Port Phillip Bay cheat sheet
Every fish, the licence and limits, the rigs and the one box of tackle. One page to take to the water.
Port Phillip Bay
Spring is the snapper run (peaks October-November). Whiting fish the warmer half. The middle of a hot, busy day is slow.
Licence
You need a Victorian RFL (salt and fresh); buy it at Service Victoria or the VFA, or a tackle shop. 3-day about A$10, 28-day A$24, 1-year A$42.20 (A$39.70 online), 2026; free if under 18, 70 or over, or a concession holder.
Size and bag limits
Snapper 28 cm, bag 10 (only 3 over 40 cm); King George whiting 27 cm, bag 20; southern calamari bag 10.
Keep or release
Snapper, whiting, calamari and flathead are all good eating within the limits; no blanket consumption ban on the bay; release undersized and surplus fish carefully, in wet hands, quickly.
Bank vs boat · season · time → rig
| Fish | From the pier | From a boat | Best time | Rig |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snapper | Pinkies close in, and after a blow | Yes, the reef patches and channel edges | Spring (peaks Oct – Nov), change of light | Inshore bait rig or jigging rig / soft plastic |
| King George whiting | Yes, off the piers over sand | Yes, the sand and weed-and-sand edges | November to April, the warmer tides | Inshore bait rig (light, dropped down) |
| Southern calamari | Yes, off the piers over weed | Yes, over the shallow weed | Year-round, best in the cooler months | A squid jig |
| Flathead | Off the piers over sand | Yes, drifting the sand | The warmer months, on a drift | Inshore bait rig or a soft plastic |
| Salmon & garfish | Yes, the main pier fish | Yes, in the southern bay | Salmon cooler months; garfish year-round | A small metal or a float rig |
Pier only is mainly whiting, calamari, salmon and garfish. A boat adds the snapper reefs and the best whiting ground.
The rigs
What you need
A snapper bait outfit, a light whiting outfit and one small box of terminal tackle build nearly all of it.
The knots
| Knot | Ties | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| Snell knot | The bait hooks, so the pull stays in line. | The bait hooks |
| Palomar | The workhorse, for swivels, jigs and the running-sinker join. | Swivels, jigs, the running sinker |
| FG knot | Braid to a heavy leader on the lure rods. | Braid to leader |
Learn the snell and the Palomar first; they tie most of this. Wet every knot before you pull it tight.
This one page is the printable I take to the water.
Give me an email and I will show it to you, ready to print. A one-page reference: what's on by month, the licence and rules, a rig for every fish, the shared tackle box and the knots.
I'll send you the cheat sheet, and email you when I add a new place to fish. Nothing else.