Haast River Trout Fishing

The Haast River is large and although holds reasoenable stocks of fish is difficult to fish. Its many tributaries provided excellent fishing however.

Note that the Buller River has been affected by didymo and anglers must clean their fishing gear including waders and boots. Felt-soled boots are to be avoided. See Didymo Biosecurity Alert for details.

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Fish type	Brown trout
Situation	The Haast River flows into the Tasman Sea near the small township of Haast in the southern area of the West Coast. Although the main West Coast Highway runs alongside the river for several kilometres in the lower reaches, it is still a wild and challenging river to fish.
Setting	The Haast is in a beautiful setting as it flows down from the Southern Alps on the boundary of the Mount Aspiring National Park.
Maps	Access map Access map with topography LINZ topographic map: (260 Map Series, 1:50,000) F37 Haast for the estuary and mouth G37 Landsborough for the middle reaches
F&G pamphlet	West Coast Sports Fisheries access pamphlet >>>
Description	A big flood prone river that flows over an unstable bed of stone and gravel. The ater is generally coloured with silt from glacial runoff and so makes for difficult fishing conditions.
Fish numbers and size	Fish numbers are not high in the main river as it has an unstable bed and is prone to flooding especially during the early part of the season when the snow melt fills the river.
Ease of fishing	A difficult river to fish due to the silt coloured water and the large unstable bed.
Access	Access to the lower reaches is from State Highway 6. See the Haast River access map.
Recommended lures	Nymphs: Larger dark patterns in the style of Hare and Copper, Pheasants Tails or Hare's Ear that have enough weight to get down to the fish are good in the lower reaches where the water carries a lot of colour. Smaller nymphs in sizes 12 - 14 work well in the cleaner headwaters Dry flies: Fish bushier flies over the faster water as these can somtimes induce a fish to rise though this is not a river suited to dry fly. Wet flies: Larger wet flies such as Hamills Killer or Mrs Simpson. Try a whitebait imitation such as a Grey Ghost or Parsons's Glory at the mouth of the river or in the lower tidal section when the whitebait are running Spinners: Large bladed spinners such as Veltic or Mepps in sizes 3 or larger or a Black Toby 12 gram or similar patterns fished through the deep pools or though the faster water. Use darker colours such as green and black when spinning. Spinners are best in the lower reaches and particularly in the tidal section as these can attract sea run trout or other fish such as Kahawai.
Biosecurity requirements
Biosecurity	Because of the presence of the invasive alga didymo in these waters, anglers must clean their fishing gear including waders and boots, especially when moving between rivers. See Didymo Biosecurity Alert for details.
Regulations (1)
Applicable to	Haast River upstream of Pleasant Flat Bridge
Region	West Coast >>>
Season	1 Oct-30 Apr
Methods	Artifical fly, spinner, bait
Bag limit	Total: 4 Rainbow trout: 2 Salmon: 1
Size limit (cm)	No limit
Regulations (2)
Applicable to	Haast River downstream of Pleasant Flat Bridge
Region	West Coast >>>
Season	Trout: All year Salmon: 1 Oct-30 Apr
Methods	Artificial fly, spinner, bait
Bag limit	Brown trout: 4 Rainbow trout: 2 Salmon: 2
Size limit (cm)	No limit

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