Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fishing
Victoria has some world-class fishing, whether you want to fly fish for rainbow trout in a
mountain stream, lure a yabbie out of a dam, catch a deep-river redfin or hook a yellowtail
kingfish from a surf beach.
In the east, the vast Gippsland Lakes is popular for large snapper and bream, especially
around Bairnsdale, Paynesville, Metung and Lakes Entrance. Further east, Mallacoota is
another favourite family fishing spot, with excellent estuary, river and ocean fishing yield-
ing catches of bream, flathead, whiting and mulloway.
In the state's west, there are top fishing sites all along the Great Ocean Road. Apollo Bay
and Port Campbell make good bases, while Warrnambool offers the chance to hook mullet,
bream or garfish in the Merri and Hopkins Rivers, or whiting, Australian salmon and tre-
vally off the wild ocean beaches.
Marine Parks
Around 5% of Victoria's coastline is protected by marine national parks and smaller marine
sanctuaries, and all fishing is banned in these protected areas. For a full list of no-go zones,
see the Parks Victoria website (
www.parkweb.vic.gov.au
)
.
Licence to Fish
To fish in Victoria's marine, estuarine or fresh waters that are nonprotected areas, those
between the ages of 18 and 70 must purchase a Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), which
costs $6 for 48 hours, $12 for 28 days or $24.50 for a year. Licences are available online at
the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) website (
www.depi.vic.gov.au
) - you'll need a
credit card and printer to print a copy; from most tackle shops; and from DPI offices.
