What fish are in the Moore River?

Black bream are the resident species year-round, with smaller fish through the lower estuary and better fish upstream. When the sandbar opens to the ocean, tailor, herring, whiting and the odd mulloway move through the mouth, and the surf beach north of the river produces tailor, herring and whiting most of the year.

Is the Moore River mouth open?

It depends on rainfall. A sandbar seals the river from the ocean for most of the year. After heavy winter and spring rain the river breaks through the bar, and ocean swell rebuilds it once the flow drops in summer. There's no fixed date — check locally or look at the bar from the Guilderton foreshore before you commit to mouth fishing.

Is the Moore River good for family fishing?

Yes. The lower estuary is calm, shallow and walk-on from the Guilderton foreshore and grassy reserve, with a boat ramp, toilets and parking. Small bream, herring and the chance of a fish on simple bait gear make it one of the easier family spots within an hour of Perth.

Do you need a fishing licence for the Moore River?

No recreational fishing from shore licence is needed for line fishing in WA. A licence is required for some activities like net fishing or fishing from a powered boat, and bag and size limits apply to everything you keep — check the current rules on the DPIRD website.

Can you catch black bream in the Moore River?

Yes — black bream are the main target and are present all year. The lower reaches hold numbers of smaller fish, while the deeper upstream holes near fallen timber and rocky ridges produce larger bream on small hardbody lures and live or natural baits.

Moore River Fishing at Guilderton

An hour north of Perth, the Moore River meets the coast at Guilderton and then, most of the time, doesn’t quite make it to the sea. A sandbar sits across the mouth, the river backs up into a long, calm, tannin-stained lake, and the whole thing becomes one of the most forgiving family fishing spots within easy reach of the city. Then a wet winter dumps enough rain in the catchment, the river shoves the bar aside, and for a while it fishes like a proper estuary mouth. Knowing which of those two rivers you’re looking at is most of the game here.

The Sandbar — Open or Closed

The Moore is fed by springs and seasonal rainfall, and a sandbar across the mouth seals it from the ocean for much of the year. After heavy winter and spring rain the river breaks the bar and runs out to sea; once the flow eases in summer, ocean swell rebuilds the bar and the estuary becomes a freshwater lake again. It opens and closes several times in a wet year and barely at all in a dry one.

This matters because the two states fish completely differently:

Bar closed (most of the year, especially summer): a calm, shallow freshwater-to-brackish lake. Resident black bream, easy walk-on access, dead-flat water, ideal for kids. Tides don’t do much.
Bar open (after good winter/spring rain): the mouth turns on. A dirty waterline forms where freshwater pushes out over the surf, and tailor, herring, whiting and the occasional mulloway stack up to feed on it. Now tide and conditions matter — fish the run-out and the change of light.

Check the bar before you plan your session. You can see it from the Guilderton foreshore, and the locals will tell you whether it’s “gone out” or not.

Where to Fish

The lower estuary and foreshore

The grassy reserve at Guilderton, the wooden jetties and the river bank either side are the easy, walk-on heart of the spot. This is where most people fish and where the kids catch their first black bream. The lower reaches hold numbers of smaller bream year-round, plus herring when the bar’s been open. Calm water, simple bait gear, no need for a boat. There’s a recently upgraded boat ramp here too if you want to launch a kayak or tinny and work the deeper water.

Upstream holes

Bigger bream live up the river, away from the crowd. Past the foreshore the river narrows into a series of deeper pools — three metres and more — along rocky ridges and around fallen timber. A kayak or canoe gets you to them, and they reward a quiet approach: small hardbody lures cast tight to structure, or live and natural baits drifted through the holes. This is the part of the system worth the effort if you’ve outgrown catching tiddlers off the jetty.

The mouth and the surf beach

When the bar’s open, fish the mouth itself for tailor, herring and the chance of a mulloway along the dirty waterline. North of the river the surf beach holds tailor, herring and whiting through much of the year regardless of the bar, with reef structure and deeper gutters reachable on foot or by 4WD for those who know the access. This is your saltwater option, and on a good dawn it’s a long way from the placid lake a hundred metres upstream.

Rules

WA bag and size limits apply to everything you keep — bream, tailor, herring, whiting and mulloway all have minimum sizes and daily limits, and some species and seasons carry extra rules. These change, so don’t go off a number you half-remember from three summers ago. Check the current figures on the DPIRD recreational fishing rules page before you keep a fish. No licence is needed for shore-based line fishing, but net fishing and fishing from a powered boat have their own requirements.

Gear and Technique

For the estuary bream, keep it light. A 6–7ft 2–4kg spin rod, a 2500 reel, 4–8lb braid and a 6lb fluoro leader covers it. Small 2–3 inch soft plastics and 50–60mm hardbody lures around timber and the deeper holes, or natural baits — prawn, mulies, and live mealworms genuinely shine for bream here — on a light running-sinker or small longshank hook. Fish small; if your hooks look like they’d hold a picture frame, they’re too big for these fish.

For the surf beach and the open mouth, step up to a light surf or beach rod, 15–20lb mainline, and a gang-hook rig for tailor — three 4/0 ganged hooks through a whole pilchard. A simple paternoster with size 4 longshanks and prawn or worm baits handles the herring and whiting. Dawn and dusk beat the middle of the day, and overcast, slightly coloured water beats dead-clear sun.

A Family-Friendly Plan

This is the spot’s real strength. The Guilderton foreshore has flat water, grass, shade, toilets, parking and a kiosk in season — you can land a feed of small bream and herring on a handline while half the family swims in the lake. Go for the calm-water estuary fishing with kids; save the surf beach and the upstream paddle for when you’re chasing a better fish. Either way, dawn is the move, and an overcast morning is a gift.

The Moore River rewards reading the conditions before you read the water — one look at the bar tells you whether you’ve come to fish a flat freshwater lake or a live estuary mouth. Load wind, tide, swell and solunar for Guilderton (Moore River Mouth) on BiteCompass, and if the bar’s shut, the calm bream water upstream is always waiting. Working your way up the coast? Seabird, Two Rocks and Lancelin are the next marks worth a look.