Lake Benmore

Lake Benmore is New Zealand's largest artificial lake, formed in the 1960s when the Benmore Dam blocked the upper Waitaki. It lies in the Mackenzie Country between Twizel, Omarama and Otematata, and it has two arms: the Ahuriri Arm to the west and the Haldon Arm to the north, where the Tekapo River and the Ōhau canals come in and some of the water flows swiftly. Fish & Game says it holds vast stocks of brown and rainbow trout and landlocked salmon. The average trout weighs 0.75 to 1.5 kg, and Fish & Game rates the fish as not overly difficult to catch. It is popular for water sports too, so expect company near the main areas.

Deep trolling is popular all year, even in winter when snow covers the hills. Troll a Black Toby or a Flatfish. In good summer weather you may spot fish cruising in the shallower bays. The best fly fishing is at the Ahuriri delta, where clear snow-fed water comes in. Fish it at night, or stalk the brown trout lying in the shallows by day. In calm, clear weather, cast onto a sandy patch and wait for a trout to come close before you twitch or move the fly. Rainbows tend to cruise the edges of the deeper water: keep low and cast ahead of them. Carry a Pheasant Tail or a dragonfly nymph, dries such as a Coch-y-Bondhu, a Royal Wulff or a green or yellow Humpy, and dark lures for night fishing such as a Hairy Dog, a Black Phantom, a Mrs Simpson or a Fuzzy Wuzzy.

There are ramps at Sailors Cutting on the Ahuriri Arm and at the Haldon boat harbour and Ōhau C on the Haldon Arm, each with a campground nearby. This page has no live lake level, since no open source for it was found. The water temperature shown is an estimate from a model fitted to satellite readings, not a measurement. Didymo is present in many of the region's waters: check, clean and dry your gear before you move to another water.