Melbourne, Australia

Fishing & Travel Destination

Yet another capital city, Melbourne, is the second most populated city in Australia, and is the crown jewel and state capital of Victoria. Located around Port Phillip Bay, there are nearly 3.75 people (called 'Melburnians') populating this amazing, bustling metropolis. Melbourne is one of the major hub centres of the asia-pacific region, with the main focus being commerce, industry, and various cultural activities. The city is often referred to as Australia's 'sporting and cultural capital' and was the host city of the 1956 Olympics, and more recently, the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Melbourne has a golden reputation as a wonderful place to reside, as proven by the Economist Magazine's annual survey on the World's Most Livable Cities, which it has been named the top city three times in the last decade. However, over the last severa years, soaring property price tags have made it one of the least affordable places to reside in the entire world!

This isn't so great for year around citizens, but for travelers and visiting anglers from around the world, there are many more things to focus on, including the multitude of cultural events annually, a vibrant performing arts segment, and amazing architecture to be seen from every corner. Melbourne is also considered to be Australia's live music capital with a large proportion of successful Australian artists emerging from the Melbourne live music scene.

Aside from the abundance of cultural going-ons, there is awsome fishing to be experienced here as well! Port Phillip Bay is one of the most popular fishing spots in Melbourne. Known just as 'The Bay' to locals, Port Phillip is a giant marine bay totaling nearly half a million acres. Although extremely shallow for its huge size -- the deepest point is only 80 feet, with a majority of the bay reaching depths of only 15 feet -- most of the bay is navigable for most fishing vessels.

Port Phillips flat topography make it an ideal locale for most water sports other than fishing, including: kite-surfing, windsurfing, sailing, boating and yachting, and scuba diving, as well as a multitude of beach sports and activities. Scuba diving, in particular, is very popular, with easy access available to a number of wrecks, reefs, drift dives, scallop dives, and wall dives.

The beautiful Peninsula port of Mornington, located on the eastern side of the bay, with a variety of beaches, provides the perfect base for most of Melbourne's professional fishing and diving charters. The area has some of the best Snapper grounds in Port Phillip Bay and unlike many locations worldwide, which require a large amount of travel time, here in Mornington Peninsula, you will be casting your line within 15-30 minutes of departure from the pier.

In season, the local catches are anything from Snapper, Gummy Shark, Garfish, Couta, Rock Cod, Whiting, Leatherjackets, Squid - and right through the year, Flathead is the predominant fish of the bay, with squid and Shark also being the catch du-jour.