Altona Beach

Altona has approximately three kilometers of beach frontage. The kayak angler can just about launch from anywhere along the shoreline. However, there are some rocky outcrops scattered along the beach to watch out for. The rocks are fairly visible are for the most part situated along up the Millers Road end of the beach. 

Altona - Davies Street

Davies street is a great spot to launch from as it is a flat shallow seabed. You can launch here on a high or a low tide. The great thig about this spot is that it has access to a large group of weed-beds and some rubbly bottom. This area holds an abundance of small pinkies, large flathead and leather jackets. Best baits in this area are squid and pilchards. Keep your rod & reel light when fishing here, around 1-2kg rod & combo with a 2000-2500 sized reel. I like to get on the drift in this area as it produces some good flathead yields. 

Altona Beach - Webb Street

The other good spot to launch from is Webb street. This will give the angler access to some nice flathead gutters and some nice weed-beds which hold flathead and squid. It is best to launch on a high tide as the low tide can produce some conditions which are unfavorable to get your kayak across. On the low tide you will need to walk through a small section of ankle deep mud and rotting seaweed. However, once you get through that section the sand is pretty firm underfoot. I am not saying it is impossible to launch on the low tide by any means, I'm just saying that the high tide makes for an easier launch. I launch from this location no matter what the tides is, but I do prefer the high tide. 

If it is a small southerly breeze I paddle out to twice the length of the Altona pier and then drift back in toward the beach back in alignment with the yellow special marker, then I repeat the process again. Make sure you stick in alignment with the two rock groins (Webb street & Correa street). By drifting on this trajectory you will cross many weed-beds and gutters holding large flathead. If the wind is blowing from the north, your best bet is to paddle out in alignment to the special marker and and let the wind take you out to double the length of the pier. 

The flathead will bite on a calm day or conditions that are a little on the rough side. I find that when the water clarity is really poor the flathead will shut down a little. Best baits are whitebait and bass yabbies, you will find that drifting baby bottle squid works really well too. The good thing about drifting with squid is that it will stay on your hook a lot better than other baits. This means you lines are in the water more, because you won't need to be constantly checking your baits. It also pays to troll a bait on the way out as there are plenty of pike around in this area too. Hardbody lures or soft plastics work well when targeting pike. 

Again a light outfit is the best set up for this type of fishing. Soft plastics work well in this area, on the flathead. I find the clearer the water the more luck I have with soft plastics. In particular I find that the Z-man SlimSwim in Motor Oil 2 1/2 inch works best, followed by the Burkely Turtle Back worm in Pumpkin Seed colour is also very effective.  

Best Rigs

The best rigs for this area are the running sinker and the whiting flasher rigs in pink and Super UV yellow. I find that a single size #4 long shank hook with a size 2 ball sinker works well. The larger the sinker the better in this spot. You want that sinker bouncing off the bottom as you drift causing the sand to make a nice puff to get the flatheads attention. The Super UV whiting rigs work best when the water clarity is poor. The glowing properties help to attract the fish. I find that the yellow one to be the one that has the best results after many years of trial and error. As for the standard whiting flasher rigs, you cannot go past the pink one, which is loaded on 20lb leader and use size #4 circle hooks. 

For a comprehensive overview of fishing Altona Beach check out our Youtube video: 

Kayak Fishing Altona Beach - Part 2