Awatere River Trout Fishing

The Awatere is not a highly regarded river but does contain fish and can provide good sport in the upper reaches.

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Fish type	Brown trout
Situation	20 minutes from Blenheim
Setting	The Awatere flows through a mountain valley to enter the sea near Blenheim. Because of the fluctuating flows and the poor water clarity, it is not highly regarded as a trout river. The upper reaches, which are relatively easily accessed, although not holding a huge number of fish, do provide a worthwhile angling experience.
Maps	Upper Awatere maps: Access map Access map with topography Lower Awatere maps: Access map Access map with topography LINZ topographic maps: (260 Map Series, 1:50,000) O30 Awatere
Check conditions	View graphs at the Marlborough District Council website of recent: - Awatere river flow - Awatere rainfall View MetService weather forecast for Blenheim
Description	The river flows over a relatively unstable bed of rock and gravel making for poor trout habitat through much of its length. The upper reaches tend to remain clear but the lower reaches easily silt up. Wind along the valley (with the accompanying stinging dust it carries) can make for difficult and trying fishing conditions. When the wind is not blowing, the fishing is easy as the river mostly flows over open land.
Fish numbers	Fish numbers are low and fish average between 2-3lb.
Access	Access to the fishable upper and middle reaches is via the Awatere Valley Rd which joins State Highway 1 (SH1) just south of Blenheim. See the Upper Awatere access map. See the Lower Awatere access map.
Recommended lures	Nymphs: This river reponds best to lightly weighted nymphs such as size 16 Hare and Coppers, Pheasant Tails,or any Green Stonefly patterns. More weight may be required to get to the larger fish spotted in the deeper pools and runs. Dry flies: Coch-y-Bondhu, Molefly, Royal Wulff and Humpy patterns can work well when fished over riffles. Wet flies: Small wets like Greenwell's Glory, March Brown and emerger sedge patterns in size 14 work well when fished sub-surface especially during the evening or early morning. Spinners: Small-bladed spinners (Mepps or Veltic) fished into the faster water or through the deep pools are best.
Regulations
Applicable to	Awatere River
Region	Nelson/Marlborough >>>
Season	All year
Methods	Artificial fly, spinner, bait
Bag limit	2
Size limit (cm)	None

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