Leschenault is Bunbury's long narrow estuary — a protected shallow inlet running north from Koombana Bay up to Australind, and one of the South West's most accessible crabbing grounds. Character is Peel-Harvey-ish but tighter and more walkable: you can access most of it from foreshore paths and boat ramps without needing anything fancier than a bucket and a measure. Bream hold along structure, whiting work the sand flats in summer, and mulloway haunt the deeper holes down near the entrance.

Wade or walk the banks with light gear — soft plastics and small hardbodies around structure for bream, prawn or bloodworm baits on the sand for whiting on a rising tide. Drop nets off the foreshore or a boat ramp for blue swimmer crabs in the season. For mulloway, fish the deeper holes closer to Koombana Bay at dusk into dark with whole mulies. Koombana end also fires for squid at dawn and dusk on clear still days — work small jigs through the weed beds.

Black bream (year-round on structure), sand and yellowfin whiting (summer flats), flathead, herring, cobbler after dark, tailor in autumn, and mulloway in the deeper pockets near the entrance. Squid are a Koombana-end bonus in the cooler months. Blue swimmer crabs are the signature headline from December through to the end of August.

Leschenault blue swimmer crab closed season is 1 September – 30 November — crab legally outside that window, minimum 127 mm across the carapace. Water is shallow enough that light gear and clean presentations beat heavy tackle every time. Australind end is quieter and fishes better for wade anglers; Koombana end is busier but closer to pubs and bait shops. Algal bloom advisories from DWER/DPIRD apply as with other WA estuaries.