San Remo Pier

San Remo Pier is on Marine Parade, on the mainland side just before the bridge to Phillip Island, and it is a working fishing port as well as a fishing spot: the commercial fleet berths here and the Fishermen's Co-op sells the catch off the boats. A deep channel runs across the front of the pier, and the tidal currents through it are very strong. The payoff is variety — squid, garfish, King George whiting, salmon, barracouta, silver trevally, snapper, leatherjackets and wrasse — and salmon, garfish and squid are the most reliable. The daily pelican feeding on the foreshore draws a crowd that is not there for the fishing.

Heavy sinkers are essential except around slack water at the tide change. Fish a few hours either side of high tide; casting away from the pier is not always required — fish are often caught right beside it. Soft plastics and metal lures that resemble baitfish work for salmon, couta and snapper, and pilchards, bluebait, prawns and squid cover the bait options. Gummies and rays come on night tides; any ray goes back, because rays cannot be taken within 400 m of a pier or jetty.

Salmon (21 cm, combined bag 20 with herring), garfish (combined bag 40) and squid (combined bag of 10) are the bread and butter. Wrasse are a common bycatch around the piles. King George whiting (27 cm, bag 20), silver trevally (20 cm, bag 20), snapper (28 cm, bag 10 with no more than three at 40 cm or over), leatherjackets (combined bag 20) and barracouta (bag 20) all feature, with gummy sharks a night-time chance.

Stay out of the way of the fishing fleet — this is their workplace, and the pier is maintained to support the commercial industry. Time your arrival for the hour before the tide turns, fish the slack and the first of the new run, and pack up when the lead stops holding. The tackle shop nearby will tell you which tide is doing the damage this week.

The pier is on Marine Parade in San Remo, with a foreshore reserve next to it that has toilets, barbecues and a playground. Shops, cafés, plenty of parking and a tackle store are close by. On a penguin-parade evening or a MotoGP weekend, the queue for the bridge gives you plenty of time to study the tide from the car. The approach is flat from the foreshore. Parks Victoria replaced decking and beams on the outer arm in 2022.

San Remo sits on the narrow eastern entrance to Western Port, and the tide that fills and drains the eastern arm squeezes past the pier — water runs through the channel and under the bridge hard enough to show white water on a big outgoing tide. Fishing is easiest around high-tide slack. Wind against tide makes the channel steep and choppy.

The current beside the pier is among the strongest in the port — a fall at peak run is a serious matter, so children belong in a lifejacket (AS 4758) and nobody should climb down the piles. Commercial fishing boats, tour and charter boats and recreational boats share the channel. Watch for pelicans around baits and cleaning tables. Check Parks Victoria notices for works around the San Remo bridge next door — when scaffolds, pontoons or marked exclusion zones are on the water, keep casts well clear of them.

A few hours either side of high tide, especially around slack water when the current eases. On the full run you need very heavy sinkers to hold the bottom.

Expect squid, King George whiting, Australian salmon, barracouta, silver trevally, snapper, leatherjackets and wrasse. Salmon, garfish and squid are the most reliable, and gummy sharks and rays are caught at night — release the rays, as they cannot be taken within 400 m of a pier or jetty.

Yes. Parks Victoria repaired the outer arm in 2022 so the pier stays safe and open, and it remains a busy working pier for the commercial fishing fleet as well as anglers.