East Beach (Port Fairy)
Summary for 24 Oct 2026
Bite Compass is showing a medium fish activity bite score on 24 Oct 2026. Wind is around W at 21 km/h. Solunar feeding windows are listed below.
Feeding Windows
Local Knowledge
East Beach is Port Fairy's main town beach, running north from the Moyne mouth past the surf club, then curving east around Port Fairy Bay, and its surf fishing is best known for salmon, with whiting on the calmer days. The bay's shape gives it partial shelter from the heaviest swells, so the waves are gentler than on the open coast either side — which suits beginners and kids as much as it suits the salmon. It is a sand-bottom beach patrolled in summer, so the fishing has to work around the swimmers. The upside is that everything else Port Fairy offers is a few hundred metres behind you.
Walk the beach at low tide and look for gutters and darker water between the sandbars, then fish them on the rising tide. Pilchards on ganged hooks or metal slugs cast into the wash catch salmon; pipi or squid on a light paternoster picks up whiting and flathead on calm days. Dawn and dusk are the windows, especially in summer when the beach is crowded through the middle of the day. The salmon seem happy to leave the middle of a summer day to the swimmers.
Salmon are the staple, with whiting on the calmer days. Flathead and the occasional mulloway turn up on bait, though mulloway are a long shot rather than a plan. Victorian limits: salmon 21 cm with 20 combined with Australian herring, flathead 27 cm and 20, mulloway 60 cm and 5 — with a mulloway change proposed, check the current VFA guide before keeping one. King George whiting are 27 cm with a bag of 20 and must be kept whole until you leave the beach.
Fish away from the red and yellow flags in front of the surf club during patrols (summer, roughly late November to April — check Beachsafe for days and hours). Dogs are allowed in some zones outside summer patrol hours — check Moyne Shire signage. Outside patrol hours the gutter in front of the surf club can be fished, but people still swim there — keep well clear of anyone in the water. During patrols, walk beyond the flags to find the next gutter.
Access & Conditions
Access points run along the foreshore with full foreshore facilities nearby. Parking is along the beachfront roads. The beach is a short, flat walk from town, making it one of the easier surf beaches on the coast for families.
A moderate swell builds the gutters; a big south-westerly makes the beach dumpy and weedy. Offshore (northerly) winds clean it up. The beach is partially sheltered, so it often stays fishable when more exposed beaches are blown out.
Surf beaches have rips, even sheltered ones. Do not wade deep to cast. The beach is patrolled only in summer, so outside those times there is no one watching.
Gear & Rigs
A 10–12 ft surf rod with a 5000 reel, 15–20 lb braid and a 20–30 lb leader. Ganged 3/0–4/0 hooks for pilchards, 30–50 g metal slugs, and a paternoster with 1/0 hooks and 2–4 oz sinkers. A sand spike and a bait board make long sessions easier. The bait board also stops the pilchards ending up crumbed.
Seasons
Salmon can turn up in any month, with the bigger schools from autumn through winter; the beach is quieter and more fishable outside the summer patrol period. Winter swells reshape the gutters, so walk the beach at low tide before each trip. Whiting are a calm-weather fish, best from late spring into autumn. On folk festival weekend the town is so full that the beach at dawn is the quietest place in Port Fairy, which suits the salmon fine.
If This Spot's Blown Out
Frequently Asked
Yes, for surf fishing. It is known for salmon, with whiting on calm days, and its partial shelter makes it gentler than the open coast.
Yes, in summer — roughly late November to April, mainly weekends and holidays. Check Beachsafe for patrol days and hours, and fish away from the flags.
There are dog-friendly zones outside summer patrol hours. Check current Moyne Shire signage.