Welcome to the Lorne Artillery Rocks Fishing Guide. The Lorne Artillery Rocks is a wonder along the great ocean road beyond the popular township of Lorne. A stunning drive with epic views but it’s not the easiest location to find with poor signage. Once you locate it walk down the stairs to the fishing spot. A natural rock formation is likely caused by volcanic rock. It’s a beautiful scenic location but it’s a tough spot to fish with crashing waves, and a slippery rocky surface this spot is renowned for exceptional salmon fishing.

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Things to do at Lorne

Lorne is a very popular holiday destination with plenty of outdoor activities for the family. There are many clean beaches including the main beach which is monitored by the local life-saving club, then there is Scotchman’s hill beach and Shelly beach. Then you can explore Lorne’s natural beauty and wonders with some amazing waterfalls including Erskine Falls, Won Wondah falls, Henderson falls, Phantom falls, Sheoak falls & Cumberland falls. There are plenty of beautiful scenic walks including Teddy’s lookout, Queens park walk, St Georges river walks, Stony Creek walk, and the historic bridge walk. There are also many places perfect for a picnic or BBQ.

Lorne is also well known for the great ocean road which was finished in 1932. A 243-kilometer winding road carefully built between hillsides and surf beaches is a true wonder of Victoria. Starting from Torquay and finishing near Warnambool. Along the journey, you will pass beautiful beaches, remarkable lookouts, vibrant townships, waterfalls, and light towers, and finish near the 12 apostles.

Fishing Lorne Artillery Rocks

At the Lorne Artillery rocks, you can catch

  • Australian Salmon
  • Mullet
  • King George Whiting
  • barracoota
  • snapper
  • gummy sharks

The primary target will be salmon during the colder months and snapper in the warmer months. We highly recommend reading our detailed guide on Salmon fishing.  When fishing with bait we highly recommend using a rod between 10 and 15 feet. This will give you ample casting distance off the rocks. The rig choice should be a paternoster rig with a heavy star sinker to cast far out as possible with a full blue bait or pilchard as a great starting choice for bait. This is also a great spot for casting lures. A 9 to 12-foot rod will allow you to cast metal lures at great distances. Long-casting metal lures such as Savage Gear Missile, Halco twisty are a great choice when targeting Salmon.

When bait fishing pick a surf rod between 12-15 feet in length which allows for long casts with heavy sinkers and keeps your lines high above the crashing surf. These will be 6-10 kilo class. We recommend a Paternoster rig with a star sinker. Giving you 2 baits at different heights. You could also attach a surf popper above.

Leave the family in town, this is not a friendly or safe place to take the kids fishing. This can be a dangerous spot to fish and you must be very cautious at the peak of high tide to avoid crashing waves and ensure you’re able to move around safely. The rocks can get slippery, especially when casting heavy baits and long casting lures. Wasps can also be a big problem when leaving exposed baits.

 

Baits Lorne Artillery Rocks

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.

Bait Choices

  • pilchard
  • pipis
  • blue bait
  • silver whiting
  • salmon
  • prawns
  • squid

Lures and soft plastics for Lorne Artillery Rocks

Soft Plastics

  • Savage Gear Missile
  • Halco twisty
  • Ecogear Teibo
  • JM Gilles pilchard baitfish
  • Rapala X-Rap SXR
  • Lazer spoons
  • Zman slim swimz
  • trick swimz
  • Halco laser pro
  • Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
  • Berkley gulp turtleback worm
  • Savage Gear Fat Curl tails
  • Daiwa Bautjunkie 4 inch grubs
  • Zman slim Swimz
  • Berkley powerbait grub
  • Daiwa Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
  • Zman grubZ

Targeting Salmon at Lorne

Salmon

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 Lorne

Snapper

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 Lorne

Gummy Shark

We would recommend targeting gummy sharks with a 7 foot 8-15 kilo rod paired with a 4000 to 6000 size reel spooled with a 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 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 Whiting at Lorne

Whiting

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 whiting masterclass as we guide you through everything you need to know to catch whiting.

Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Lorne Artillery Rocks Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals. Thank you for visiting the Lorne Artillery Rocks 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