Queenscliff Pier

Queenscliff Pier, the old Steamer Pier, carries a heritage-listed lifeboat shed — the crews based here saved many lives at the Port Phillip entrance — and today it is one of the most productive land-based spots near the Heads. It gives good access to deep water and weedy habitat, with shelter in bad weather, and holds calamari, snapper, whiting, salmon, flathead, garfish, trevally, leatherjackets and gummy sharks. The steamers are long gone; the anglers took over the berth.

Fish from the end, where the pier reaches deep water. Dawn or dusk on the incoming high tide suits most species, and snapper bite best after strong winds have eased, especially at night. Squid come to 3.0–3.5 jigs over the weed, with extra weight when the current is running; gummies take fresh fish or squid baits on a running rig after dark, with enough lead to hold this close to the Heads.

A long list: calamari, snapper, whiting, salmon, flathead, garfish, silver trevally, leatherjackets and gummy sharks. Squid (including calamari), octopus and cuttlefish: combined bag 10. Snapper 28 cm and 10, no more than 3 of 40 cm or over. King George whiting 27 cm and 20. Salmon 21 cm and 20 combined with Australian herring. Flathead 27 cm and 20. Garfish no minimum and 40. Silver trevally 20 cm and 20. Gummy shark 45 cm partial length and 2 combined with school shark.

Short-term berthing happens here in calm conditions — keep lines clear of boats coming alongside; the lifeboat crews would have approved of the caution, if not the knots. Gummy sharks must stay whole or as a carcass until you are off the water. Know where the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park is if you wander: Swan Bay and Point Lonsdale parts are no-take. Port Phillip Bay (including Corio Bay) berley is capped at 10 litres, and in its intertidal zone you may only take marine worms, bass yabbies, squid, octopus and cuttlefish.

The pier is on Queenscliff's Pier Beach foreshore, a short walk from town, with picnic and barbecue facilities and public toilets nearby along the foreshore. The deck is flat. Dogs on lead; no jumping or diving. The forts and the grand old hotels pull in the pub-lunch crowd; the pier is where you work up an appetite, or explain why you didn't bring one home.

This is close to the Heads, so tides are strong and conditions can be ocean-like. The pier offers shelter in bad weather, and the incoming high tide and the hours after a blow eases fish best. The current here slackens well after the local high and low — at the Heads, slack comes roughly midway between them, and the Port Phillip Heads slack-water tables give exact times — so watch the water rather than the clock and fish the slack when it comes.

Expect deep water, strong currents, submerged obstacles and slippery surfaces, and the area is unpatrolled. Big tides near the Heads can sweep anyone who falls in a long way quickly. Wear a lifejacket if you fish the lower landings or ladders — adults AS 4758 level 50S or greater, level 100 or greater for children.

Yes, from the end of the pier. It fishes well for calamari, snapper, whiting, salmon, flathead, garfish, trevally, leatherjackets and gummy sharks.

Dawn or dusk on the incoming high tide for most species; snapper bite best after strong winds have eased, especially at night.

No — but parts of the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park are nearby, including Swan Bay and Point Lonsdale, and all fishing is banned inside them. VFA's free app has a GPS check that tells you whether you can fish where you are standing.