Sorrento pier

Welcome to the Sorrento Pier Fishing Guide. The Sorrento pier is a historic pier built way back in 1870 within the Mornington peninsula located towards the end of the esplanade. Mornington is a great place for a weekend getaway strolling the beaches, swimming, diving or camping. It’s also an amazing sight to see the massive spider crab migration that generally happens around Autumn. You’ll also see the massive Ferry which transports people and cars from Sorrento to Queenscliff. Its become a popular fishing destination too and a great spot for targeting whiting.  The pier is long and allows anglers to fish in relatively deep waters.

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Things to do at Sorrento

Sorrento is a popular destination along the Mornington Peninsula next to popular townships such as Rye, Rosebud and Portsea. The beaches are often packed with people swimming, kayaking and snorkelling. There are terrific walks along the cliffside to take in the multi-million dollar houses overlooking the ocean and playgrounds for the kids. It’s a beautiful spot with surrounding beaches, rock pools, ocean views and plenty of photo opportunities. There is available parking, toilets, shops, parks, BBQs and cafes. It’s also a spot to catch the renowned ferry to the Bellarine peninsula. It’s the direct entrance to Port Phillip and the township is surrounded by the ocean. The town has lots of character with lovely beach fronts, historic shop fronts, restaurants and cafes many overlooking the harbour.

At night snorkelling is a great option to encounter squid, octopus, sea dragons, crabs and stingrays. There are also local charter boats ready to take you out for a day’s fishing. Not too far away includes a scenic walk or bike ride of the point Nepean trial to see the further point of the Mornington Peninsula. There is also a championship golf course. In the not too far distance, you have the Peninsula hot springs, wineries, lighthouses, championship golf courses, maze and gardens, adventure playgrounds and much more. The Mornington Penisula is a great destination for families with many activities to suit everyone in the family. Nearby townships include Cape Schnack, Rye, & Sorrento.

Fishing Sorrento Pier

Sorrento pier is a great fishing destination but also the spot to access the large ferry which will take you across to Queenscliff. Because the ferry is docked here it means that you can access channels with deep waters. On the pier, you can target multiple species including whiting, squid, cuttlefish, snapper, salmon, trevally, flathead, wrasse, garfish, slimy mackerel and leather jackets. The pier has strong currents in this area and it can be difficult to bait fish here on peak tides. The area has plenty of weed beds which makes a great ecosystem for squid, cuttlefish and octopus and will also be welcome bycatch when targeting squid. The fishing for squid can be exceptional during the night and the pier is often full of anglers during the dark. You can learn more about targeting squid here by reading our detailed guide on How to catch squid at Portsea Pier We have done exceptionally well here on dawn and dusk using black and white coloured squid jigs.

If you are chasing squid then a light fishing rod between 7.5 feet and 9 feet in length is ideal. There are plenty of egi rods on the market fit for purpose. I have found myself fishing with a 7 foot 6-inch rod here with great success. Have a 300 size reel spooled with a 10-pound braid and leader. For other fishing in this area, a general-purpose medium fishing outfit is ideal. This will allow you to cover a whole range of fish species. Perhaps starting with a 7 foot or 8 foot rod paired with a 3000 or 4000 reel spooled with 12-pound lines. Squid jigs can be prone to snagging in this area, and we have found a lot of locals using the smaller size of 2.5 and 3.0 gram jigs and working them slowly to avoid this problem.

Check out a recent video of us fishing the Bellarine and Mornington Peninsula.

You can also catch snapper, whiting, salmon, flathead, mullet, garfish, trevally, wrasse, leather jacket, rays and gummy sharks at this destination. Fishing for 2 hours on either side of the tide is best or fishing at dawn or dusk. A good all-around option is a general-purpose fishing rod combo which will allow you to target multiple species at once. This might be a 3-5 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 3000 size reel spooled with an 8-pound line. You’re most likely to catch many small pinkies, whiting, garfish, leather jackets and flathead so you don’t need to fish too heavy but need to be prepared for the odd large snapper. Using a basic paternoster rig with some fresh bait will work well for many different species of fish on the Portsea pier.

If you are specifically targeting garfish, whiting and leather jackets then consider using small hooks as these species have small mouths and using small hooks such as a size 12 long shank will increase your catch rates. We would also recommend berleying the area you are fishing which is a great way to attract garfish and whiting. You can buy premade berley or make your own using breadcrumbs and tuna oil. Good bait options will include pilchards, silver whiting, pipis, raw chicken, squid strips, maggots, silverfish. You can also fish this area with soft plastics to target pinkies and flathead.

Baits Sorrento Pier

• pilchard
• pipis
• blue bait
• silver whiting
• garfish
• salmon
• raw chicken strips
• prawns
• maggots
• silverfish
• squid
• mussels

Lures and soft plastics for Sorrento Pier

• Squid jigs
• 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 Sorrento Pier

We encourage you to read our detailed guide on how to catch snapper. Snapper season locally starts around October and finishes after March. The big reds migrate inshore during this time of year because water temperatures have increased providing ideal spawning conditions. Dawn and dusk are generally considered the best times to be on the water. The most common snapper rods are 7 foot 6 inches in length with a weight class of 4-7 kilos paired with a 4000 or 5000 size reel spooled with 15-30 pound braid or mono and 40 pound leader. You can choose to fish lighter or heavier. Recommended bait options include pilchards either full or half, silver whiting, squid, garfish, mackerel and mullet. The best soft plastics are large jerk shads, whip baits, curl tails or paddle tails. Most are between 4 and 7 inches in size generally coupled with a ½ or ¼ ounce jig head. Some good options include Savage Gear Fat Curl Tails, Daiwa Bait Junkie Jerk shads & Berkley 7 inch turtleback worm, Zman curl tails.

Targeting Squid at Sorrento Pier

Squid is a frequent catch on the pier towards the front and mid parts of the pier. Just look for the squid ink which is a great indicator of where to target them. Anglers do well-suspending squid jigs with the use of a float. 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 using slow sinking jigs in the smaller size 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 video a master class on Kayak fishing for squid in Melbourne.

Targeting Whiting at Sorrento Pier

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 foot 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.

Targeting garfish at Sorrento Pier

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 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 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 Sorrento Pier

Winter is a great time to target salmon as they’re active and schooling up in big numbers. Salmon is a powerful sports fish that punches well above its weight. When hooked they produce strong bursts of speed, powerful runs, and vigorous head shakes. Do keep an eye out for gutters which are patches of deeper water that Salmon will swim through in schools. These can be identified by the darker colour of the water. When bait fishing pick a surf rod between 12-15 feet in length which allows for long casts with heavy sinkers and to keep 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. Port Phillip Bay Fishing Guide

When lure fishing first consider what weight lures you are likely to be casting. We would recommend rods between 9-12 foot in length in 5-10 kilo class paired with a 3000 size reel spooled with 15-pound braid. Good lure options include 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

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 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.

Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Rye Pier Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.

There is ample access for both boats and kayaks. Sorrento has its own boat ramp located near St Aubns way. Kayaks can launch here or directly from the beach. 

Fishing on the Sorrento pier can be a tricky assignment for the sheer volume of people walking along the pier. This can become a little frustrating and dangerous. Make sure you always check your path is clear before casting and leave any sharp object safely stored away. Many rods being cast in a condensed area so be mindful of others casting around you. You will also get tangled lines with people fishing so close and beginners fishing whilst on holiday.

We hope you have enjoyed this Sorrento 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