Fishing Locations and Access

Otago has a range of fishing opportunities set in diverse landscapes, from pristine high country and barren Central Otago, to the lush lowland pastures of coastal Otago. The region caters to all anglers and methods.

The large southern lakes - Wanaka, Wakatipu and Hawea - hold good stocks of salmon, rainbow and brown trout and are popular with boat anglers. But if smaller fly fishing waters are your preference, then productive smaller coastal streams and the Taieri or Pomahaka rivers are worth a visit.

Fishing Locations:

The Southern Lakes – Wakatipu, Wanaka and Hawea – hold stocks of landlocked salmon, rainbow and brown trout and give anglers a world class experience, whatever type of method they use.

The Clutha catchment supports several reservoir fisheries (Upper Manor Burn and Onslow, for example) and the river has a number of major tributaries such as the Pomahaka, which is a famous fishery in its own right protected by a Conservation Notice. The Waipahi, itself a Pomahaka tributary, gives anglers a quality fishing experience in a farmland setting. There are also many small tributaries, which enter the Clutha system.

The Taieri River catchment offers different angling qualities throughout the system and its tributaries. In its headwaters is the Loganburn Dam, an irrigation reservoir with a stable brown trout fishery. All fishing methods are used throughout the catchment with bait fishing the most popular in the lower reaches closer to Dunedin.