Makarora River

The Makarora rises near Haast Pass in Mount Aspiring National Park and runs about 35 km to the head of Lake Wānaka, first through a narrow gorge and then down a wide, braided valley of tussock flats beside State Highway 6. Its trout are mostly lake fish: rainbows and browns move up from Wānaka into the river and its tributaries, the Blue, the Young and the Wilkin, and spawn there in autumn and winter. The water carries a turquoise tint of fine glacial silt but stays clear enough to fish except in a real flood. Landlocked quinnat salmon come into the lower river too, and the lake's first known salmon spawning site, found in 2023, is a Makarora tributary.

It is a big, powerful freestone of runs, riffles and long glides, and nymphing is the main method, with dry flies on the right day. Manuka beetles start to show from about mid-November, and a size 12 to 18 beetle can pull fish up off the nymph. The early and late weeks of the season are usually the best. The mouth is a separate fishery: in March and April, trout and salmon gather there to chase whitebait, and a sink-tip line with a small whitebait streamer such as a Grey Ghost, Badger Smelt or Jack Sprat, swung into the lee of the last run, is the classic approach. Spring snowmelt can keep the river full into November, and rain on the main divide floods it fast, so check the weather to the west before you drive up.

The highway follows the river from Davis Flat to the lake, and the bank is mostly open tussock you can walk across, so access is easy and the water is fished hard. Above the Wilkin confluence the river and its tributaries are open 1 November to 31 May, and below it the lower river is open all year. It is fly and spinner only, the bag is 1 trout, and salmon must go back. The Wilkin and Young are Designated Waters and need a Designated Waters licence on top of a full-season licence. Never cross the river after heavy rain. Didymo is in the river, so check, clean and dry your gear before you move to another water.