Rangitata River Trout and Salmon Fishing

The Rangitata is a snow fed river that originates in the Southern Alps and flows in a south-easterly direction to the coast south of Ashburton.

Driving south from Christchurch, SH1 crosses the Rangitata River at Rangitata between Ashburton and Timaru.

Upper Rangitata River:
Access map
Access map with topography

Lower Rangitata River:
Access map
Access map with topography

LINZ topographic maps: (260 Map Series, 1:50,000)
J36 Mount Harper / Mahaanui
K37 Hinds
K38 Temuka

Heavy rainstorms between November and early January can make the river dirty and unfishable for a few days. This occurs when the river flow at the Gorge exceeds about 125 cumecs.

As the discoloured waters clears, there is good fishing to be had. The best fishing is when the water is slightly coloured and the flow is in the range 80-110 cumecs (which equates to 50-80 cumecs at SH1).

View graphs at the Environment Canterbury website of:
- the current Rangitata river flow recorded at the Rangitata Gorge
- recent rainfall at Rangitata

For an up-to-date weather forecast:

• see the MetService website
• call MetPhone on 0900 999 03
  See the current cost per minute.

The Rangitata is prone to floods and freshes from high rainfall and snow melt, particularly from the north-west wind conditions that occur frequently throughout the main salmon season from November to March. It is unstable, braided and often silt-laden

The Rangitata is a big river and care is required. At the mouth, and particularly from the beach, watch out for waves washing onto shore. When crossing braids of the river, choose your crossing point carefully: the wide part of the riffle just upstream from a chute is usually the safest place.

When to fish

The salmon fishing begins around mid November. Between November and mid-February, the best stretch of water to fish is below the SH1 bridge. From February to April, above SH1 provides the better fishing.

Recommended tackle

Lure fishing:
- A 9-11 kg line
- A feathered lure plus added weight

Spinning:
- A 7-9 kg line
- A Zed spinner, silver white or yellow, with 14-28 gm weight, or
a Colarado spoon and lead.

In the estuary

During October-December sea run browns are to be found in the estuarine area.

Above the Gorge

Both rainbow and brown trout are to be found above the Rangitata Gorge from 1 October when fishing season begins, through to about mid February when the spawning salmon arrive. This is the best place on the Rangitata for trout fishing.

Fish numbers and size

There are good stocks of both rainbow and brown trout above the gorge and in relatively inaccessible side creeks such as Deep Stream and Deep Creek.

Recommended tackle

Lure fishing:
- A 1-4 kg line
- A smelt type lure such as Grey Ghost, Parsons' Glory, or Mrs Simpson, with up to 28 gm lead.

Dry fly fishing:
- 1-4 kg line
- Nymphs and flies such as yellow Dorothy

Spinning:
- A 2-4 kg line
- A Tasmanian Devil or Toby

Seaward of the Rangitata river mouth, you may fish from boat only:
- if the boat is anchored
- between 7.00am and 9.00pm
- at a seaward distance greater than 200m from the nearest shore at low tide.

(The seaward boundary around the Rangitata River mouth is a line drawn at a distance of 500m from any place where the low tide waters of the river meet the waters of the sea.)

1 Jun-31 Aug

Artificial fly, spinner