Surry River (Narrawong)

The Surry River reaches the sea at Narrawong, east of Portland, through an estuary that reaches about 10 km upstream — most of the fishing is in the lower few kilometres — and holds black bream, yellow-eye mullet, flounder and Australian salmon. Narrawong is a place you can catch a fish by boat, from the river or off the beach, and the river is popular with kayakers who mostly came for the scenery. It is small, shallow and seasonally closed to the sea — much of it is under 1.3 m deep — so it rewards a quiet approach rather than a big cast. Think of it as Portland's back-up estuary for the days the breakwater is shut or the wind is wrong.

Most of the estuary is under 1.3 m deep, so fish the few deeper bends and the edges where the bank drops away, with light bait rigs or small lures. Sandworm, shrimp and crab are the natural baits for bream and flounder; bread berley brings mullet up. When the mouth is open, a rising tide pushes salt water and fish up from the beach; when it is closed, the fish hold in the deeper bends. A kayak opens up more of the estuary than the bank does.

Black bream and yellow-eye mullet are the regular catches, with flounder on the sand and salmon near the mouth. Victorian limits: bream 28 cm and 10, salmon 21 cm and 20 combined with Australian herring, mullet no minimum and 40. Keep bream whole until you are off the water.

Shallow, clear water spooks fish — keep low, cast long and fish light. The estuary is a salt-wedge system that is seasonally closed, so conditions change after rain or a mouth opening. A kayak lets you reach the quieter bends upstream, where the bream see far fewer baits.

Narrawong sits on the Princes Highway east of Portland, with the Narrawong Island Holiday Park beside the lower river. Bank access is from public land near the mouth and holiday park. Facilities are limited to the holiday park and the small township.

Sheltered from swell but shallow and wind-affected. Calm, settled weather is best, ideally a rising tide when the mouth is open — check the BoM tide tables for Portland. After heavy rain the water colours up and fish move downstream.

Soft banks and shallow water. If walking out to the river mouth and beach, remember the open coast has rips and swell. Snakes are active along the banks in warm weather.

Black bream, yellow-eye mullet, flounder and Australian salmon, mostly in the lower few kilometres of the estuary.

Yes — fishing, kayaking and canoeing are all popular on the Surry River at Narrawong.

Shallow — much of the estuary is less than 1.3 m deep.