Port Welshpool delights by Jarrod Day

Located two hours from Melbourne on the southeast coast of Victoria, Port Welshpool is a quaint waterway like that of Western Port. Influenced by strong tidal flows and at times wild weather, Port Welshpool is located at the base of Mt Oberon, Wilsons Promontory's highest mountain. The scenery is breathtaking, and this tranquil waterway boasts some amazing fishing throughout the year.
In recent weeks, the once damaged Long Jetty has finally been repaired and reopened to the public. It has been the best part of 15 years since it was closed to the public, and land-based anglers have already been having plenty of success.
There is a superb boat launching facility near the Long Jetty, providing easy access to Port Welshpool's fish-rich waters. It's a great location to spend a day or even a whole weekend.
One thing to remember though is that Port Welshpool cops its fair share of unfavourable weather. You should always check the weather, tides and swell before embarking.
LAND-BASED OPTIONS
Now that the Long Jetty has been repaired, land-based anglers can catch a wide range of species here. The jetty runs alongside a sand flat before entering and running along the Lewis Channel on its southern side, providing anglers with access to deep water. During the high tides, gummy sharks, calamari, King George whiting and kingfish are all on offer. Providing you do a little research on the species you want to target, and implement the techniques suited to that species, you should have success.
Calamari make exceptional baits for kingfish, whiting and gummy sharks. You can easily catch calamari by casting jigs towards the sand bank and working them back towards the jetty, and you can either take your squid home for dinner or turn them into bait for a more prized species. Though calamari can be caught during the day, they are more prolific at night.
Though the Long Jetty is a standout, there is also the shipping port jetty located approximately 500m further up the inlet. The odd gummy shark can be caught here along with kingfish in season, and silver trevally, calamari and whiting are also available.
If you're the adventurous type, wading the flats can lead to some memorable catches. Early in the morning on the high tide you can walk the flats around the Long Jetty up to Possum Creek and flick soft plastics for flathead or cast baits out for whiting. This is also effective during the summer months, fishing the high tide late in the afternoon.
SNAPPER
Snapper are well regarded in Welshpool, and while the snapper season in Metro Melbourne begins around September, at Port Welshpool it tends to start a few weeks later. It also finishes later, running well into January, with the larger fish often turning up throughout the December/January period. While a 8-9kg fish caught in Port Phillip Bay or Western Port might have a similar