Kennett River (Mouth & Beach)
Summary for 20 Oct 2026
Bite Compass is showing a medium fish activity bite score on 20 Oct 2026. Wind is around NW at 18 km/h. Solunar feeding windows are listed below.
Feeding Windows
Local Knowledge
Kennett River is a small Otways creek that crosses the beach beside the Great Ocean Road between Lorne and Apollo Bay, with a surf club on the sand next to it. The little estuary sometimes holds flounder, yellow-eye mullet, black bream and salmon, and salmon work the beach either side. It is not a destination fishery so much as a pleasant hour with a light rod while the rest of the car looks for koalas in the trees.
In the creek, fish sandworm, prawn or pipi on a light running rig for bream, mullet and flounder; bread berley brings the mullet up. On the beach, cast pilchard or bluebait on a paternoster, or a small metal, into the gutters by the creek mouth for salmon. Dawn and dusk are the windows, which are also, conveniently, the hours you can find a park.
Salmon and mullet are the most likely catches, with bream and flounder in the creek at times. Victorian limits: Australian salmon 21 cm with 20 combined with Australian herring, black bream 28 cm and 10, mullet no minimum and 40 combined, flounder 23 cm and 20 combined. Bream must be kept whole until you are away from the water. Most estuary fish here are small, so release what you will not eat.
The creek mouth opens and closes with the swell and the flow, so the fishing changes from visit to visit. Upstream, the Kennett is a freshwater trout creek with its own rules — check VFA if you fish above the estuary. Fish away from the patrolled flags in summer.
Access & Conditions
Kennett River is right on the Great Ocean Road, with roadside and foreshore parking near the surf club. The creek mouth and beach are a short walk from the car. There are public toilets near the café and caravan park, but few other services, so come prepared. Watch for traffic and pedestrians on the busy road through the settlement.
The beach faces south-east and takes swell wrapping around Cape Otway, so it can be calm on a northerly day and messy in a south-easterly. The creek is sheltered but small and shallow, and clarity changes after rain. Low light and a moving tide are best on the beach. After heavy rain the creek runs dirty and the fishing slows.
The beach has rips and surf; do not wade out to cast. The creek mouth can scour deep channels quickly when it breaks out. Take care crossing the Great Ocean Road. Watch for swimmers and surfers around the creek mouth in summer.
Gear & Rigs
Creek: a 6 ft 6 in–7 ft light spin rod, 4–6 lb line, size 8–4 hooks, small ball sinker. Beach: a 9–10 ft rod, 10–15 lb line, a paternoster with 1/0–2/0 hooks and pilchard or bluebait, or 20–40 g metal lures. A small float and bread berley for mullet.
Seasons
Salmon are possible year-round on the beach. Bream, mullet and flounder use the estuary when the creek is open and conditions suit. Summer brings crowds and patrolled swimming areas. Winter rain can blow the creek out for days. The creek is small enough that an enthusiastic cast lands on the far bank, which the bream seem to find very funny.
If This Spot's Blown Out
Frequently Asked
The little estuary sometimes holds flounder, yellow-eye mullet, black bream and salmon, and salmon are also caught off the beach.
It is a small, casual spot rather than a major fishery — good for a light-tackle session in the creek or a salmon cast off the beach.
It opens and closes with swell and flow, so the creek fishes differently from visit to visit.