Fishmarket Reserve (Guildford, Swan River)

Fishmarket Reserve sits on the Guildford bank of the Swan on a tight bend, about 20km inland, and the name comes from the 1831 Guildford fish markets rather than anything modern. The reserve is largely left in a natural state — roughly 400m of riverbank walk trail, timber snags, overhanging trees and shallow flats, with a single-lane concrete boat ramp as the main access point. This is the upper Swan, so the water runs fresher and more tannin-stained than the reaches below, and black bream tight against the timber are the whole reason to come. The reserve is open, but blue swimmer crabbing is shut here until 30 November under the Swan-to-Minninup closure, which matters because the summer crab run is the spot's other drawcard.

The whole place is a snag fishery and the published method for the mark is blunt about it — fish tight against the timber, and in the warmer months work the shallow water close to the bank rather than the deeper channel. Flick a small soft plastic or a suspending hardbody up-current of a snag and let it wash back through, and pull the middle treble off the hardbody before you start, because the timber will have it otherwise. In the cooler months the bream drop into the deeper water, so the same casts into the shallows stop producing and the fish have to be found rather than covered. Tide is the trigger on this reach; the local read is that the bite stops when the tide does, so plan around the changes rather than the slack in the middle. Bloodworms and fresh prawn soak well from the bank and off the ramp, though you will feed a lot of blowfish through the middle of the day.

Black bream are the fish here, and the reserve has a name for holding good numbers of them through summer. Legal size is 250mm with a daily bag of 6, and the Swan and Canning carry one extra rule that applies nowhere else in the state — no more than 2 of those bream may be over 400mm. Tailor push through in summer too, and a December report off this reach had heaps of them with a fair number looking legal, against a 300mm minimum, a bag of 8 and only 2 fish over 500mm. Blue manna crabs reach this far upstream in real numbers, but crabbing is closed 1 September to 30 November, and when it does open the Swan-Canning bag is 5 a day at 127mm across the carapace rather than the 10 that applies down in the Peel, with a boat limit of 20 that needs four or more licensed fishers aboard where the rest of the West Coast needs two. Blowfish are the other constant and they are highly poisonous to eat, so put them straight back rather than working out what to do with them.

Take spare jig heads and hooks — this is timber country and the snags do not negotiate. Work along the 400m of riverbank trail instead of standing at the ramp, which is where everyone else stands and where the boat traffic goes. In an open season the reports from the reach downstream have blowfish by day and crabs by night, which is a fair measure of how much effort it takes to get a bait past the pickers. Fishing from any bridge or weir is banned anywhere in the City of Swan, so keep to the bank and the ramp. Whatever is posted on a sign at the reserve overrides all of it.

Unsealed gravel car park with roughly 10 to 20 car-and-trailer bays, free, no gates and no published opening hours. The single-lane concrete ramp suits small boats, canoes and kayaks, and it doubles as the main bank-fishing platform. Behind it sit a wood barbecue, picnic tables and a playground, with about 400m of riverbank walk trail running from there — enough to build a family afternoon around. There are no toilets, which is the detail worth knowing before committing to a long session with kids. Gravel underfoot and a natural, unformed bank make this a poor choice for anyone with mobility needs, and there is no lighting in the reserve at all, so carry a head torch for anything after dark. Success Hill station is about 450m south-west and Guildford station about 600m east, for anyone who would rather not drive.

Upper tidal Swan, 20km inland and completely sheltered from ocean swell, so wind here is a comfort problem rather than a fishing one. The controlling variable is fresh water — winter rain running down the Avon pushes the bream downstream, which is why this reserve is a warm-half-of-the-year proposition rather than a year-round one. Through summer the fish sit close to the bank and the shallow flats fish best, while in winter they drop into the deeper water and the sessions get noticeably harder. The water is tannin-stained for most of the year and the flats are shallow. Tidal movement is subdued this far upstream but still matters, and the bite tends to stop when the tide does, so fish the changes.

The gravel car park and the unsealed launching surface turn greasy after rain, and the site floods in a big winter river — the 1831 markets failed here for exactly that reason. Boat-ramp traffic shares the bank with anglers and the ramp is the single access point for both, so keep casts and gear clear of anyone reversing a trailer. The snags that make the fishing will take terminal tackle steadily, so re-tie often and check leaders after every fish. Blowfish are documented here through the warmer months and are highly poisonous to eat — return them to the water immediately rather than keeping or filleting them. DPIRD recommends removing the top shell, guts and gills from any blue swimmer crab taken in the Swan and Canning before freezing, cooking or eating it, because of a biotoxin produced by the alga Alexandrium; blooms have been detected at elevated levels and DPIRD warns that eating affected crabs may be dangerous. There are no toilets and no lighting.

Yes. The reserve is open and free, with no gates or opening hours published, and you fish from the natural bank and off the concrete boat ramp — there is no jetty. Black bream in the timber snags are the main target. One thing to know before you go: the City of Swan bans fishing from any bridge or weir anywhere in the district, so do not treat a Swan River road bridge as a backup plan.

No. Blue swimmer crabbing is closed from 1 September to 30 November across the Swan and Canning rivers and all waters south to Minninup Beach, and that closure binds shore crabbers, not just boats. When the season is open the Swan-Canning bag is 5 a day at a minimum 127mm carapace width — half the Peel-Harvey limit, and the Mandurah figure is simply wrong up here. The current rules reopen the season on 1 December, and DPIRD's proposal to shift that to 1 January has been consulted on but is not gazetted.

November through March. The bream sit tight against the bank snags in the warmer months and the shallow water close in is where the fish are. Winter is the weak half of the year here — fresh water coming down the Avon pushes the bream downstream, and the fish that remain hold deeper and bite for a shorter window.

No. The reserve has a wood barbecue, picnic tables, a playground and about 400m of riverbank walk trail, plus an unsealed car park with roughly 10 to 20 car-and-trailer bays, but no toilet block and no lighting. Plan a session with kids around that.

Small soft plastics and suspending hardbodies fished hard against the timber. Published picks for this mark are 65mm and 80mm Squidgies Pro Wrigglers, a 55mm Pro Critter, a Pro Lobby, a 2 inch Gulp Shrimp, a small sinking bream wobbler and a bream prawn vibe. Take the middle treble off any hardbody before the first cast. Bloodworms and fresh prawn are the traditional baits on this stretch.