Grey River

The Grey, Māwheranui in te reo Māori, rises near Lewis Pass and runs about 120 km west to the sea at Greymouth. It is a big system, and Fish & Game's 2015 to 2016 survey found it the most heavily fished river in the region. Fish & Game's guide treats it as four rivers. The remote headwaters near Springs Junction are fast, bouldery water where fish average about 1.8 kg (4 lb) and trophy fish are caught. A rugged gorge separates them from the scenic water above Ikamatua, where the river is clear and the fish are wary. Below the Rough and Little Grey confluences the middle river grows wide and braided over shingle, with more fish, mostly 0.9 to 1.8 kg (2 to 4 lb). Below the Arnold, the lower river is big and slow over farmland, with good numbers of 0.9 to 1.4 kg (2 to 3 lb) fish and a chance of a large sea-run brown.

Fish weighted nymphs in the upper river: a gold bead Hare and Copper or Pheasant Tail in sizes 12 to 16. In the middle river use smaller nymphs in summer, when the water is lower and clearer. Big palmered dries float through the fast upper water, and when you spot a fish, change to a size 14 Royal Wulff, Adams or Twilight Beauty. A green beetle works in early summer and a cicada in late summer. In the evening, small wets such as a March Brown or Dad's Favourite work in the middle and upper river. Spinners work best below the Ahaura and are the main method in the lower river: a Black Toby, a Tasmanian Devil or a Rapala. When the whitebait run at the mouth in spring, sea-run browns follow them, and a silver or gold Toby works then. Fish & Game says salmon can be expected around the major river mouths from the Grey south from January to April.

Access is easy in the lower and middle river, with roads on both banks up to Ikamatua: State Highway 7 on one side and Taylorville Road on the other. Where the river leaves the road, ask the landowner first. Golf Road reaches the water above Ikamatua, and Palmers Road, off State Highway 7 about 4 km north of Springs Junction, reaches the headwaters. The river colours after heavy rain. The West Coast Regional Council's gauges at Waipuna, on the middle river, and Dobson, on the lower river, are live on this page. Check, clean and dry your gear between rivers to stop the spread of didymo.