AbstractAs a popular leisure activity, recreational fishing plays a key socio-economic role in Australia, especially in regional areas where it also provides economic benefit to local businesses. Angler satisfaction is considered as the end outcome of the recreational fishing experience, and it is an important element in recreational fishing management given its potential contribution to subsequent fishing events and regulations. Port Phillip Bay (PPB) hosts the largest marine recreational fishery in the state of Victoria and thousands of anglers visit PPB multiple times annually yet the satisfaction of recreational fishers in PPB has not been previously explored in detail. To this end, using long-term satisfaction information collected from creel surveys at 20 boat ramps in PPB during a 6-year period from 2016/17 to 2021/22, we evaluated spatiotemporal patterns in satisfaction from regional and annual perspectives as well as the influence of demography (age groups), key target species, and catch rate. Our results indicated positive relationships between catch per unit of effort (CPUE) and angler avidity with angler satisfaction. Annual and regional variation in satisfaction were observed, with higher satisfaction evident among younger anglers, especially in the Bellarine region along the western coastline of PPB. Angler satisfaction also varied across species with those anglers targeting calamari being generally more satisfied, however, satisfaction increased for snapper when interacted with CPUE. Overall, this research pursued insights into the behaviour of anglers and factors that influenced their fishing trip satisfaction, with the ultimate goal being the formulation of performance indicators that can be used to both understand and monitor angler satisfaction into the future. More broadly, the study also provides insight into how management interventions will impact angler satisfaction, therefore making it more likely that the needs and concerns of recreational fishers are considered in decision-making processes.Keywords: angler satisfaction, recreational fishing, target species, spatiotemporal patterns, fisheries management