Locations

NELSON - TASMAN

The Nelson region is renowned for it's warm dry summers and is said to be the California of the South Island. The city of Nelson is centrally located between other fishing bases such as Motueka and Ngatimoti to the west, St Arnaud and Murchison to the south and Bleheim to the east. The area has a wide range of rivers, being snow and rain fed and flowing through farmland, orchards, rugged mountains and sheltered valleys. Other attractions such as beaches, vineyards, beautiful National Parks and Marine Reserves make this a very popular area for both anglers and visitors alike.
The Motueka river has been called one of the South Island's best trout fisheries, a reputation earned by it's high stock of brown trout. Drift dives have recorded fish numbers from 200-450 fish per kilometre in some of the lower reaches. Does this make it easy to fish? No. The fish here are very wary and particular feeders who know what they like and will steadfastly refuse other offerings. Still, it consistently produces fish over the 8lb mark as well as a good number of large sea-run trout that inhabit the lower reaches and also re-populate the upper reaches and tributaries.

The Wangapeka drains from the eastern slopes of Northwest Nelson, it has less numbers than the Motueka but the trout are generally larger, especially the remote upper reaches accessed by the Wangapeka track.
Both these rivers have interesting tributaries such as the Motupiko, Pearse & Baton as well as other separate smaller streams in the area which contain picturesque scenery and fine angling.

 

NELSON LAKES

The Nelson Lakes is a sub-alpine area with splendid scenery and two picturesque lakes named Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotoroa. The Travers River flows into Lake Rotoiti, this wilderness stream contains well-conditioned browns and makes its way through the Nelson Lakes National Park. Lake Rotoroa is the larger of the two and is fed by the D'Urville and Sabine rivers, these are accessible via hiking tracks with well maintained huts for overnight stays.
The mighty Gowan river flows out of Lake Rotoroa, this fast flowing river has a large population of good sized trout but wading is difficult and sometimes dangerous.

The Buller river flows from Lake Rotoiti where it continues on it's western journey to the Tasman Sea on the West Coast. The section from Lake Rotoiti to Murchison has some splendid fishing with good conditioned brown trout averaging 3-4lbs with plenty of larger specimens. The Buller has also some excellent fishing in it's tributaries such as the Owen, Mangles, Matakitaki and Maruia.

MARLBOROUGH

To the east of Nelson lies the Pelorus River, this contains a good number of both brown and rainbow trout, it also contains noteworthy tributaries such as the Rai and Wakamarina.

Further east are the Wairau, Awatere and Clarence. The Wairau is a large river with excellent scenery and good fish in varying quantities, it's major tributaries such as the Rainbow, Goulter, Leatham, Branch and Waihopai also offer good fly fishing with splendid surroundings.

The Clarence drains from Lake Tennyson and holds some nice browns especially in the upper regions. The Clarence's main tributary the Acheron is also worth a spin or fly fish with some good sized browns.

WEST COAST

This is a rugged area of the South Island which receives a great deal of rainfall as it's mountains are first to receive the cloud masses moving eastward over the Tasman Sea. It has many rivers, some of which are prone to flooding and thus have only sparse populations of trout. However, others that clear quickly, or are unaffected by heavy runoff sustain a good population of sometimes very large trout.
Noteable rivers are the Karamea and it's tributaries, the Ugly, Beautiful, Leslie, Crow and Roaring Lion. This is the largest river system in the Kahurangi National Park. The Karamea is a wilderness river renowned for it's large trout which average 4-5lbs, this river combined with the Kahurangi's scenery provide fly fishing at it's best for the adventurous angler.Further south is the Lower Buller and its tributaries, which provide another huge area of rugged angling, the terrain and trout can be difficult but this only adds to the challenge.

Another river system is the Grey River, with it's upper tributaries the Blue Grey, Robinson, Little Grey, Rough, Slatey and Moonlight Creeks. The Arnold is a major tributary of the lower Grey with it's source being Lake Brunner and is a fine fly or spin fishery.
The West Coast is renowned for its characters and friendly people, this area is very special and is widely thought of as New Zealand's last frontier.

This is just a basic overview of the trout fishing available in the area, there are literally hundreds of other small tributaries, streams, ponds, tarns and other waterways that have splendid fishing and receive little pressure. These little known 'jewels' often contain excellent trout in breathtaking scenery and are the highlight of any fly fishing trip.