Welcome to the Tenby Point Fishing Guide. Tenby Point is a land base fishing hotspot for Gummy Sharks along Western Port. Particularly with a great gutter system in the sand that encourages Gummys to come through at night for a feed. This is often a location which you will see keen anglers fishing throughout the night trying to land a big gummy.
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Fishing Tenby Point
Tenby Point is a great place to catch
- gummy sharks
- elephant fish
- snapper
- salmon
- trevally
- whiting
- barracouta
- flathead
- salmon
Tendy Point is very popular for its gummy shark fishing and elephant fish fishing during winter, especially during the night at low tide. Understanding the tides is important when fishing at this location. Firstly to find a safe a suitable place to set up but more importantly to understand when the fish will be active. During low tide species such as gummy sharks will swim through the channels and at high tide many will come in closer to feed on crabs and baitfish. Your outfit selection will very much depend on what species of fish you’re targeting. If you’re chasing the larger species such as gummy sharks or snapper then you’re going to need a nice heavy outfit. Ideally, a long surf rod outfit that’s 8-12 feet in length with a kilo class of 8-12 or 12-20 kilo rating rod. The reel will be a 4000-6000 reel spooled with 25-pound line. Finished with a rod length of 40-pound leader. A single large hook or double snelled hook to present a full squid or pilchard. You can also choose to target these species with your snapper rods which are 5-8 kilo rods with 12-pound line. This is a fun way of targeting these fish that might get busted off occasionally. If you chasing smaller fish that don’t require gear as heavy such as elephant fish, flathead, trevally or whiting then a nice light general purport 2-4 or 3-5 kilo with a 2500-3000 reel spooled with a 6-pound line will work well.
Most people fishing at Stockyard are using baits with long casting heavy surf rods. Our go-to baits at Stockyard point have been fresh squid, half or full pilchards. You can also use trevally, salmon, scad, blue bait, silver whiting and pippis. Wrapping your bait in bait mate is a good way to stop your bait from falling off and prevent little fish from nibbling at the bait. This is a great winter location for gummy sharks, elephant fish and salmon, but it generally fishes well for most parts of the year. If you are keen to land a gummy shark then fishing throughout the night will be the best bet as that’s when predatory fish are most active. Species like snapper are more active in the warmer months and too can be caught from here. The 15-minute walk can be extremely muddy and tiring quite relentless. So pack as light as possible and wear proper footwear and clothing. Take note of the tides as you will need to ensure you don’t get stranded during high tides. It can also be a very busy fishing location so be careful as anglers are using big heavy fishing outfits.
Baits Tenby point
- pilchard
- squid
- trevally
- scad
- Banana prawn
- salmon
- crabs
- blue bait
- silver whiting
- garfish
- raw chicken strips
- squid
Lures and soft plastics for Tenby point
- 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
- Zerek fish trap
- Samaki Vibelicious
Targeting Gummy Shark at Tenby point
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.
Targeting Elephant Fish at Tendy point
Elephant Fish share similar characteristics to a shark but have a unique elephant trunk-like snout that they use to feed on small fish. They do however have good fighting qualities and are much fun to catch on light gear. They are seasonal fish that come into select areas within Western Port and Port Phillip Bay throughout March and May to spawn. Elephant fish are not fussy eaters, and they will happily take a wide range of baits including pilchard, squid and salmon. Elephant fish has a strong sense and respond well to berley. You can target elephant fish using a 3-5 or 4-6 kilo rod with 3000-4000 size reel spooled with 8 to 12-pound braid. A running sinker to a swivel then 60cm of a strong leader to a circle hook or a paternoster rig with chunks of fresh bait.
Targeting Snapper at Tenby Point
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 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.
learn to make your own snapper rigs by watching this video
Targeting Salmon at Tenby point
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 feet 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
Targeting Mullowat at Tenby Point
Mulloway AKA Jewfish are a prized catch that sits on the top of many Victorian anglers bucket list. A stunning fish with a large mouth and distinctive silver or bronze colour. Patience and dedication are required to catch the elusive Mulloway which can reach up to 1.8 meters and 60 kilos. The minimum legal size is 60cm with a daily bag limit of 5 over the legal size. Live baits are a top choice when targeting mulloways such as mullet, salmon, and whiting. Pinning them behind the neck to allow the bait to swim freely. Other staple dead baits can include pilchard, trevally, garfish, prawns, chicken & squid. A running sinker rig to a single 5/0 – 8/0 hook or a double snelled hook to present the bait nicely. Soft plastics between 80mm and 100mm are also a great option. Good options include flick baits, shads, paddle tails and grubz. You can also purchase pre-made rigs and swimbaits which are designed to imitate a fish in its surrounding such as a mullet.
Choosing a Mulloway outfit Recommended gear to target Mulloway 6-10, 10-15 or 12-24 kilo rod paired with a 4000-8000 spin reel spooled with 20-50 pound line and equivalent leader. Mulloway resides near river mouth entrances. They are often caught near structure such as bridges and pylons. Try to present your baits and lures as natural as possible or use live baits. Mulloway can be caught at any time of the day, but are most active at the night, during peak tides and moon phases. We have found that lures are quite productive during the day and bait more productive at night.
Targeting mullet at Tenby point
This is a great location to mullet a bread and butter species that school up in big numbers. They are fun to catch on light spinning gear and a great fish species to introduce beginners to fishing. Mullet respond well to berley, so berley an isolated area with a mix of bread, tuna oil and chook pellets. Good baits include bread, dough, live maggots, pilchard, and prawns. remember that Mullet have small mouth so remember to cut these baits up into small pieces. You can also use soft plastics small minnow and grub style soft plastic with a slow constant retrieve. Scents such as S-Factor or Procure certainly help. Most mullet are quite small therefore a 7-foot rod in a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class, paired with a 1000, 2000 or 2500 reel spooled with 2-6-pound braid and equivalent leader.
Here are some helpful tips on catching Mullet with soft plastics.
Targeting Trevally Tenby point
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, whitebait, 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 a 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 Flathead at Tenby 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 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 your 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.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. Header All other images and videos shown on the Tenby Point Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals.
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