New Zealand · 3 or 5 days, 1 or 2 with a local guide

Clear-water brown trout around Nelson and Murchison

Sight fishing for brown trout on foot in the clear rivers of the Motueka valley, the Buller country and Nelson Lakes.

Best months
Dec–Mar
Method
Fly
Fish
Brown trout
Group
Just you, or you and one other, with your guide

Prices in AUD

  • 3 days, 1 with a guidefrom $1,450
  • 5 days, 2 with a guidefrom $2,700
Check my dates

No deposit. Nothing to pay until a guide confirms your dates.

A clear green river over a gravel bar, with beech forest on both banks and steep ranges beyond

Two ways to do it

3 days 1 with a guide

from $1,450
With a guideOne of the guided days below
On your ownWith your plan
On your ownWith your plan

5 days 2 with a guide

from $2,700
With a guideA clear tributary on foot
With a guideNelson Lakes backcountry on foot
On your ownWith your plan
On your ownWith your plan
On your ownWith your plan

The order of the days is set around the weather and the guide.

When to go

December to March, the middle of a season guides here run from October to April.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
An angler kneeling in a shallow stony river, holding a brown trout

With a guide

  1. A clear tributary on foot

    A full day walking and wading with a guide, finding fish before you cast to them.

  2. Nelson Lakes backcountry on foot

    A day walking backcountry water around Nelson Lakes.

Waters the guides fish here

  • The Motueka's tributaries
  • The Buller's tributaries, around Murchison
  • The Travers, D'Urville and Sabine, at the heads of Lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa

The shorter trip has one of these days, chosen with you. Which water you fish depends on the season, the flows and the weather that week, so your guide picks it close to the day.

On your own

Your days on your own are on rivers with easy public access, the shores of Lake Rotoiti by DOC track, and the head of Lake Rotoroa by water taxi. Your plan names the stretches, the flies and the walk in.

  • The Motueka and its tributaries: the Wangapeka, Baton and Motupiko
  • The Buller tributaries around Murchison
  • The shores of Lake Rotoiti by track or water taxi, and Lake Rotoroa from the village or by water taxi to its head

Your plan picks from these for your dates and the conditions that week, and comes with the trip. See a sample plan, from our trip to Tasmania's Central Highlands.

Getting there and where to stay

Fly into
Nelson, with a domestic connection through Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch
Drive
The Motueka valley is under an hour from Nelson airport, and Murchison about 1.5 hours
Base
The Motueka valley, Murchison or St Arnaud

We send you a shortlist of places to stay near the water. You book the one you want, so the room, the price and the cancellation terms stay in your hands.

Ask about the best water

A helicopter into the Karamea or Mokihinui headwaters, or a water taxi to the head of Lake Rotoiti or Rotoroa. The Karamea and Mokihinui are West Coast designated waters, so a heli day there needs a West Coast designated-waters licence for the day.

You can ask for it on the form’s next step. It costs extra, and it depends on the guide, the landowner and the weather, so we can’t promise it.

Before you go

  • You need a non-resident licence from Fish & Game. Buy the whole-season one: for a week's fishing it costs the same as day licences, and it's the only one you can add a designated-waters licence to.
  • The Travers above Lake Rotoiti, the upper Wairau and the upper Matakitaki also need a designated-waters licence for each day you fish them, guided or not.
  • Didymo, an invasive river algae, has cut fish numbers in the main Buller, so the fishing is in its tributaries. Check, clean and dry your gear between rivers.
  • Felt-soled waders and boots are banned in New Zealand, so bring rubber soles.
  • Nelson Lakes can turn cold and wet in any month, and side streams rise fast after rain. Don't cross a flooded stream: wait, or turn back.
  • There are no international flights into Nelson, so plan a domestic connection.
  • The New Zealand sun burns fast. Cover up on long days on the water.

How it works

  1. Tell us your dates. It’s free, with no deposit.
  2. If you like, tell us how much you’ve fished and what you’re after: one big fish, plenty of them, or a day of learning.
  3. We ask the local guides on this water which of them are free on your dates, and choose the one who suits what you told us.
  4. We send you their name, what their day includes (hours, gear, lunch, where you meet), a shortlist of places to stay and one price for the trip. With it comes our view on your dates: where they sit in the season, and whether another week would fish better. If the price or the dates don’t suit you, say no; nothing is charged.
  5. To book it, you pay that price once. Then you get your day-by-day plan, and book your bed and car. Ask us anything about the plan before you go. In the week before, we check the water and the forecast, and send you any changes.

If your guide can’t make it, we find another or refund that day. Paying, cancelling, the weather and bringing someone are covered below.

Questions

When do I pay?

It costs nothing to send a request. When a guide confirms your dates, we send you one price for the trip. Pay it once, in full, and the trip is booked. Say no and nothing is charged.

Can the price change after I’ve paid?

No. Once you’ve paid, the price is fixed, even if the guide’s rate goes up before you go. It’s in Australian dollars, and if the New Zealand dollar moves, that’s ours to carry.

What happens before I go?

Once you’ve paid, your plan arrives. Until your first day you can ask us anything about it. In the week before, we check the water levels, the forecast and any closures or fire bans, and send you changes to the plan if the water needs them.

What if I need to cancel?

Cancel 30 days or more before your first day and we refund it in full. From 14 to 29 days before, we refund half. Closer than 14 days we can’t refund it, because the guide has kept those days for you. If the guide can move your dates instead, we move them at no charge.

What if the weather turns?

Your guide decides whether the water is safe and worth fishing. If they call a guided day off for flood, high wind, fire danger or a closure, we move it to another day of your trip, or refund that day’s share of the price if it can’t move. Rain on its own doesn’t call a day off. For your days on your own, your plan names backup water for high rivers or wind, where the area has some.

What if my guide can’t make it?

If your guide is ill, injured or has an emergency, we look for another local guide for the same day. If none is free, we refund that day’s share of the price.

What if no guide is free on my dates?

Then nothing is booked and nothing is charged. We tell you, and suggest dates when a guide is free, or another trip that suits.

Can someone come with me?

Yes, on request. Choose 2 or 3+ under Anglers when you send a request, and with three or more, say how many on the next step. The price for everyone comes with your confirmation, before anything is paid. Guides on foot take one or two anglers as a rule, so three or more usually means a second guide on the same water.

Do I need to have fished before?

No. Tell us on the next step how much you’ve fished and what you want to learn, and we’ll choose a guide who teaches. If this water is a hard place to start, we’ll say so and suggest one that suits you better.

Will I catch fish?

Nobody can promise that. What we can do, before you pay, is tell you how your dates sit in the season, what the fish are usually doing then, and whether a different week would give you a better chance.

What about flights and accommodation?

You book your flights, car and bed yourself, so their prices and cancellation terms are yours. If you cancel the trip, those bookings follow their own terms, so travel insurance that covers cancellation is worth having.

The full terms are in Booking a trip.

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