Hāwea River

The Hāwea River is Lake Hāwea's outflow, about 15 km of big boulder runs and deep pools from the control gates at Lake Hāwea township to the Clutha Mata-Au just below the Albert Town bridge. Nothing about its flow is natural. Contact Energy releases water from the lake to run the Clyde and Roxburgh power stations downstream, inside a consented range of 10 to 200 m³/s, and the release can change quickly by day or night. It holds rainbow and brown trout, mostly from about 0.5 to 2.3 kg (1 to 5 lb) with some over 3 kg (6.6 lb), and a few landlocked quinnat salmon. Reports on numbers differ: some call the trout plentiful, others say the river rewards only the persistent. Because it is open all year, it is one of the few rivers near Wānaka you can fish in winter, when the lake tributaries are closed.

At low flow it is a nymphing river. Fish weighted nymphs and caddis larvae deep in the pools and runs, since the river has good numbers of both net-building and free-living caddis, and swing or strip dark streamers through the fast water. A local report calls about 9 m³/s perfect for fishing and 30 m³/s still tolerable. Above that the good water shrinks, the river swells, and wading gets dangerous. It is easiest in summer, when the release is usually steadiest and lowest. In winter Contact draws the lake down for power, and the river can rise sharply. In late winter a mix of resident fish and spawners keeps it worth a look. Wade with care at any flow: the boulders are slippery, the current is stronger than it looks, and willows along the banks make strainers.

The Hāwea River Track follows the river for 12 km from Lake Hāwea township to Albert Town, so most of the water is a short walk from a path. Fishing is fly and spinner only, with a bag of 2 trout and 1 salmon, and you may not fish from a boat. The Hāwea Whitewater Park at Camphill Bridge draws kayakers and river surfers, and Contact has run summer whitewater releases, so expect company there on a hot day. The upper Clutha starts at the confluence if the Hāwea is running high.