Inverloch Jetty (Anderson Inlet)

Inverloch Jetty is the short Gippsland Ports jetty beside the Inverloch boat ramp at the end of Pier Road, on the town side of Anderson Inlet. It is the easiest wet-a-line spot in town: flat, close to the car park and the shops, and it is where half the kids in town catch their first fish — which is also why it can get crowded on a holiday afternoon. The jetty itself is small, so the real value is the stretch of inlet foreshore it anchors. There are a handful of named shore marks along the Esplanade: the Bowling Club stretch for flathead, mullet and whiting, "The Poles" off the beach end of Abbott Street where a weed bed sits just offshore, and Pensioners Corner in Wyeth's Bay, which fishes best on the run-in. Anderson Inlet as a whole is known for King George whiting, salmon, mullet and silver trevally, with flathead, pinkies and the odd gummy in the mix.

This is tide fishing first and everything else second. Anderson Inlet is shallow and drains hard, so most locals fish the run-in and the top of the tide, when water pushes back over the sand and weed and the whiting and trevally move with it. Off the jetty and the foreshore, a light running sinker or paternoster rig with a small long-shank hook baited with pipi, mussel, squid strip or bluebait covers whiting, mullet and trevally. Flathead sit on the sand edges and take a pilchard strip or a soft plastic hopped back slowly along the bottom. When the salmon push into the inlet in winter, a small metal slug cast and wound fast gets their attention. Anglers wanting more ground walk west along the Esplanade to the weed bed off The Poles, where gummies and pinkies turn up on fresh bait as well.

King George whiting are the fish most anglers come for, taken off the weed edges on the moving tide, and the inlet's whiting are generally rated best from late summer into autumn. Australian salmon school in the inlet and along the entrance in winter and are the most likely fish to bend a rod in the cold months. Flathead are on offer year-round off the sand, and silver trevally and yelloweye mullet are the reliable fillers that keep kids busy on the jetty. Pinkies — juvenile snapper — and gummy shark are taken off the weed bed at The Poles, with snapper best in the inlet from roughly October to April. Victorian limits: King George whiting 27 cm and 20 a day; flathead 27 cm with a combined 20; salmon 21 cm, 20 combined with herring; silver trevally 20 cm; mullet no minimum with a combined 40; snapper 28 cm and 10 a day, no more than three of them 40 cm or over; gummy shark 45 cm partial length and two a day combined with school shark. Snapper and King George whiting must be kept whole until you are off the water.

Plan the session around the tide, not the clock: at low water large parts of the inlet are sand and mud, and the jetty end can be close to dry. The two hours either side of high tide are the window locals keep coming back to. Fresh bait outfishes frozen here — pipis and mussels for whiting, squid strip for almost everything. The whiting can tell the difference, and they are snobs about it. If the jetty is shoulder-to-shoulder with families, walk the Esplanade foreshore to the Bowling Club stretch or The Poles rather than squeezing in. Remember this is a working boat ramp; keep lines clear of boats launching and retrieving, and do not fish from the ramp itself — the newer jetty with wave screens beside the ramp is there for launching boats; fish the older Gippsland Ports jetty on the east side. Cast nets are illegal in Victoria, so gather bait by hand or buy it, and any ray hooked off the jetty goes back — rays cannot be taken within 400 m of a jetty.

Pier Road runs straight down to the Inverloch boat ramp on The Esplanade, which has two launching lanes and a paved car park, with the jetty alongside. The jetty and the foreshore paths are flat and the walk from the car is a matter of metres, so it suits kids, older anglers and anyone carrying a bucket and a chair. The town centre, with cafes, bait and tackle, is a short walk away. Parking near the ramp fills with boat trailers on fine weekends and through the summer holidays; arrive early or park in town and walk. On a sunny Saturday, a car park near the ramp is a harder catch than the whiting. There are no fees to fish the jetty.

Anderson Inlet is sheltered from the ocean swell, so the jetty fishes in weather that shuts the surf beach down. Wind is the bigger factor: a strong westerly or south-westerly whips the shallow inlet into a chop and dirties the water, while light winds and clear water make the whiting easier to find. Tide height matters more than tide time — a big high tide floods the weed and sand flats and spreads the fish out along the foreshore, while a small neap tide concentrates them in the channel edges. Depths in the inlet change and the sandbars and mud banks shift, which is why locals re-learn the foreshore marks every season.

This is calm estuary fishing, so the risks are small but real. The jetty sits beside a busy boat ramp — watch for reversing cars and trailers, and keep casts clear of boats. Low tide exposes soft mud and sand flats: do not wade out chasing fish on a falling tide, as the water comes back quickly across the flats and channels are deeper than they look. Gippsland Ports warns the Anderson Inlet entrance bar is dangerous, with strong currents and shifting shoals; anglers walking toward the entrance should stay well back from the channel edge. Supervise children on the jetty edge, and wear a hat and sunscreen — there is little shade.

Yes. The jetty beside the Inverloch boat ramp at the end of Pier Road is open to the public and is a popular family fishing spot, particularly for kids learning. It can get crowded in summer and it shares space with a working boat ramp, so keep lines clear of boats.

Anderson Inlet off the Inverloch foreshore produces King George whiting, Australian salmon, flathead, silver trevally and yelloweye mullet, with pinkies and gummy shark taken off the weed bed at The Poles. Fishing is strongly tide-dependent — the run-in and high tide are the best times.

Fish the incoming tide and the two hours around high water. The inlet is very shallow and large areas drain at low tide, so timing the tide matters more than the time of day. King George whiting are best from late summer into autumn and salmon move in during winter.

Locals fish the jetty and boat ramp area, the Bowling Club stretch of the Esplanade for flathead, mullet and whiting, The Poles opposite the beach end of Abbott Street for whiting, gummies and pinkies over a weed bed, and Pensioners Corner in Wyeth's Bay, which fishes well on the tides.