Werribee South Beach

Werribee South Beach runs from the Werribee River mouth east to the rock wall at Wyndham Harbour, a long shallow strip of sand and weed made for wade-and-cast fishing. Off it lie the extensive weed beds that make the western side of the bay such good habitat for calamari, King George whiting and flathead. The trick is not distance but reading the bottom: the fish feed in the bare sand patches and holes between the weed. It is a simple, cheap, walk-and-flick fishery with the You Yangs on one side and a lot of very busy snapper boats on the other.

Wade out to knee or thigh depth in calm, clear water and cast across the weed, landing your bait or lure in the pale sand patches — those holes are your casting targets. A small soft plastic hopped slowly across the sand does the job on flathead, while a running-sinker or paternoster rig with pipi, bought mussel or squid suits whiting. When the water is clear, a squid jig cast over the weed edges will find calamari. Keep moving along the beach until you find fish rather than parking on one spot. If the sand holes look empty, wade on — the flathead are rarely where you parked.

Flathead are the most reliable fish in the warmer months, from spring through to autumn, and they are 27 cm minimum with a combined bag of 20 across the non-dusky species. King George whiting work the same sand holes through summer and autumn (27 cm, bag 20). Calamari show up when the water clears, peaking from April to October, and the combined bag for squid, octopus and cuttlefish is 10. Australian salmon and mullet pass along the beach in the cooler months.

Buy your pipis and mussels — in Port Phillip Bay's intertidal zone you may only collect marine worms, bass yabbies, squid, octopus and cuttlefish, so the rocks and shallows are off limits for shellfish bait. Polarised sunglasses make the sand holes stand out like a map on a bright morning. Fish the first of the run-in tide, when the flats re-flood and the fish push in to feed. Skates and rays are off limits within 400 m of the jetties and rock walls at either end, so let any ray go. Wet socks are part of the uniform here; dry ankles mean you haven't found the fish yet.

Park along the Werribee South foreshore near the river mouth and walk east onto the sand; the river-mouth precinct has toilets and grassed reserves (the nearby boat ramp has been under reconstruction, so expect some fencing). The beach is flat and the water is shallow, which makes it kid-friendly in calm weather, but it is a wading fishery rather than a wheelchair one. Bring water and a hat; there is no shade on the flats. The drive in past the market gardens is the closest most anglers get to a vegetable all weekend.

This is a calm-water spot. A northerly or north-westerly is offshore and leaves the shallows flat and clear, which is exactly what the sight-casting needs. Anything from the south or south-east pushes a short, steep chop onto the flats, stirs the bottom and the fishing goes off until it settles. Bright sun and clear water also make the fish spooky, so dawn and evening fish best in summer.

Wading means stingrays, sharp shell and soft patches — shuffle your feet, wear footwear and never wade deeper than your waist. The shallows warm and cool fast, and a southerly change can raise a nasty chop quickly, so keep an eye on the sky. The river mouth at the western end has boat traffic and a current on the run-out tide; stay out of the channel. Sun exposure on the flats is brutal in summer.

Wade out in calm, clear water and cast into the bare sand patches between the weed beds — that is where the flathead and whiting feed. Soft plastics for flathead, small baits on long-shank hooks for whiting and squid jigs over the weed for calamari. A northerly or north-westerly (offshore) gives the best conditions.

No. In Port Phillip Bay's intertidal zone (from the high-water mark out to 2 m deep) you may only take marine worms, burrowing shrimp such as bass yabbies, squid, octopus and cuttlefish. Buy shellfish bait from a tackle shop.

Sand flathead and the other non-dusky flathead are 27 cm minimum with a combined bag of 20 per person in Victoria. King George whiting are 27 cm with a bag of 20, and squid, octopus and cuttlefish share a combined bag of 10.