Fishing locations Mornington Pier located along Schnapper point drive in Mornington. It was originally built back in 1850 and today offers locals a vast array of fishing species to target all year round making it an excellent land based fishing destination. The pier had a 15 million dollar facelift in 2015 but was shut down with lengthy delays in 2017 after storm damage made the pier unsafe to use. The pier is very popular for walkers, photographers, and scuba divers.
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FISH SPECIES TO TARGET
squid, whiting, salmon, snapper, silver trevally, leather jacket, rays, garfish
BEST BAITS AND LURES
If bait fishing we would recommend pilchard, blue bait, silver whiting, raw chicken strips and squid tentacles. You can fish with a range of soft plastics which is effective on pinkies and flathead.
When targeting squid a whole range of long casting squid jigs can be used. Click here to see our detailed guide on how to catch squid.
ROD SETUP
If your chasing squid then a light 8 foot rod with several squid jigs is the go to option. For other fishing a medium to light surf rod between 8 to 10 foot. Your 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 user 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
MOST PRODUCTIVE TIMES
Fishing dawn or dusk on the incoming high tide will be your best chance especially when the wind is chopping up a little. Locals have reported that the best fishing is during the summer and autumn months.
FAMILY FRIENDLY
This is a beautiful spot with surrounding beaches and rock pools but the kids will need to be closely supervised when on the pier.
KNOWN HAZARDS
Many rods being cast in a condensed area so be mindful of others casting around you