Warneet Jetties

Warneet sits on Rutherford Inlet in the quiet northern reaches of Western Port, and its two jetties were rebuilt by Parks Victoria and reopened in late 2025 after both had been closed for safety. The south jetty is about 200 m long on steel piles with a timber deck and a floating pontoon; the north jetty is about 68 m with low landings that put you closer to the water. They were rebuilt specifically to bring jetty fishing back, which is the kind of infrastructure priority anglers would like to see more often. It is a small-town, boat-ramp kind of spot — come for a quiet session rather than a crowd.

Rutherford Inlet is mud and channels that flood on the rising tide, so fish it light: a running sinker or paternoster rig with small long-shank hooks, and fresh pipi, mussel or bass yabby for whiting, with a pilchard strip for flathead. The hours up to high water are when the jetty is worth fishing. A little berley helps hold mullet and whiting under the deck. Out of season, a small soft plastic worked slowly along the bottom finds the flathead.

Expect northern Western Port staples rather than trophies: King George whiting (27 cm minimum, bag 20) on the warmer tides, flathead (27 cm, combined bag 20), and salmon and yelloweye mullet in the cooler months. Silver trevally are possible around the piles. Some days the inlet gives up a mixed bag and some days just mullet — that is the northern arm.

Fish the flood into high tide — at low water much of the inlet is mudflat and the jetty is fishing air. Give the pontoon and berthing areas to boats launching and retrieving; they have right of way on a busy weekend. Yaringa Marine National Park lies a little over a kilometre to the west and is no-take, so anyone exploring the shoreline by kayak needs to know where the boundary is.

The jetties are off Rutherford Parade beside the Warneet boat ramp, at the end of the road into this small village. The new south jetty has handrails along the walkway and a 2.6 m-wide deck, which makes it easy going for most mobility levels; the north jetty's 1.8 m fibreglass-mesh deck is narrower. Facilities in the village are limited, so bring what you need.

Rutherford Inlet is sheltered from ocean swell and fishes in most winds, though a strong northerly or southerly chops the open water off the inlet. The big Western Port tide range is what matters: the inlet fills and drains dramatically, so plan around high water. Water is usually murky over the mud, which suits bait more than lures.

Do not walk out on the mudflats at low tide — the mud is soft and the tide floods back quickly. The channel off the inlet carries a strong tidal flow, worth respecting for anyone paddling across toward French Island. Watch for boats manoeuvring at the pontoon.

Yes. Parks Victoria finished rebuilding both the Warneet North and South jetties in late 2025 and they are open to the public. The south jetty is about 200 m long with a pontoon and the north jetty about 68 m with low landings.

Yes — the jetties were rebuilt to reinstate jetty-based fishing as well as boating access. Give way to boats using the pontoon, and fish the rising tide into high water when the inlet is full.

Yes. Yaringa Marine National Park is a little over a kilometre west of the jetties and is a no-take area. The jetties themselves are outside it, but kayak and boat anglers heading west along the shore need to check the park boundary before dropping a line.