Mackenzie Hydro Canals

The Tekapo, Pūkaki and Ōhau canals carry water between the Mackenzie Basin's lakes and power stations. They were built in the 1970s and 1980s, and they are private property. Genesis Energy owns the Tekapo Canal, Meridian Energy owns the Pūkaki and Ōhau canals, and the companies allow anglers to fish them. They run in straight lines and look nothing like a river, but they are one of New Zealand's most popular freshwater fisheries, for one reason: the commercial salmon farms on the canals feed the fish. Fish & Game says that before the farms came, the trout were plentiful but in poor condition. Now trout over 4.5 kg are caught often, rainbows of 4 to 10 kg are common, and several brown and rainbow trout of 12 to 18 kg come out every season. The world record brown trout, 20.1 kg, came from the canals in 2020. The chinook salmon in the canals all come from the farms, and are usually 1 to 4 kg.

Fish are found throughout, but the numbers and sizes are higher near the salmon farms and at the top and bottom of each canal, by the control gates and power station intakes. The farms draw anglers all year. From late autumn through winter into spring, the top ends are better, as spawning trout push upstream and gather below the structures they cannot pass. The water varies from crystal clear to silty glacial blue-green or grey, and the canals fish more like a lake than a river. Bait is the most popular method, either still-fished with a heavy sinker and a float above the weed, or drifted along the bottom while you walk the bank at the speed of the current. Scented soft baits count as bait. Egg drifting with a light sinker and an egg fly or lure is popular too. When the water is clear, fly anglers can sight fish trout holding or cruising along the weedy edges, with light tippet in low light. At night, big browns patrol the edges, and a luminescent doll fly or a large Woolly Bugger works then. Spinning a Toby, a Rapala or a Cobra deep works as well.

The canals are open all year, but the upper Tekapo Canal, above the State Highway 8 bridge, closes from 1 June to 31 August. Expect company: summer and public holidays are busy, and anglers fish closer together than on a river. Canal flows change with the power stations' demand, and this page has no gauge for them. The banks are built embankments, and Fish & Game asks anglers to treat them with particular care. Obey every sign, fence and barrier, and keep out of the dangerous areas around the power stations and salmon farms. Do not touch the farm pens or snag your line in the intakes. Camping on the canals is banned, including sleeping in a camper van or car. Fish & Game warns that this is enforced, and that if it looks like camping, it is camping. Pack out your rubbish and fish waste.