take some time to master. There are several areas where you can launch your boat or kayak at Lake Tyers. The main boat ramp is located off Lakeside Drive which has a good ramp and parking facilities. You can also launch at Fishermans Landing off Mill Point Road which also has good launching and parking facilities. There is also a launching facility of Nowa Nowa but this has not been possible to use recently due to water levels Likewise with ramp 2 close to town.
Toorloo and Nowa Nowa are the 2 main divided estuary systems that eventually connect and head out to sea. Flathead is best targeted in the warmer months towards the bottom reaches of the estuary, whilst in the cooler months, they will migrate closer to the mouth entrance. The longer Nowa Nowa arm is the best spot to target estuary perch amount with a high volume of the structure, particularly in the warmer months. You will need to give consideration to what your target species is when picking a fishing outfit. For the most part, light fishing gear will serve you well here, but you do risk getting busted off by a large flathead, tailor or poddy mullet.
Poddy Mullet are fascinating species within Lake Tyers. They congregate in massive numbers and continually leap out of the water and put on an aerial display. They are however very tricky to catch and will frequently swim right past a well-presented bait or lure. When you do catch one hold on as the fight is quite epic. For land base fishing fisherman’s landing jetty on the way to Mill Point is a wonderful option. A well-designed jetty with ample parking and rod holders well constricted into the jetty. Here you often see massive schools of poddy mullet swimming by and does present good catches of flathead tailor and bream. Other good land-based fishing options include along the banks at Mill Point, especially for Bream, near the overhanging power lines and the top end of Nowa Nowa.
Lake Tyers Artificial Fishing Reefs
There are 4 artificial reefs scattered around Lake Tyers. Three of the reefs are situated in the bottom lake and a fourth is situated out from Mill Point in the Toorloo Arm. including
Rod & Reel Setup for Lake Tyers
There are multiple different target species at this location, all of which require quite different setups. For bream with lures and soft plastics, we recommend a light spinning outfit. A 1-3kg or 2-4kg spin rod around 7 feet in length paired with 1000, 2000 spin reel spooled with a 4-8 lb braid and finished with a 1-rod length of 3 or 5 lb fluorocarbon leader. Join the braid and fluoro using an FG, double uni or your preferred knot. Some tournament anglers may choose to fish with straight-through fluoro for extra finesse. The range of rods and reels on the market is massive, and the budgets vary greatly, so pick something to match your skill level and budget.
For dusky flathead, we recommend 3-6 kilo spin rods paired with a 2500 size reel spooled with 10-15lb braid and 8-15lb fluorocarbon leader. If you’re casting bigger and heavier lures such as swimbaits and glidebaits, then an M MH baitcast paired with a 150 baitcast reel spooled with a 20lb braid and 15-20lb fluorocarbon leader. I’ve also caught many dusky flatheads on bream gear as bycatch. In these situations, don’t panic. Just work the fish slowly.
If you are fishing with bait, a 2-4 kg rod paired with a 2500-size reel spooled with a 6-10 lb line would be a great starting option. Beginners can go a little heavier with a 3-5 kg rod.
Best baits fishing Lake Tyers
Prawns are often the go-to bait of choice around the Gippsland region. Various other baits like sandworms and maggots will also work very well. 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. Ideally using the smallest sinker you can.
- garfish
- prawns
- pilchards
- yabbies
- scrub worms
- sandworms
- maggots
- mussels
- live baits work well in this system
Best lures and soft plastics fishing Lake Tyers
The volume of soft plastics and lures to choose from these is almost endless. Lightly weighted soft plastics like 2.5-inch grubs and paddle tails are an outstanding choice as well as shallow diving hard body lures, surface lures and crab and yabbie imitations.
- Cranka Crabs
- Mussel Vibes
- OSP bent minnows
- Soft plastics such as Zman grubZ, Zman slim Swimz, Berkley powerbait grub, Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5-inch grub, Squidge wriggles, Damiki Monster Miki 2.5 sp
- Shallow diving hardbody lures such as Jackall Chubby, Breamin 45, Daiwa Double Clutch, Atomic cranks, Savage Gear Fathead Crank
- Blades such as EcoGear VX range, TT Switchblades, Berkley big eye blades
- Yabby imitations such as Pro lure live Clone prawn, Zman TRD Craw
- Vibes
You can catch dusky flatheads using the soft plastics and lures above but you may also consider bigger soft plastics, glide baits, and swimbaits.
Places to fish near Lake Tyers
Not far from here, you can also try fishing at these destinations
- Bemm River
- Lakes Entrance
- Tanboon Inlet
- Marlo
- Broadribb River
- Metung
- Hollands Landing
- Mallacoota
- Mitchell River
Flathead fishing at Lake Tyers
Please note the legal size and catch limits for Dusky Flathead typically caught in the East Gippsland region from Lake Tyers to Mallacoota Inlet. Minimum legal size 30cm – Maximum legal size 55cm – Bag Limit of 5 between 30 and 55cm. For regulation purposes, any flathead caught in Lake Tyers or any estuary east of Lake Tyers will be considered to be a dusky flathead.
Flathead grow to huge sizes in Lake Tyers and they are widespread from the entrance through all the arms. 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 targeting flathead with bait, we recommend using a paternoster rig or running sinker rig. Use 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.
Bream Fishing at Lake Tyers
Lake Tyers is full of big bream scattered across the entire system. Both near the entrance and along all the arms. 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 a 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 resides within structures 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 a 6-pound line. We would encourage you to read our detailed guide on Bait fishing for Bream.
Garfish fishing at Lake Tyers
Garfish are in massive numbers near the entrance of Lake Tyers and some really good size ones too. There is 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 feet in length Paired with a 1000, 2000 or 25000 size reel spooled with 4-6 lb line will be a great choice.
Catching Prawns at Lake Tyers
Lake Tyers is an awesome spot to target prawns especially when the mouth has opened taking in a heap of saltwater which oxygenates the system. We like to target gars here with waders in the evenings walking around with an underwater night light and deep reach net. This is a fun thing to do and is great eating and great bait for big dusky flathead and bream. Great spots to target them are near the mouth opposite the local caravan park and pub. You can park right in front and then walk the banks. In 2023 the volume of prawns at the entrance was amazing with local anglers and visitors catching them by the bucket loads. It’s a must-do activity with the family and kids.
Targeting Estuary Perch at Lake Tyers
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 are 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 feet in length. Coupled with a 1000 or 2000 size reel spooled with a 2-8 pound line and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. When bait fishing uses a 2-4 kilo rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 2500 size reel either a float or small running sinker to a swivel and very fine leader.
Targeting Tailor at Lake Tyers
Tailor is an aggressive predatory fish with sharp teeth that fight hard. They have a similar profile to a salmon and leap out of the water when hooked. They school up in big numbers hunting baitfish in packs and breaking water often a sign that there feeding. You can catch them trolling, casting lures or bait fishing from the banks or surf. Small metal slugs, curl-tail soft plastics, and paddle-tail soft plastics are great choices. So is full pilchard mullet, blue bait and garfish. Either on a single hook, ganged hooks or even on light wire trace if there cutting through your leaders. Picking a suitable outfit for a tailor can be tricky as they have sharp teeth and can shred your leaders with ease. When fishing in estuary systems we would typically use a 7-foot rod in a 2-4, 3-5 or 4-6 kilo class, paired with a 2500 or 3000 reel spooled with 6-8-pound braid and slightly stronger leader. If you are targeting them in the surf then a long casting surf rod spooled with 14-20 pound braid and equivalent leader would be suitable. Handle them carefully they have sharp teeth that can do some damage. If you’re getting hook-ups but dropping a lot of fish then consider using a stronger leader or light wire trace.
Targeting Poddy Mullet at Lake Tyers
Poddy Mullet are a fascinating species. The school up in massive numbers and grow up to 75cm in length. They frequently jump out of the water and create an amazing spectacle for onlooking anglers. They are a dream to catch as they are strong, fast and like steam trains go on massive bursts of big runs of energy. The fascination for the species is how to catch them. I have seen schools of thousands of poddy mullet swim right past a well-presented bait or lure right in front of them. However, we have had some success using small paddle tail and grub soft plastics with scent applied. Catching them with light spinning gear is great fun and they will put your reel through its paces.
Targeting Trevally at Lake Tyers
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, white bait, 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 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 fine 8-12-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader.
Targeting Whiting at Lake Tyers
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.
Lake Tyers Map
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Lake Tyers Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals. Thanks for reading our Lake Tyers 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
