Lake Brunner

Lake Brunner, Kōtukuwhakaoka, is the largest lake on the West Coast and its most popular trout water. A Fish & Game survey of 2015 to 2016 put it at about a quarter of all angler days in the region. It covers about 40 km² in native bush, 36 km from Greymouth, with the small settlement of Moana on its northern shore. The Arnold drains it from Moana, and the Crooked River, the Orangipuku, Bruce Creek, the Poerua and the Eastern Hohonu feed it. It holds very good numbers of brown trout, averaging about 1.1 kg (2.4 lb), a smaller number of rainbows, and some much bigger fish.

Trolling is the main method, and the easiest. Troll a Cobra, a Tasmanian Devil or a Toby deep along the margins, or near the outlet in summer. The lake is deep, but fish rise freely across it, with good evening rises where rivers and streams come in. The bush drops a steady supply of terrestrials, so fish a green beetle in early summer, a cicada from midsummer and a wasp pattern in summer, or an Adams, Greenwell's Glory or Humpy. Around many bays, shallow water lets you watch fish cruising the weed beds and the overhanging bush. They often follow a regular beat: cast ahead of one, let the fly or a Hare and Copper sink, and twitch it as the fish comes close. A fly cast just behind a cruising fish will often make it turn and take. Keep low and stay off the skyline, as they spook quickly. In the evening, a nymph hung just below the surface works for fish cruising the shallows. At night, a big dark wet fly such as a Hairy Dog, a Mrs Simpson or a Fuzzy Wuzzy fished deep near a stream mouth can take a big fish.

Most of the shore can only be reached by boat, though more of it opens up on foot when the lake drops in mid to late summer. There are ramps at Moana, Iveagh Bay and Mitchells. The lake level on this page is the West Coast Regional Council's gauge at the outlet. It reads a gauge height on a local datum, not a height above sea level, so watch how it changes rather than the number. The water temperature shown is an estimate from a model fitted to satellite readings, not a measurement. Check, clean and dry your gear before you move to another water.