Patterson River Mouth Rock Wall

Patterson River is a man-made waterway cut in 1878 to drain the old Carrum Swamp, and today it is the most popular boating and fishing access point to Port Phillip. Shore anglers head for the southern rock wall between the Nepean Highway bridge and the mouth, a great platform where a huge range of fish can be caught in the right conditions: bream, mullet, pinkies, salmon, estuary perch and even mulloway. Salmon and flathead come off the wall at the mouth itself. It is the busiest boat channel in the bay, so the fish here are used to outboards; the anglers less so.

At the mouth, cast metals or paternoster rigs with whitebait or pilchard into the channel and the bay edge for salmon and flathead. Further back along the wall, fish baits close to the rocks for bream and mullet — Patterson River is the bay's bream hot spot, with bass yabbies, sandworms, prawns and bought mussels the go-to baits. Mulloway hunters fish big fresh baits or soft plastics on the tide changes after dark. Keep casts out of the navigation channel. Every boat in the south-east passes within casting range; resist the urge.

Salmon (21 cm) and flathead (27 cm) at the mouth, bream (28 cm, bag 10) and mullet (combined 40) along the wall, pinkies (28 cm) when the bay is warm, and estuary perch (27 cm, combined bag 5 with no more than 2 Australian bass). Mulloway are the elusive prize: 60 cm minimum, bag of 5 (changes have been proposed — check the VFA guide). The rock wall is a salmon platform first; the bream are the consolation prize.

The fishing action tends to increase in snapper season, September to March, when the river is a launch highway — fish early before the boats or late after they come home. The river is not suitable for swimming because of boats, rips and hazards. Skates and rays can't be taken within 400 m of the rock walls. Berley is capped at 10 litres in Port Phillip Bay. The current through the mouth has an opinion about your sinker weight; listen to it.

The southern wall is reached from the Carrum foreshore off the Nepean Highway, with the Carrum foreshore reserve and paths nearby, and a bike trail running along the river. Parking is in the foreshore car parks, which get busy in summer. The wall top is rock, not a wheelchair platform; the foreshore park is flat and family-friendly.

The mouth faces west into the bay. A westerly or south-westerly pushes waves into the entrance and onto the outer wall — salmon often like it, but stay back from breaking water. Easterlies and northerlies flatten the bay and clear the water. The tide runs hard through the mouth; the change of tide is the prime window, and the run-out can drag rigs into the channel.

The rock wall is uneven and slippery, with strong currents through the mouth — a fall into the channel is dangerous, so a lifejacket is sensible, especially at night. This is the busiest boat channel in Port Phillip: never cast across it and watch for wash. The river is unsuitable for swimming. Stay off the outer rocks when waves are breaking.

The southern rock wall between the Nepean Highway bridge and the mouth is a great platform where bream, mullet, pinky snapper, salmon, estuary perch and even mulloway are caught.

Yes — the banks and the southern rock wall are open to anglers. Swimming is not recommended because of boats, rips and hazards.

Occasionally — they are the river's long shot. Mulloway are 60 cm minimum, bag of 5 (changes have been proposed — check the VFA guide).