Hollands Landing (McLennan Strait)

Hollands Landing sits on McLennan Strait, the channel joining Lake Wellington and Lake Victoria, and it is the best bet for bream fishers on the eastern side of Lake Wellington. Visitors can fish from the bank or launch a boat here, and the strait averages about 4 m deep. Flathead hang around Blonde Bay and Storm Point, and the rock groynes along the southern shore are worth a look. McLennan Strait from Hollands Landing on to Bull Bay is a well-worn bream and flathead run. It is a quiet hamlet, and the fish do most of the talking.

Fish from the jetty or the bank into the deeper water of the strait, using lightly weighted baits for bream. Prawn, pilchard pieces and soft plastics are the best producers. Fish the edges of the channel and any structure — the jetty, rock groynes and snags — rather than the flat middle. Flathead sit on the sandy margins and take soft plastics and small baits. A boat opens up Blonde Bay and Storm Point. Black swans cruise past the jetty with the air of landlords checking on the tenants.

Black bream are the main catch, with dusky flathead, mullet and some estuary perch. Tailor show up in Lake Victoria and the strait from time to time. Black bream inside the Gippsland Lakes and their tributaries carry a slot — 28 cm minimum and 38 cm maximum — and a bag of 7, and they must stay whole or in carcass form until you are off the water (filleting on a boat-ramp cleaning table is fine). Dusky flathead are 30–55 cm with a bag of 5 and, like bream, must stay whole until you leave the water.

Fish when water is moving through the strait and concentrate on the channel edges. The rock groynes along the southern shore are worth a try. Bring your own bait; this is a small settlement with limited services, so stock up in Sale or Paynesville. Morning and evening are the best windows.

Hollands Landing is reached by road from Sale via Hollands Landing Road. There is a boat ramp and a jetty on the strait, with roadside parking. Services in the hamlet are limited, so bring supplies. Out here the car boot is your tackle shop. Bank access is generally flat but grassy. No fee applies.

McLennan Strait is sheltered compared with the open lakes, which makes it a good option on windy days. Lake Wellington to the west is shallow and its sea state can change quickly with the weather. The tide barely moves the water this far from the entrance; water levels and flow here follow the wind more than the tide chart. Freshwater flows from the Latrobe, Avon and Perry rivers can discolour the water after rain.

Low-risk bank and jetty fishing. Watch footing on the bank and jetty edges and supervise children near deep channel water. Boats use the strait, so keep casts clear. Bring sun protection and insect repellent in summer.

Yes. The Hollands Landing area on McLennan Strait is the best bet for bream fishers on that side of Lake Wellington, with some flathead around Blonde Bay and Storm Point.

Yes. You can fish from the bank or the jetty, or launch a boat at the ramp.

Prawn, pilchard pieces and soft plastics are the best producers for bream and flathead around McLennan Strait and Hollands Landing.