Warneet Pier

Warneet Pier Fishing

Warneet Pier sits on the northern end of Western Port, reached from Rutherford Parade with reasonable car parking, public toilets and a barbecue area nearby. The pier is long but narrow, so anglers need to be considerate with rod placement and casting space. It fishes over very shallow water by Western Port standards, with about 1 to 4 metres available on a high tide. The surrounding shoreline includes mangroves, sand, mud and weed patches, and warmer months can bring persistent sandflies and mosquitoes.

Tide is a major factor here. At low water, the area can drain heavily enough to expose sand and mud flats, leaving the main channel as the key water to concentrate on. The channel can be read by the line of moored boats and buoys, and it is worth checking which way the tide is pushing before setting up. The last few hours of the incoming tide are useful as fish move with rising water. The first part of the outgoing tide can also fish well as food drains back off the flats towards the channel.

The pier pylons, mooring blocks, weed edges, sand patches and channel edge are the main structure to work. Silver trevally can sit close to the pylons or mooring structure, while King George whiting are more a sand-and-weed-edge prospect around nearby channels and flats. Cast beside weed rather than into it, and if bait fishing slows, slowly rolling the bait back can add enough movement. Yellow eye mullet are a strong local target, especially when berley is used to keep a school feeding near the pier. Mulloway are a more specialised night option, with fresh or live bait such as locally caught mullet, salmon or squid the most location-relevant approach.

For mullet, a light-tipped rod around 8 ft with a small spinning reel and line no heavier than about 10 lb suits the style of fishing. A paternoster rig with a small bomb sinker up to 2 oz and size 8 to 10 hooks matches the small baits used for them. Trevally can be fished with similar baits, or with a single size 0 ball sinker near slack water. For mulloway, heavier main line around 30 lb, abrasion-resistant 40 to 80 lb leader and 4/0 to 7/0 hooks are better matched to the bait size, current and chance of larger fish.