Welcome to the Mullet Fishing Guide Victoria. Mullet is a bread-and-butter-species that you can catch in big numbers in saltwater, freshwater, and estuaries across Victoria. They are fun to catch on light spinning gear and can be caught in big numbers. There are great fish species to introduce beginners and children to fishing.
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Mullet Facts & Catch Limits
- Mullet has the scientific name of Mugilidae
- They can grow to 50cm in length
- Most commonly caught between 20cm and 35cm
- There is no minimum legal size limit
- Daily bag limit of 40 mullet
- If bled properly Mullet can be decent eating,
- They do however also make good baits for other saltwater species.
- Mullet will school up in massive numbers
- There are many different species of Mullet. In areas like Gippsland lakes, you will come across poddy mullet which grows much larger and have great fighting qualities.
- Locally the most common caught mullet are yellow eye mullet
Best time to catch Mullet ( Seasons )
In Victoria, Mullet can be caught all year round however the best time is around Summer. They are often best targeted at Dawn/Dusk and on tide changes and respond very well to berley.
How to catch Mullet
Here are some helpful tips on catching Mullet with soft plastics.
Locally the most common mullet is the Yellow-eye mullet. These are small slender fish silver in color and a darker back and bright yellow eyes. They school up in large numbers in estuaries and hang around structures and calm waters including jetties, piers, and boat harbors. Mullet respond really well to berley. So we highly encourage you to berley the isolated are you are fishing with your own mix of bread, tuna oil, and chook pellets or you can buy premade berley pellets and power from your local tackle store. Ensure you keep berelying that area every 10-15 minutes to keep them hanging around. Mullet can be caught all year round during most parts of the day
Mullet have small mouths so remember to use small hooks, and small pieces of bait ( size 8-12 long shank hooks are ideal ). When fishing with soft plastics or lures use scents such as S-Factor or Procure. We find that this stuff makes them go a little crazy and in an aggressive mood. Also, remember to use small lures with a slow constant retrieve.
Mullet fishing requires light gear and finesse. We recommend a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo graphite spin rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 1000 or 2000 size reel spooled with 4 pound line and roughly a rod length of 4-6 pound fluorocarbon leader. When bait fishing uses a 2-4 kilo rod that’s around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 2000 or 2500 size reel either a float or small running sinker to a swivel and very fine leader.
Best Baits to Catch Mullet
Mullet will eagerly take small pieces of fresh bait like silverfish, prawn, and pilchards. They also respond really well to maggots and sandworms. berley will be the key to bringing in the mullet and keeping them around. Remember to use very small fine gauge hooks. Remember that Mullet have a small mouth so remember to cut these baits up into small pieces.
Good rig choices include either a small running sinker rig ( pea size sinker to a swivel, 50cm of fluorocarbon leader to a small size 8-12 long shank hooks ) or suspending baits from a float.
- bread
- dough
- maggots
- pilchard
- prawn
- whitebait
- sandworm
- squid
- chicken
- mussels
Simple running sinker
Thread a small running sinker through the mainline shown in blue ( 4-8 lb ). Tie a small barrel swivel to the end allowing the sinker to run up the mainline freely. On the other end of the swivel add 50cm of 4-8 lb fluorocarbon leader ( shown in grey ). Finished with a small long shank hook.
Using a float
Attach a quill or bubble float to your mainline and adjust the length. Attach a small long shank hook to keep your bait suspended at a good depth. Ideally cast down a breeze that will stop the float from coming back to you. If you’re not getting bites then adjust the line depth and If necessary add a splint shot to add weight.
Lures and soft plastics to catch Mullet
Mullet will happily take small minnow imitation soft plastics, small grub style soft plastics anything that imitates a natural bait. They also like worm imitations. Mullet also respond really well to scent so don’t be afraid to apply some s-factor, procure or other scents. Some of our recommended soft plastics to use include.
- Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5-inch grub
- Berkley gulp turtleback worm
- Berkley powerbait grub
- strike tiger nymph
- Zman 2.5-inch grub
- Daiwa Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
- Squidges biotough grub
locations to catch Mullet
Whiting can be caught throughout Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. Some known hotspots include
- Port Phillip Bay
- Western port
- Maribyrnong River
- Corio Bay
- Beaumaris Pier
- Altona Pier
- Patterson River
- Docklands
- Lake Tyers
- Yarra River
- Lorne
- Frankston Pier
- Mornington Pier
- Barwon Heads
- Moridalloc Creek
- Kerferd road pier
- Mitchell River
- Sanctuary Lakes
- Hastings Pier
- Queenscliff Pier
- Avalon
- Williamstown
- Sandringham Breakwall
- Geelong Grammar lagoon
- Cunningham Pier
- Hopkins River
- St Helens
- Anderson inlet
- St Leonards
- Portarlington Jetty
You can obtain a free Victorian recreational fishing guide from the Victorian Fisheries Authorities weblink
If you feel this Mullet Fishing Guide Victoria fish species guide is missing key information or needs any corrections. Then please let us know by emailing our team at [email protected] with specific details in the email. Thank you
