FROM SALTWATER Peninsula’s piers are without peer by Richard Cornish

FROM SALTWATER peninsula’s piers are without peer

Our waterways are rich in fish – from sardines and snapper to calamari and King George whiting. Fish and seafood have fed people living around the bays for millennia. In the late 1800s, scores of piers and jetties once jutted out from beaches and sheltered coves around the shores of Western Port and Port Phillip. Before refrigeration, fishers would haul in their catch of snapper, Australian salmon, King George whiting, flathead and other fish and sail them to Hastings Jetty or Mornington Pier. From there they would be carted to the train, landing before lunch at the Old Fish Market once next to Flinders Street Station. While some of the old piers are now just pylons in the sand, many still serve their communities as places to stroll, moorings for boats, and platforms offering excellent places to drop in a line and catch a fish for dinner.

One of the most historic and dramatic piers is at the end of Main St in Mornington. Surrounded by ochre red cliffs and the sound of the yachts’ rigging clanking in the breeze, Mornington Pier is an ideal place to try your luck for snapper; the landmark headland nearby is called Schnapper Point. Fishers also come here for the squid and flathead. If you don’t get bite on your line, try a bite in the seafood restaurant overlooking the pier – The Rocks – or buy a scallop pie from the kiosk.

Flinders Pier made headlines recently when Sir David Attenborough voiced concern about the fate of the weedy seadragons living under it. If you head to the end of the pier you’ll walk over the top of them, but you’ll also have a good chance of catching squid or calamari; you may even get some King George whiting. During the warmer months you’ll notice both a mussel boat and an oyster boat selling mussels and oysters that are farmed just offshore. beach nearby is popular for swimming. You can watch the giant rays that come in for a feed from fishers offering them a little bait. Here you’ll find success fishing for whiting and garfish.

One of the most beautiful parts of the bay is Sorrento, and here there are two piers. There is the hustle and bustle of Sorrento Pier with the coming and going of the ferry to Queenscliff. Then there is the beauty and serenity of Sorrento Long Pier, a historic wooden pier jutting into the azure blue waters off Sorrento. Very popular for squid fishing – as is its near neighbour Portsea Pier – Sorrento Pier is known for its snapper, Australian salmon, bream and leatherjacket fishing.

There are other piers and jetties dotted around the bays, including Hastings Jetty, Stony Point Pier, Safety Beach Pier, Blairgowrie Pier, Rye Pier and Rosebud Pier. Make sure you buy the appropriate fishing licence from service.vic.gov.au and find out more about fishing in the bays from vfa.vic.gov.au RICHARD CORNISH