Riverside Gardens (Bayswater, Swan River)

Riverside Gardens runs along the north bank of the Swan at Bayswater, and the City splits it into two halves that fish and feel completely differently. The West section is the one anglers want — a sandy river beach, where most of the Swan's north-bank spots offer a rock wall and little else. The reserve's one jetty sits down at the east end beside the boat launch. Sand you can stand a five-year-old on is the whole differentiator, and it is why every kid-fishing guide in Perth names this reserve. The East section carries the boat launch, more picnic shelters and a fenced dog exercise area, with an urban forest planting under way there as of September 2026. Bream, flathead and summer whiting are the realistic catch, though the guides that name them do not describe an actual session here. The reserve itself is open, but blue swimmer crabbing is shut until 30 November.

Standard middle-Swan light tackle, and no source describes anything clever that belongs to this reserve alone. Fish small soft plastics or bait off the West beach, or off the jetty down at the east-end boat launch, working bream tight to structure and along the shade lines rather than casting into open water. Whiting and flathead come off the sand flats through the warmer months on light paternosters or small plastics over clean bottom. Mulloway are the after-dark option for whoever is still there once the families have packed up. Tide changes matter more than the time on the clock, though dawn and dusk still comfortably outfish the middle of the day.

The guides that cover this reserve list black bream, tailor, flathead and yellowfin whiting, with mulloway as the after-dark option, and none of them describes an actual session — treat it as a solid middle-Swan mixed bag rather than a hot spot. Black bream are 250mm minimum with a daily bag of 6, and the Swan and Canning add a restriction that applies nowhere else in the state: no more than 2 of those bream may be over 400mm. Flathead are 300mm with a bag of 8, and tailor are 300mm with a bag of 8 and only 2 fish over 500mm. Yellowfin whiting carry no minimum size in WA at all and a daily bag of 30, so the limiting factor on a whiting session is patience rather than paperwork. Mulloway are 500mm with a bag of 2. Blowfish are on the local list too, and they are highly poisonous to eat, so return them to the water.

Back-cast room is the real constraint on a busy afternoon, with a fenced playground behind the West beach and a dog exercise area at the East end. Pick a stretch of bank clear of both before rigging up rather than after. The riverbank trees give this reserve genuine shade, which is the honest reason a family session here outlasts one on an exposed rock wall in February. If the beach is full, the bank either side of it and the jetty down at the east-end boat launch hold the same fish and take a fraction of the foot traffic.

Off King William Street, the City of Bayswater's stated address, or Milne Street — both border the reserve. The West section carries 50-plus parking bays including 2 ACROD bays, public toilets, barbecues, picnic shelters, a fenced and shaded playground, a drink fountain with a dog bowl, a food truck bay and a coffee trailer. The East section has 80-plus bays with another 2 ACROD, picnic shelters, the boat launch and the fenced dog area. The formed paths and shelters, with 2 ACROD bays in each section, are the accessible part — the sand beach and the natural bank are not wheelchair surfaces, and the good end of the car park fills first. Dogs are on-lead in the designated area of the West section and off-lead in designated areas of the East. Alcohol is prohibited across the City's public spaces, no lighting information is published for the reserve, and posted signs override anything written here.

Middle Swan water — tidal, brackish, and with no ocean swell to think about at all. The reserve faces roughly south across the river from the north bank, so the afternoon sea breeze arrives straight on and mornings run calmer and cleaner. The riverbank trees make it more bearable than an exposed wall on a hot day, which affects how long anglers last rather than how the fish behave. Bream hold tight to structure through the year, while whiting and flathead spread over the sand flats once the water warms in summer. Clarity drops for a few days after heavy winter rain colours the upper river.

The reserve is shared space first and a fishing spot second — a fenced playground sits behind the West beach and a busy dog exercise area occupies the East end, so back-cast room is genuinely limited when it is busy. Boat launch traffic runs at the east end, the launch is not a Department of Transport listed ramp, and it shows on a busy Sunday. The sandy beach shelves into the river and the depth drops away from the edge, which matters with small kids on the sand. Blowfish strip baits through the warmer months and are highly poisonous to eat, so back they go. Any blue swimmer crab taken in the Swan and Canning should have its top shell, guts and gills removed before it is frozen, cooked or eaten, on DPIRD's advice, 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. No lighting information is published for the reserve, so assume there is none and bring a torch if the session runs past sunset.

It is one of the best on the middle Swan. The West section has a sandy river beach, so children can cast and then have a splash between bites, and the reserve backs it up with public toilets, barbecues, a fenced shaded playground, a coffee trailer and more than 50 parking bays including 2 ACROD bays. The beach shelves away into the river, so keep small kids supervised at the edge.

Black bream are the mainstay, with tailor, flathead and yellowfin whiting through the warmer months and mulloway after dark. Bream are 250mm minimum with a bag of 6, and no more than 2 of them may be over 400mm in the Swan and Canning. Flathead are 300mm and tailor 300mm, both with a bag of 8, while yellowfin whiting have no minimum size in WA and a bag of 30. Blowfish turn up as well and are poisonous to eat, so return them.

The West section is the fishing half — the sandy beach and the bank either side of it. The reserve's jetty is at the other end, in the East section beside the boat launch, along with the picnic shelters and the fenced dog exercise area, so that half is busier with dogs than with anglers. An urban forest planting is under way in the East section as of September 2026.

No. Wire trace has been prohibited throughout the Swan and Canning rivers including their tributaries since 1 October 2024, so a steel or metal wire or chain leader is illegal here. Hooks, swivels and sinkers are excluded from the order, so ganged mulies and normal terminal tackle are unaffected. Run mono or fluorocarbon leader.

Yes, with different rules for each half. Dogs are on-lead in the designated area of Riverside Gardens West, and off-lead in designated areas of Riverside Gardens East, which has a fenced dog exercise area split into small- and large-dog sections. That dog area is worth knowing about before you pick a stretch of bank to cast from.