Riverton Bridge (Canning River)

Riverton Bridge sits on the upper Canning where the river spreads into shallow sand-and-mud flats broken by seagrass and the bridge pylons. It's a family bream spot before it's anything else — a jetty, a playground and a cafe on the bank, and clear shallow water where black bream move up to feed as it warms. The flats look featureless until you learn to read the weed edges and the drop into the channel, which is where the fish hold. Flathead work the sand lanes, herring and tarwhine fill in the light-tackle fishing, and the occasional mulloway pushes this far upstream after dark.

Fish the rising tide, when bream move onto the flats to forage on prawns and small crabs — that's the window. Work small soft plastics or hardbodies along the weed edges and over the rocky patches, and drag paddle-tails along the sand lanes for flathead. Around the bridge pylons, step up the leader for snag insurance and fish the current lines for bream and the odd tarwhine. Herring and tarwhine take small baits under a float off the jetty, and after dark on a rising tide a heavier bait in the deeper channel water is the mulloway play.

Black bream are the headline — flats-and-pylon fish that are best when they push shallow to feed in the warmer months. Flathead sit on the sand lanes, while herring and tarwhine round out the light-tackle fishing off the jetty. Yellowfin whiting show on the cleaner sand patches in summer, chopper tailor come through in autumn, and mulloway are an occasional after-dark bonus this far up the Canning.

Rising tide beats slack every time on these flats, and first-cast accuracy matters — clumsy presentations spook the shallows for a long way. Swan-Canning bream carry a 250 mm minimum and a daily bag of 6, of which only 2 may be over 400 mm; cobbler are subject to size (430 mm min) and bag (8) limits and periodic closures — verify current DPIRD rules before keeping any. Don't crash through the seagrass; it's protected habitat and holds the food the bream are chasing. Blowfish will nag a shallow bait, so get it moving or get it down.

The jetty, playground and Lo Quay River Cafe sit together on the Wilson-side foreshore at the Riverton Bridge, within the Canning River Regional Park. Roadside and car-park parking off Fern Road, flushable toilets on site, and Lo Quay River Cafe on the bank round out an easy morning with kids in tow. Sealed foreshore paths and the jetty make the bank itself reasonably mobility-friendly; the wade-fishing positions out on the flats are not. There's a boat and canoe launch here too, so expect paddlers and small craft crossing your casting water at weekends. No formal lighting on the flats or jetty, so bring a head torch for a dawn or dusk session.

This is the upper Canning — tidal, but fresher and more tannin-stained than the lower river, and the rising tide that floods the flats is the productive window. Water clarity is usually good but drops for days after heavy winter rain, when the upper river silts and freshens. The morning land breeze keeps it glassy until the seabreeze swings in from the west. Bream move shallow onto the flats to feed as the water warms through spring and summer, which is what makes this a warmer-months spot at its best.

The flats look uniformly shallow, but the drop-off into the main channel is closer than it looks — wade no deeper than waist. Stingrays cruise the sand, so shuffle your feet when wading. The jetty timber and rocky patches get slippery, and cobbler spike badly, so release them with care and never grip them. Mosquitoes and sandflies are heavy at dawn and dusk this close to the regional-park wetlands; without repellent it's miserable. Watch backcasts near the shared path and jetty when the playground and cafe are busy, and keep clear of paddlers and small craft using the launch. Algal blooms periodically affect the Swan-Canning — check current DPIRD advisories before eating your catch.

Yes — it's a family-friendly bream spot with a jetty and shallow sand-and-mud flats. Black bream are the main target, with flathead, herring and tarwhine also on offer. Fish the rising tide with light gear for the best of it.

Black bream are the headline, especially when they move shallow onto the flats to feed in the warmer months. You'll also find flathead on the sand lanes, herring and tarwhine off the jetty, yellowfin whiting on the sand in summer, chopper tailor in autumn, and the occasional mulloway after dark.

Yes — there's a playground, flushable toilets, a boat and canoe launch, and Lo Quay River Cafe right on the bank, plus shallow water for a first fishing session. Keep an eye on little ones around the jetty edge and the drop into the channel.

Western school prawns have been restocked in the Swan and Canning rivers since 2013, and scooping them on warm summer nights is a river tradition. The prawn run moves through the Canning in the warmer months. Check current DPIRD rules and closures before setting a scoop net.

A rising tide at dawn or dusk through spring, summer and autumn, when bream move up onto the flats to feed on prawns and small crabs. Slack water is slow. Accurate, quiet casts to the weed edges and rocky patches do the damage.