Rye Pier

Rye Pier is famous in Melbourne's shore-based fishing scene, and on any day or night there are anglers on it except in the worst weather. The end casts into about 6 m of water over sand and seagrass patches, and it is best known as a top-class calamari spot. The pier has a lower platform, seating and some of the warmest, clearest water in Port Phillip — it is a popular dive site, too. Whiting, flathead, salmon, silver trevally, pinkies and garfish make up most of the rest, and the pier has the rare distinction of being crowded at 11 pm on a Tuesday.

Low light and night are prime: the pier lighting attracts baitfish and the predators that follow them, calamari included. Cast jigs over the weed and let them sink before a slow, twitchy retrieve. For the bread-and-butter fish, use a whiting outfit, keep the baits small and run a light berley trail for two hours either side of the tide change, especially at dawn or dusk. Every Rye regular has a lucky jig colour and no two agree, which suggests the squid are less fussy than the anglers.

Calamari headline year-round. Whiting, flathead, salmon, silver trevally, pinkie snapper and garfish make up the bulk of the rest, and leatherjackets hang around the pylons. Squid (including calamari), octopus and cuttlefish: combined bag 10. King George whiting 27 cm and 20. Flathead 27 cm and 20. Salmon 21 cm and 20 combined with Australian herring. Silver trevally 20 cm and 20. Snapper 28 cm and 10 (no more than 3 of 40 cm or over). Garfish no minimum and 40 combined.

Divers use the pier day and night and carry a dive flag — look before you cast, because a diver is not a by-catch. Public berthing follows signposted limits, so keep lines clear of boats tying up. Whiting and snapper stay whole until you leave the water, and Port Phillip berley is capped at 10 litres.

The pier is off Point Nepean Road in the middle of the Rye foreshore, with a boat ramp nearby, a playground and wide sandy beaches either side. Foreshore parking is busy in summer, when the foreshore camping areas are open (late October to early May, busiest over the summer holidays). The deck is flat; the lower platform is the wettest and most slippery part. Dogs on lead; jumping and diving off the pier are prohibited.

Rye faces north across the bay. Southerly winds are offshore and calm; a northerly or westerly brings chop and weed onto the pier. Tides run harder here than further up the bay, so the two hours either side of the change — especially at low light — are the window, and slack water is easiest for the squid.

Expect deep water, strong currents, submerged obstacles and slippery surfaces — the lower platform especially. Divers and snorkellers may be under the pier at any hour. Rays cannot be kept within 400 m of a pier; cut them free. Wear a lifejacket if you fish the lower landings or ladders — adults AS 4758 level 50S or greater, level 100 or greater for children.

It is the Peninsula's best-known land-based calamari spot. The end casts into about 6 m over sand and seagrass patches, and low light and night fish best, when the pier lights draw in baitfish.

Whiting, flathead, salmon, silver trevally, pinkie snapper and garfish make up most of the catch besides squid. Use small baits on a whiting outfit and a light berley trail.

Yes — night is one of the best times, when the pier lighting draws baitfish and squid. Watch for divers, who use the pier at night with dive flags.