Bemm River (Sydenham Inlet)
Summary for 17 Oct 2026
Bite Compass is showing a medium fish activity bite score on 17 Oct 2026. Wind is around NE at 16 km/h. Solunar feeding windows are listed below.
Feeding Windows
Local Knowledge
Bemm River is a tiny town on Sydenham Inlet in far East Gippsland, and fishing is top of the list for most visitors. It is famous for bream and flathead in pristine estuarine water, with the foreshore and Luderick Point Memorial Park offering bank and jetty fishing. Bream, perch, tailor, mullet and flathead are all on the menu. Spring brings decent bream in the lake on live sandworm, with flathead, trevally and salmon in there too. It is the kind of town where the tackle shop is a landmark.
Fish from the foreshore jetties and banks around Luderick Point with lightly weighted baits for bream; live sandworm is the standout. Soft plastics cast along the sandy edges and drop-offs find flathead and trevally. Salmon move through the lake and channel and take metal lures and prawn. Luderick live around the rocks and weed. Kids can throw a line from the bank at Luderick Point while someone else cooks a snag.
Bream are the prized species, with dusky flathead, silver trevally, salmon, tailor, luderick, mullet and estuary perch also caught. Black bream here fall under the general rule — 28 cm minimum and a combined bream bag of 10 — and must be kept whole until you leave the water. For regulation purposes, any flathead caught in Lake Tyers or any estuary east of it counts as a dusky flathead: 30–55 cm, bag of 5, kept whole until you leave the water.
Bait nets are not permitted in Sydenham Inlet, so bring or buy bait — Bemm River Bait & Tackle is in town on Sydenham Inlet Road. Fuel up before you leave the highway: there is no fuel in town. When the entrance is closed, the inlet behaves like a lake, and fish hold in the deeper water and channel. Live sandworm is the bait to beat.
Access & Conditions
Bemm River is reached from the Princes Highway via Sydenham Inlet Road. Luderick Point Memorial Park on the foreshore has a playground and picnic facilities, and the foreshore has fishing jetties. The town has a hotel, a shop and a caravan park, which out here counts as a full main street. The foreshore paths are mostly flat; jetties are basic. No fee applies.
Sydenham Inlet is a shallow lake system behind a barrier that is often closed to the sea. When closed, wind and light drive the fishing more than tide. Nobody has thought to show the bream a tide chart, and they seem happier for it. Strong westerlies blow across the inlet and make the open lake rough for small boats. After heavy rain, the Bemm River discolours the inlet.
Low-risk shore and jetty fishing. Watch jetty edges and wet boards, supervise children near the water and keep clear of boats. The town is remote: carry water, fuel and first aid. Snakes are possible in summer.
Gear & Rigs
A light 7 ft spin rod, 2–4 kg, with 6–8 lb braid and leader. Size 2–1 hooks with live sandworm or prawn for bream. 2–3 inch soft plastics on 1/8 oz jigheads for flathead and trevally. 10–20 g metals for salmon and tailor.
Seasons
Bream are year-round, with decent fish in the lake through spring. Flathead are more active in the warmer months. Salmon and trevally move through the inlet in most seasons, more so when the entrance is open. Estuary perch are found upstream around snags. Summer evenings bring the bream on and the mozzies out, and only one of those was invited.
If This Spot's Blown Out
Frequently Asked
Bemm River is famous for bream and flathead, with trevally, salmon, tailor, luderick, mullet and estuary perch also in Sydenham Inlet.
It opens and closes with rain, swell and, after floods, artificial openings by Gippsland Ports — ask at the tackle shop or check Gippsland Ports notices before you go.
No. Victorian rules do not permit bait nets in Sydenham Inlet.
No. There is no fuel in town, so fill up your car and boat before you head in.