Mount Henry Bridge (Canning River)

Mount Henry Bridge carries the Kwinana Freeway and the Mandurah rail line over the Canning between Mount Pleasant and Salter Point, and the pylons standing in the channel give the lower Canning a second set of bridge structure to work after Canning Bridge downstream. The refurbished jetty on the Mount Pleasant side puts you over the deeper water, while sandy flats broken by rocky patches run out from both banks for anyone who'd rather wade. Bream hold around the pylons and along the weed edges year-round, flathead ambush on the sand lanes, and mulloway move through the channel after dark. Six lanes of traffic and two train tracks pass overhead and the fish carry on regardless.

Fish tight to the pylons and along the current edges with small soft plastics or prawn baits on light leaders for bream — the shadow lines under the span are the ambush zones. Drag soft plastics along the sand lanes between the weed for flathead, with early morning the prime window. Wade the flats on a rising tide if the jetty is busy; the bream push up onto the weed edges to feed as the water comes in. After dark on a rising tide, step up the leader and drop mullet or a fresh strip into the deeper channel for mulloway.

Black bream around the pylons and weed edges year-round, flathead on the sand lanes, tarwhine and herring around the structure, and mulloway in the channel after dark. Chopper tailor push through on the tide change in autumn. Yellowfin whiting sit on the cleaner sand patches through summer. Blue swimmer crabs and river prawns turn up along the flats once the water warms, though Deep Water Point up the path is the better crabbing bet.

Blowfish will strip a shallow bait fast; get it down and keep moving if they find you. Swan-Canning cobbler are subject to size (430 mm min) and bag (8) limits and periodic seasonal closures — verify current DPIRD rules before keeping any. Black bream have a 250 mm minimum and a bag of 6, with only 2 over 400 mm allowed across the Swan and Canning combined. Don't crash through the seagrass when wading; it's protected habitat and spooks fish for a long way. Fillet at home, not on the jetty — the playground and picnic tables put families close by.

The main access is the Mount Henry Bridge Reserve on the Mount Pleasant side, off The Esplanade, with a refurbished jetty, ample parking under the bridge and opposite, a playground, public toilets and a grassed picnic area. Sealed paths run along the foreshore and out to Deep Water Point Reserve 1.5 km north. The pedestrian shared path cantilevered under the bridge crosses to the Salter Point and Aquinas Bay foreshore on the far bank, which has its own walkway and quieter flats. The jetty and sealed foreshore paths are mobility-friendly; the wade-fishing positions on the flats are not. There's no formal lighting on the jetty, so a head torch is worth packing for a session into the dark.

Lower-Canning position with significant tidal influence — the rising tide floods the flats and pushes bait around the pylons, and the tide changes are the productive windows rather than slack water. Water clarity in the lower Canning is generally excellent and drops only in the days after heavy rain when the system silts up. An easterly land breeze holds the surface clean through the morning before the afternoon seabreeze swings round. The pylons throw shadow lines that fish use as ambush points; working the shadow boundary on a moving tide is the standard recipe.

The channel drops away hard just off the flats — the water looks uniformly shallow but the edge is closer than it looks, so wade no deeper than waist. Stingrays cruise the flats; shuffle your feet rather than stepping. Rocks at low tide and the jetty timber get slippery after rain and heavy dew; watch your footing. Cobbler spike badly through the dorsal and pectoral spines; handle with care if releasing and never grip them. Boat traffic uses the channel and mosquitoes come out at dusk in the warmer months, so keep long casts clear of vessels and pack repellent. Algal blooms periodically affect the system — check DPIRD advisories before eating anything you keep.

Yes. There's a refurbished public jetty on the Mount Pleasant side, accessed from the Mount Henry Bridge Reserve off The Esplanade, with parking under the bridge, a playground and public toilets. Cast tight to the bridge pylons for bream and into the deeper channel for mulloway after dark; the sandy flats either side suit wade fishing for bream and flathead.

Black bream around the pylons and weed edges year-round are the main target, along with flathead on the sand lanes, tarwhine and herring around the structure, and mulloway moving through the channel after dark. Chopper tailor push through on the tide change in autumn, and yellowfin whiting sit on the sand patches through summer.

Yes. The Mount Pleasant side has a refurbished jetty, sealed paths, a playground, public toilets and grassed picnic areas, and the bread-and-butter bream and herring fishing suits light tackle. Keep an eye on children around the jetty edge and the channel drop-off that sits just off the flats.

The main parking is at Mount Henry Bridge Reserve on the Mount Pleasant side, off The Esplanade, with bays under the bridge and opposite the jetty. The Salter Point and Aquinas Bay foreshore on the far bank has its own access and is reachable on foot via the shared path cantilevered under the bridge.

Black bream have a 250 mm minimum size and a daily bag limit of 6, and only 2 bream over 400 mm may be kept across the Swan and Canning rivers combined. Cobbler are subject to a 430 mm minimum, a bag of 8 and periodic seasonal closures — verify current DPIRD rules before keeping any.