Mary Ann Reserve (Mannum)

Start with the closure, because it decides what the trip is. Murray cod cannot be targeted anywhere in the South Australian Murray between 1 August and 31 December, trolling included, on a penalty of up to $20,000. Even in the open window from 1 January to 31 July they are catch and release only, because taking them is prohibited at all times in this river. That leaves callop, redfin and carp, which is the honest fishing at Mary Ann Reserve anyway. The reserve gives about 350 metres of mown lawn straight onto the riverbank in the middle of town, known locally as the Rec, with coin-operated barbecues, a boat ramp, ample parking and a kiosk. Willows plague the banks from Walkers Flat downstream and restrict access almost everywhere else, so a parked, toileted, mown frontage is worth having. The guides are candid that catches improve upstream and that Mannum is a tourist town first, with the P.S. Marion moored nearby, two free cable ferries crossing above the reserve and the Murray Princess tying up at the wharf you are fishing off. Call it the easiest Murray bank in the state rather than the best, and it is still a fine place to put a kid, a chair and a rod holder.

The method is the one that works everywhere on the lower river, and it starts with fishing close in. A former Murray fisheries officer put it plainly: away from a midstream snag, rock patch or drop-off there is very little out in the channel, so the bait belongs near the bank. Find the ledge by bouncing a sinker along the bed and walking until you have to feed out one to three metres of line, because that step-down is the fish highway, and from the Rec it is usually within a rod length or two of the lawn. Cast toward the willow roots at either end of the mown frontage, since the fish live in the timber and the anglers stand on the grass. Live shrimp trapped on the spot is the bait of choice, earthworms are the reliable stand-in, and small yabbies suit callop. The documented method on this reach through 2026 is scrubworms soaked on the bottom, or blades and lipless vibes jigged along the drop-offs, and the water from Bowhill through to Mannum has been running unusually clean, which favours smaller profiles. Cod tactics are simply not available until 1 January, trolling very much included.

Callop are the realistic target at 33 cm minimum, bag 5, boat limit 15 and no closed season, and the winter 2026 tackle-shop reports named Mannum alongside Cadell and Blanchetown for a hot bite on scrubworms and vibes. Redfin come with them and are declared noxious in South Australia, so they must not be returned to the water. Carp are the fish a bank angler here is most likely to land, they are noxious as well, they must be killed humanely and disposed of away from the water rather than released, and a decent one on 6 kg line is better sport than its paperwork suggests. Murray cod are listed for this reach but may never be kept anywhere in the River Murray proper, so there is no legal size, slot or bag, and they cannot even be targeted between 1 August and 31 December. Silver perch, freshwater catfish and Murray crayfish are fully protected and go straight back. Yabbies have no size limit with a bag of 200 and a boat limit of 600, and berried females are totally protected.

Take the fishing seriously and your dignity lightly, because this is a town where a cruise boat ties up at the wharf you are casting from and the audience for a snagged rig is larger than usual. Trap your own shrimp on the spot rather than buying bait. Work the ends of the mown frontage where the willows start rather than the middle of the lawn where everyone else stands. Both cable ferries are free and run around the clock, which makes the east bank an easy second option when the town frontage is busy. Carry a bag for the carp and the redfin, because neither is allowed back in the water. Opera-house nets and yabby pots are illegal in South Australia, so yabbies come on pyramid nets, a hand net or a shrimp trap. And be honest about the reach: the guides say catches improve upstream, so if the callop are not playing here, the answer is to drive north rather than to change lures again.

Mary Ann Reserve fronts River Lane beside the town centre, free to use, with about 350 metres of mown lawn to the water, ample sealed parking, coin-operated barbecues, picnic areas and a kiosk for light refreshments. Tourism listings put toilets at the reserve precinct and a playground that includes some disabled-friendly equipment, though neither is confirmed by a council page, so treat both as likely rather than certain. A concrete boat ramp sits on the reserve itself with a second near the ferries, part of the run of concrete ramps that makes this town a launching hub. The two cable ferries, Water Hen and Pelican, cross to Cowirra about 600 metres upstream, are free and run 24 hours in normal conditions. Mannum Caravan Park sits immediately north of the ferries with 165 powered sites, river frontage and its own boat ramp, and an RV area with a dump point and toilets sits on the east bank about 2 km north of the crossing. The ground is flat mown lawn with parking beside it, which is as good as a river bank gets for mobility, but no source describes formal accessible fishing infrastructure, so do not travel expecting a purpose-built platform.

There is no tide at Mannum. The reach is lock-pool water below Lock 1 and above the barrages, so the solunar bite windows still apply while tide readings do not. Flow is the driver and it is up. The border gauge read about 22.5 GL a day on 18 August 2026, the highest since the 2022-23 flood, where August 2025 ran at 8 GL a day and August 2024 at 4 GL a day. The river came up 15 to 20 cm on it, creeks reopened, yabby numbers climbed, and more water was expected in early September 2026. Clean water is this reach's documented advantage, with the tackle shop rating Bowhill through to Mannum as running clean, which is why blades and small plastics do better here than they do further down. Willows matter seasonally, and the best of the timber fishing goes to boat owners when the trees are in full summer foliage. It is a wide, cliff-backed and open reach, so wind puts chop on it quickly, although it takes more than a breeze to stop the bank fishing. A rising river pushes fish onto the newly wet margins, and a falling one after a summer high is the yabby window.

Two vehicle ferries run on cables across the river about 600 metres upstream, so do not fish, swim or drift into the crossing lines. The reserve wharf is a working berth, with the Murray Princess tying up on its tour schedule and hire houseboats moored through the reach, which means moving hulls and boat wash beside your line. The willow banks at either end of the mown ground are steep and root-tangled, and they are exactly why bank access is restricted everywhere else in town, so stay on the grass. River levels are not decoration here, since Mannum's main street flooded on 8 January 2023 and part of the town was evacuated on 29 December 2022 in the largest flood since 1956, and the August 2026 flows were the highest since. Blue-green algae is a standing lower-Murray risk, with a 2024 bloom putting warnings on parts of the Murray and Lake Alexandrina from 22 March and the alert running to 2 July, so check current advice before a dog or a child goes in. And it is deep, cold, moving water straight off a lawn with a playground on it, with no lifeguards anywhere.

It is the easiest Murray bank in the state rather than the best. About 350 metres of mown lawn runs straight to the water in the middle of town, with parking, barbecues, a kiosk and a boat ramp, and willows restrict bank access almost everywhere else on this reach. The long-standing local guides say catches improve upstream, but the winter 2026 tackle-shop reports still named Mannum alongside Cadell and Blanchetown for a hot callop bite.

Not between 1 August and 31 December. Targeting Murray cod is prohibited across the South Australian River Murray in that window, trolling from a moving boat included, with penalties up to $20,000. From 1 January to 31 July it is catch and release only, because taking Murray cod is prohibited at all times in the River Murray proper and Lakes Albert and Alexandrina, and barbless hooks and a knotless landing net are required.

Callop, or golden perch, are the target at 33 cm minimum with a bag of 5, and they were biting well at Mannum through winter 2026 on scrubworms and lipless vibes. Redfin perch and European carp make up most of the rest, and both are declared noxious, so neither may be returned to the water. Silver perch, freshwater catfish and Murray crayfish are fully protected and must go back straight away.

The two cable ferries are free and run 24 hours in normal conditions, crossing to Cowirra about 600 metres upstream of the reserve. Do not fish, swim or drift into the crossing lines, because the ferries run on cables that sweep the river. The ferries are the easy way to reach the east bank and the lagoons opposite when the town frontage is crowded.

No. Opera-house nets and yabby pots are illegal in South Australia, and drum nets, set lines, fish traps and gill nets are prohibited as well. Three pyramid nets, one hand net or one shrimp trap all remain legal, but only one of those may go out alongside a rod. Hoop nets are a separate device with their own cap of ten alone, or three beside a rod. Yabbies themselves have no size limit, a bag of 200 and a boat limit of 600, and berried females are totally protected.