Corinella Pier

Corinella Pier, off Peters Street beside the foreshore caravan park, looks across Western Port to French Island and has one feature that makes it special: a deep channel runs right past it. That channel lets land-based anglers target gummies, elephant fish and the odd mulloway without casting more than about five metres — at Corinella a five-metre cast counts as long range — and it is the best-known elephant fish pier in the port. It is quiet most of the year and busy in the holidays. French Island across the water stays stubbornly undeveloped, so the view is much the same one your grandad looked at.

Big hooks and big baits straight down the side into the channel: pilchard, squid, fish fillets or a slab of salmon or trevally for gummies and elephant fish. Fish a few hours around high tide, because the tide flows hard in the channel and the pier is easier to fish when it slows. Regulars fish the side the current is running away from, and watching a newcomer pick the other side is a Corinella rite of passage. Whiting and flathead come off the sandier water with lighter rigs. There is also good fishing about 500 m left of the pier from the point, and Tenby Point, about 5 km east along the shore, fishes at low tide.

King George whiting (27 cm, bag 20) and flathead (27 cm, combined bag 20) are the everyday catch. Silver trevally (20 cm, bag 20) turn up around the pier on the tide. Gummy sharks (45 cm partial length; two gummy and/or school shark combined) come mostly on night and evening tides. Elephant fish peak around March to May, and the bag and possession limit is one — they can't be filleted on the water. Snapper are a summer chance, salmon a winter one, and the odd mulloway keeps the regulars coming back (mulloway are 60 cm minimum, bag of 5 — changes have been proposed, so check the VFA guide before you keep one).

Rig before you walk out: the strike window on the high tide is short, and the current makes re-rigging a wrestle. Keep elephant fish to one per person and handle them carefully if releasing — the dorsal spine is sharp. If the pier is crowded on a long weekend, the point to the left gives room to spread out.

There is ample foreshore parking, a boat ramp and a beach beside the pier. Public toilets are in the caravan park and there is a general store nearby. The L-shaped pier has some short-term boat berths. Part of the timber pier head has been fenced off for safety while repairs are assessed — fish only the open sections. Dogs must be on lead on the foreshore.

Strong north-easterly and south-easterly winds make the pier hard to fish, while a straight easterly is reasonably sheltered. The channel runs hard on both tides, so high water is the comfortable window. Weed in the water after a blow makes lures frustrating but does not stop bait.

Stay out of the fenced section of the pier head. The channel beside the pier is deep and fast — never climb down to retrieve gear, and keep small children in a lifejacket (AS 4758). Jumping and diving off the pier is prohibited. The pier edge is slippery after rain.

Yes. Corinella is the best-known elephant fish pier in Western Port, with the peak from March to May. Fish a few hours around high tide with pilchard, squid or fish fillet on a running sinker or paternoster rig. The bag and possession limit is one per person.

Yes — the deep channel beside the pier lets land-based anglers target gummies without a long cast. Use fresh oily baits and fish evening or night tides. The limit is two gummy and/or school shark combined, with a 45 cm partial-length minimum.

Public toilets are inside the Corinella Foreshore Caravan Park next to the pier, and there is a general store nearby, plus foreshore parking and a boat ramp.