Mataura River

Small, willow-lined water over shingle and sand, with gentle rapids, pools and gliding runs. State Highway 6 follows the river from Fairlight past Garston to Athol, and bridges at Fairlight Road, Garston, the highway and Nokomai Road at Parawa give access, with more across farmland. Below Parawa the river leaves the highway valley and runs southeast to Cattle Flat. The Parawa gauge reads this reach, and it carries far less water than the river at Gore. Snowmelt can tint it grey-green in October.

Best for: Sight fishing for brown trout of about 1 to 2 kg with small nymphs and size 16 to 18 dries, plus willow grub and cicada patterns in summer.

The top of the classic middle river: slow-flowing riffles, glides and pools in open farmland, from the Cattle Flat bridge past Ardlussa and the Keowns Road bridge to the Waikaia confluence above Riversdale. The Ardlussa to Cattle Flat road runs close to the river. The Cattle Flat gauge reads this reach. It sits above the Waikaia, so it reads well under the Gore gauge.

Best for: Dry fly fishing for rising brown trout during the mayfly hatches, with size 16 and 18 duns and emergers, and nymphing the riffles between hatches.

Bigger water once the Waikaia joins, still the open, slow dry fly river the Mataura is known for, past the Pyramid and Otamita bridges to the Gore Bridge on State Highway 1. Fish average about 1.2 kg, with some to 4 kg. The Gore gauge sits at the bottom of the reach and reads the Mataura and the Waikaia together. The season above the Gore Bridge ends on 30 April.

Best for: Matching the Deleatidium hatch for brown trout with accurate casts to rising fish, and evening rises in summer.

From the Gore Bridge, where the town has public access along the river, down to the falls at Mataura township. A road follows the river from Gore to Mataura, and Beattie's Beach is a named access point. At Mataura there is anglers' parking on a gravel area beside the river off Kana Street. Read at the Gore gauge. From here down the season runs to 31 May, but the river is closed on 1 and 2 May 2027.

Best for: Afternoon mayfly hatches and evening rises for brown trout, best in late summer, with the season open into May.

Deeper, bigger water below the falls, past Tuturau, the Wyndham bridge and Menzies Ferry to the Mataura Island Bridge. It holds large numbers of brown trout, some to 4.5 kg. Fishing from a boat or any flotation device is banned down to the Mataura Island Bridge. No live gauge reads this reach on its own, so use Gore. Open to 31 May, except 1 and 2 May 2027.

Best for: Big brown trout on Hare and Copper nymphs and Woolly Buggers on a sinking line in the deeper runs, and spinning after a fresh as the water clears.

Tidal water from the Mataura Island Bridge past the Gorge Road bridge to the estuary at Fortrose, where Boat Harbour Road runs along the estuary edge toward the mouth. The water is deeper and less clear than above. It is open all year, except 1 and 2 May 2027, and it is known for large sea-run and estuarine brown trout. Spinners that imitate smelt and bait suit this water best, though you can fly fish it.

Best for: Sea-run brown trout of 2 to 3 kg chasing whitebait, smelt and lamprey in October and November.