Kalimna Jetty

Kalimna Jetty sits on the Gippsland Lakes just west of Lakes Entrance, with a rock wall alongside it, and the pair are great for bream, luderick, flathead, tailor and salmon. It is close enough to the entrance for strong tides and clean water, but well away from the commercial traffic of town. Gippsland Ports upgraded the jetty in early 2024 with a Recreational Fishing Grant, extending the low landing by 6 m and widening the approach so it meets disability-access standards. Whiting and silver trevally hunters work the stronger tides between Shaving Point and Kalimna. It is a proper fishing jetty that happens to come with a lake view and a lookout up the hill.

Bream and luderick are the structure fish, so fish close to the jetty pylons and along the rock wall rather than casting into open water. A lightly weighted prawn, cut crab or sandworm drifted back to the rocks on the tide is the standard bream approach. Luderick anglers float green weed along the wall. Tailor and salmon move through on the tide and take small metal lures cast parallel to the wall. Flathead sit on the sand at the edge of the weed and respond to slowly hopped soft plastics.

Black bream are the main catch from the jetty and wall, with luderick a specialty along the rocks. Dusky flathead, tailor and salmon are regular visitors, and King George whiting and silver trevally work the stronger tidal water nearby. 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. Dusky flathead are 30–55 cm with a bag of 5 and, like bream, must stay whole until you leave the water. Luderick have a 23 cm minimum and bag of 10; tailor a 23 cm minimum and bag of 20.

Fish the change of light on a moving tide — dawn and dusk do the damage for bream at Kalimna as they do across the lakes. The new low landing puts you close to the water, which makes landing a bream far easier than from a high deck. Bring a landing net for the bigger fish; a 40 cm bream that slips off the hook at the rail is, at least, one you had to release anyway. Keep the jetty's low landing clear for boats berthing. The Kalimna rocks walking track starts nearby if the bite is slow and the scenery needs looking at.

Kalimna Jetty is at the end of Kalimna Jetty Road off the Princes Highway, about five minutes west of the Lakes Entrance town centre. There is a car park and public toilets beside the jetty. The jetty approach was widened to meet the Disability Discrimination Act, so it is one of the better wheelchair-accessible fishing platforms in the area, though the rock wall is not. It is kid-friendly on the jetty with supervision. There is no fee.

Kalimna is on the shore of the lakes near the entrance, so tides run well and the water is often cleaner than further up the system. A flooding tide brings ocean water and baitfish; the run-out can be dirtier after rain in the catchment. Strong westerlies and south-westerlies chop up the water in front of the jetty, while northerly days are calm and pleasant. Like the rest of the lakes, heavy rain upstream discolours the water and slows the bite for a few days.

The jetty is easy fishing, but mind the edge of the low landing, which puts you close to deep water. The adjacent rock wall is uneven and slippery when wet; wear grippy shoes, and a lifejacket is recommended on any wet rock wall — AS 4758 level 50S or greater for adults, level 100 or greater for children. Watch for boats approaching to berth. In summer, take sun protection — there is little shade on the jetty.

Yes. Gippsland Ports closed it from January to March 2024 to extend the low landing by 6 m and widen the approach for disability access; it reopened after those works. Check Gippsland Ports notices for any later works.

Kalimna Jetty and the adjacent rock wall are great for bream, luderick, flathead, tailor and salmon. Whiting and silver trevally are also caught in the stronger tides nearby.

The 2024 upgrade widened the jetty approach so it complies with the Disability Discrimination Act. The rock wall beside the jetty is not accessible.

Yes — Kalimna is on the Gippsland Lakes, where black bream must be 28–38 cm with a bag limit of 7 and must be kept whole until you are off the water.