Progress Jetty (Paynesville)

Progress Jetty is the main public jetty on the Paynesville foreshore, on the channel between the town and Raymond Island where Lake Victoria meets Lake King, and the start of the Sunset Cove walk. Paynesville is Gippsland's boating capital, and the predominant catch on Lake Victoria is bream, with tailor turning up regularly and flathead on the drop-offs in the warmer months. In spring the Paynesville town jetties fish well for bream on soft-shell crab and local prawns. It is the classic family lake jetty, with a ferry, koalas across the water and enough boats moving to keep everyone entertained. The bream, as ever, ignore the scenery.

Fish lightly weighted baits close to the pylons for bream, letting the bait sink naturally beside the structure. Soft-shell crab and local prawn are the go-to baits; sandworm and cut crab work too. Lure anglers work small soft plastics along the jetty edges and adjacent drop-offs. Tailor and salmon come through in schools and are best targeted with small metal lures when birds or bust-ups show. Flathead hold on the sandy drop-offs in the warmer months and take soft plastics hopped slowly.

Black bream are the main catch, with tailor, salmon, mullet and luderick around the jetties and flathead on the edges in summer. 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 (filleting on a boat-ramp cleaning table is fine). Dusky flathead are 30–55 cm with a bag of 5 and, like bream, must stay whole until you leave the water. Tailor have a 23 cm minimum and bag of 20.

Fish early or late — the foreshore gets busy with boats, ferry traffic and walkers through the day. Keep well clear of the Raymond Island ferry and boats using the jetty. If you plan to fish the harbour jetties, check Gippsland Ports works notices before the trip. Soft-shell crab is the local secret that is no longer a secret.

Progress Jetty is on the Esplanade in central Paynesville, with foreshore parking and the town's shops and cafes nearby. The jetty is flat and generally accessible, with the Sunset Cove walking track starting here. It is a family-friendly spot, and there is no fee. The Paynesville boat ramp is a short distance along the foreshore. This is a town where the boat gets the garage and the car gets the street.

Lake Victoria is relatively easy water, but the lakes respond quickly to wind; strong south-westerlies and easterlies chop the water up. The Raymond Island channel in front of the jetty concentrates what water movement there is — wind more than tide this far from the entrance — which helps the bite. Heavy rain in the catchment discolours the lakes, and summer can bring algal blooms in some years.

Jetty edges, wet boards and boat traffic are the main hazards; the ferry and boats berthing need room. Supervise children closely near the edge. Take sun protection on summer days. Check for blue-green algae warnings in summer.

The town jetties, including Progress Jetty on the Esplanade, are the main shore-based spots. In spring they fish well for bream on soft-shell crab and local prawns.

Bream are the predominant catch, tailor show up regularly and flathead are found around the drop-offs or on the edges in warmer months.

Paynesville is on the Gippsland Lakes, so black bream must be 28–38 cm with a bag of 7, kept whole until you are off the water.