Lakes Entrance Footbridge (Cunninghame Arm)

The footbridge is the pedestrian crossing from the middle of the Lakes Entrance Esplanade over Cunninghame Arm to the surf beach, and it is the most-walked fishing spot in town. Cunninghame Arm is one of the proven spots in Lakes Entrance, and the arm is navigable by boat right up to the footbridge, so there is real tidal water moving under it. Locals come here for whiting on pipi, worm and mussel. It is shallow, sandy and weedy water rather than deep structure, which suits light lines and small baits. Add a fish-and-chip shop a short stroll away and it is the easiest session in the Gippsland Lakes. If the whiting don't co-operate, the trawler fleet down the road has already caught your dinner.

Most people fish from the bridge deck or the sandy banks either side, dropping a light running-sinker rig onto the sand patches between the weed. The whole playbook fits in one line: look for sand patches in the weed for whiting, the shallows for flathead and anything barnacle-covered for bream. Whiting want a small, fresh bait — pipi, sandworm or mussel — on a long-shank hook, kept moving slowly on the tide. Bream sit around the pylons and the edges, so a lightly weighted prawn or soft-shell crab drifted back to the structure is the better bet for them. In the warmer months a small soft plastic hopped along the sandy edges finds flathead sunning themselves in the shallows.

King George whiting are the fish the footbridge is known for, along with black bream from the pylons and edges. Dusky flathead turn up on the sand flats, especially when the water warms, and yelloweye mullet and luderick are regulars through the arm. Salmon and silver trevally push in from the entrance on a run-in tide. 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. King George whiting have a 27 cm minimum and a bag of 20 and fall under the same keep-it-whole rule.

Fish the run-in tide — water pushing in from the entrance brings the cleaner water, the whiting and the odd salmon. Bait nets are not allowed in Cunninghame Arm, so bring bait rather than planning to net it here; the town's tackle shops sell pipis, prawn and worms. Keep the deck clear for the steady parade of beachgoers, prams and dogs walking to the surf. Half of them will ask what you've caught, and "not yet" is the accepted local answer. Early morning and evening beat the middle of a summer day, when the bridge doubles as the town's main thoroughfare. Check the current VFA guide for the Gippsland Lakes black bream slot before you keep a fish, because a 40 cm bream is a fish you release here.

The footbridge starts on the Esplanade in the centre of Lakes Entrance, with street and foreshore parking along the Esplanade and the shops, cafes and public toilets of the town a short walk away. The crossing itself is flat, which makes it the most accessible fishing in Lakes Entrance for prams and limited mobility, though the banks either side are soft sand. It is genuinely kid-friendly: shallow water, plenty of people around and food within sight. There is no fee, and the bridge is open around the clock apart from an overnight closure on New Year's Eve. Parking along the foreshore fills quickly in the summer holidays.

Cunninghame Arm is a sheltered, shallow arm of the Gippsland Lakes, so most winds are fishable here even when the ocean beach next door is a mess. Tide is the main driver: the Gippsland Lakes keep a tidal range because of the permanent entrance, and a flooding tide pushes cleaner, saltier water up the arm. Strong westerlies chop up the open water and push weed around, while a northerly can leave the arm glassy. After heavy rain in the catchment, dirty water drifts down through the lakes and the whiting go quiet.

This is easy fishing with small hazards: keep hooks and casts clear of the steady foot traffic on the bridge, and watch the kids near the edges. The banks either side are soft sand that drops into deeper channel water in places, so wading is not a good idea, especially on a strong run-out tide. Boats use the arm right up to the footbridge, so do not cast across a vessel's path. Summer brings sunburn and heat on an exposed deck with little shade. Never swim off the bridge.

Yes. The footbridge over Cunninghame Arm is one of the most popular spots in town, and the arm is a proven fishing spot. Keep your line clear of walkers and boats, and remember bait nets are not permitted in Cunninghame Arm.

King George whiting on pipi, worm or mussel are the local favourite, along with black bream, dusky flathead, mullet, luderick and the odd salmon or silver trevally on a run-in tide.

Black bream in the Gippsland Lakes and their tributaries must be between 28 cm and 38 cm, with a bag limit of 7, and must be kept whole or in carcass form until you are off the water. Lake Tyers is not part of the Gippsland Lakes for this rule. Check the current VFA guide before you go.

Victoria's Department of Health says fish from the Gippsland Lakes have low levels of mercury and are safe to eat in line with the national dietary advice on serves per week. Check for any current blue-green algae warnings in summer before you keep a feed.