Bushrangers Bay
Summary for 14 Oct 2026
Bite Compass is showing a low fish activity bite score on 14 Oct 2026. Wind is around SE at 17 km/h. Solunar feeding windows are listed below.
Feeding Windows
Local Knowledge
Bushrangers Bay is a small walk-in beach east of Cape Schanck, at the end of the Two Bays Trail in Mornington Peninsula National Park. The walk keeps the crowds down, and the bay's sand gutters and reef edges hold salmon in the wash. It is a place for anglers who like their fishing with a side of hiking — and who are prepared to carry back whatever they caught. The reef fringes add leatherjackets and other reef fish.
Fish the sand gutters on the rising tide with metals or a paternoster baited with pipi or squid. Cast along the reef edges for leatherjackets on smaller hooks. Night gummy sessions are possible but mean walking out in the dark, so plan the track carefully; the wallabies know it better than you do.
Australian salmon are the main catch, with gummy sharks at night and leatherjackets around the reef. Salmon 21 cm and 20 combined with Australian herring. Gummy shark 45 cm partial length and 2 combined with school shark, kept whole or as a carcass until you are off the water. Leatherjackets no minimum and 20 combined.
The area is in Mornington Peninsula National Park: no dogs anywhere in the park, including beaches and car parks. Carry water and a torch, and allow time for the walk back, which is the same distance as the walk in but feels longer with a bucket. Pack out every scrap of line and bait.
Access & Conditions
Access is on foot from the Bushrangers Bay car park on Boneo Road, or along the Two Bays Trail from Cape Schanck. The track is unformed in places and not suitable for wheelchairs or prams. There are no facilities at the beach.
Bushrangers Bay sits east of Cape Schanck, and the cape takes some of the sting out of a moderate south-westerly swell, though a big one still closes the beach out and wastes the walk. Northerly winds are offshore. Fish dawn or a rising tide, and time the session so the walk back happens in daylight.
An unpatrolled, remote beach with rips and reef. Don't swim or wade out to cast, and tell someone your plans. This coast is inside one of VFA's 11 mandatory-lifejacket zones — all rock platforms between Point Nepean and West Head — so anyone fishing from the rocks must wear a lifejacket (AS 4758 level 50S or greater, children in your care Level 100 or greater), and fines apply.
Gear & Rigs
Travel light for the walk: one 10 ft surf rod, a 4000 reel with 20 lb braid and a mono leader. Take a few 20–30 g metals and a small pouch of paternoster rigs. Leave the gummy rig at home unless you have planned the walk out in the dark.
Seasons
Salmon peak from autumn through winter, which is also when the walk in is coolest. Leatherjackets are around the reef all year. Gummies are possible after dark in the warmer months, if you're happy to walk the track back by torchlight.
If This Spot's Blown Out
Frequently Asked
On foot, from the Bushrangers Bay car park on Boneo Road or via the Two Bays Trail from Cape Schanck. There are no facilities at the beach.
Yes. It is in Mornington Peninsula National Park (no dogs), with no marine sanctuary in the bay. Salmon are the main catch from the gutters.
Any rock platform here is in the mandatory-lifejacket zone between Point Nepean and West Head — anglers on the rocks must wear one, AS 4758 Level 50S or greater, and fines apply.