Webb Dock

Welcome to the Webb Dock Fishing Guide. Webb Dock is a shipping dock facility along fisherman bend near Melbourne originally built-in 1960. Having a total of 8 berths responsible for much shipping in and out of the state including automotive imports. This is an interesting fishing location is hidden within Port Melbourne overlooking Port Phillip Bay. Parking at the entrance followed by a walk past the park and along a long sandy pathway full of fishing opportunities. It can produce all year round but can provide spectacular Snapper fishing in the summer months. Located on the corner of The Blvd and Todd Road there is ample parking followed by a 10-minute walk along the gravel tracks to fish one of the jetties or along the rock wall at the end. Port Melbourne’s Australia’s busiest container port. There has been some major investment in this place with a 1.6 billion dollar redevelopment of shipping and gantry facilities. There are some nice touches though including a new state of the art adventure playground.

**BECOME A FISHINGMAD MEMBER** Exclusive Fishing Workshops, Exciting Monthly Giveaways, In-Depth Fishing Reports with GPS Coordinates, Members Podcast, Interactive Maps, Catch of the Month Competitions, Kayak Club, Gear Guides, Rigging Tutorials, Tackle Talks, Sounder School, Fishing Tips, Fish Cleaning tutorials, Behind the scenes content & more.

Things to do Webb Dock

This isn’t really a kid-friendly location, there are steep rock walls and there isn’t a lot of room for playing. It can also be a very difficult spot to bring in a fish with many rocks. There is however a very cool state of the art adventure playground which has been installed recently and direct access to the beach. Slippery rock wall and many rods are being cast in a condensed area so be mindful of others casting around you and expect to bring lots of spare line and hooks for all the snags. Port Melbourne is a stylish township where high rise residential buildings and cafes run along the bay. It’s a great place for dinner with many restaurants along the bay street. You are only a short distance away from the West Gate Bridge, Melbourne CBD. This stretch is very popular with walking, cycling and jogging along the paved walkways along the beach. There are also dog-friendly beaches. A great time to walk along the beach is sundown. A scenic area is great for photo opportunities. Take the kids for ice cream and play in the sandy beach area. There are many piers along this stretch such as Kerferd road pier, lagoon pier, station pier and princess pier. Due to its deep waters, many large boats will be moored along the station pier. Including the spirit of Tasmania, Queen Elizabeth, large shipping vessels and navy vessels.

A short distance away you can take a hot air balloon ride and overlook the bay and piers along with Port Melbourne. You can also jump on board cruise ships that will take you around Port Melbourne, Williamstown and stretches of the Yarra River. Of course, this area is also well known as a top fishing location around Melbourne. Hence this Princess Pier Fishing Guide. Deep waters are easily accessible and wonderful catches of snapper annually.

Fishing Webb Dock

This is an exceptional land base fishing destination for snapper in the warmer months. Throughout the year you can also catch flathead, snook, flounder, bream, salmon, trevally, mullet and gummy shark. Staple bait options include pilchard, silver whiting, raw chicken, and squid. This area is full of rocks that you will frequently snag your line on, so casting out a far distance is key. I would suggest a medium to light 8 or 9-foot rod. You’re most likely to catch many small Pinkies and Flathead so you don’t want to fish too heavy but need to be prepared for the odd large snapper. Often I will use 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. This is also a good spot to flick soft plastics. You will need to use a heavy jig head to cast out further. Soft plastics slowly retrieved or hopped will allow you to catch flathead and pinkies. Worm, grubz and minnow imitation soft plastics are great choices. Z-man grubZ, squidgee wrigglers, Savage Gear pro grubs, Z-man slim swimZ, Savage Gear slim minnows are all good choices.

The choice of lures is almost endless to make things easier we created a detailed video on the best lures and how to use them.

This spot usually fishes well on the tide change often seeing Pinkies caught on the incoming high tide and flathead caught on the outgoing low tide

Baits Webb dock

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

Lures and soft plastics for Webb dock

• Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
• 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

Soft plastics such as grubs, minnows imitations, and paddle tails work really well in Port Phillip Bay. Flathead and Pinkie Snapper respond really well to these. When chasing snapper upgrade to larger jerk shads in 4 or 5 inches. If you can find a school of snapper on your sounder then these will work really well jigged off the bottom whilst drifting over them. There are many bait options and you will need to choose a suitable bait for the fish species that you are targeting. We have had success using pilchards, silver whiting, squid, garfish, salmon, scad, bonito, raw chicken, mullet, pippis, prawns. Often using a berley pot at the back of your boat full of pilchards, pellets, and oil is a great way to encourage fish to your boat. 

Check out our full-length video on the best soft plastics and lures for Port Phillip Bay

Targeting Gummy Shark at Webb dock

We would recommend targeting gummy shark 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 to single or double snelled rig or paternoster rig. You can use an Ezi rig attaching a sinker to the clip 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 Salmon at Webb dock

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 Mulloway at Webb dock

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 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 surroundings 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 structures 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 Webb dock

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 is 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 a 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 helps. 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.