Waimakariri River

The Waimakariri rises near Arthur's Pass, runs through high country and a long gorge, then spreads across the Canterbury Plains to the sea at Kairaki, on the edge of Christchurch. Fish & Game's guide rates it on three counts: a top salmon fishery, an excellent trout fishery, and how close it is to the city. Its quinnat salmon, as New Zealand calls chinook, run later and shorter than in the other Canterbury rivers, and February and March are the months. Sea-run brown trout are in the tidal reach through the summer, and resident browns and some rainbows live in the gorge, the upper river and the tributaries.

The mouth opens into a big tidal bay up to 100 m wide. Salmon anglers fish the top half of the outgoing tide, best at daybreak, and McIntosh's Rocks, 1 km above the mouth on the north side, is the most popular spot. Spinning works best for salmon: a ticer or Zed spinner of 28 to 42 g in the tidal water and 17 to 28 g upriver, fished close to the bottom. Fly anglers need a fast sinking line for them. In the middle river, salmon move through quickly after rain lifts the river, so you have to be there when they run, usually mid February to the end of March. The gorge, best from late February to late April, gives more consistent salmon fishing, as the fish stay longer, and big brown trout drop into it when the river is low in summer. For sea-run trout, fish a smelt fly such as a Parson's Glory, Yellow Lady or Yellow Rabbit in the riffles near the Old Highway Bridge, best when a coloured river meets low tide in the last hour of light.

Above the gorge the main river is braided and unstable, and fishing is limited above Mt White Bridge. The tributaries, such as the Poulter, Broken River, Winding Creek and the Porter, offer more typical backcountry fishing, sight fishing for brown and rainbow trout with light fly tackle. Two gauges read the river. The Esk gauge reads the upper river above the gorge, and the Old Highway Bridge gauge, near the tidal reach, reads the lower river. Environment Canterbury sends its readings only up to the previous midnight, so the newest value on this page can be up to a day old. A fresh after rain will not show until the next day.