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Mataura River

Type
Freestone river, Southland, New Zealand
Season
Oct–Apr, longer on some reaches
Where the season comes from

Mataura River upstream of the Gore Bridge and all tributaries except Brightwater Spring 1 Oct –30 April FSB 2

Set for this water by name. Reaches have different dates: the months shown are open on every reach.

Exceptions on the page:

  • downstream of the Gore Bridge and upstream of the Mataura Island Bridge 1 Oct - 31 May, excluding 1 and 2 May 2027 FSB 2
  • Mataura Island Bridge to the sea All year, excluding 1 and 2 May 2027

Sports Fishing Regs 2026/27 Southland
Fish & Game NZ · checked 2026-11-04. Dates change each season: confirm them there.

Live gauges
None listed
Listed by
2 authoritative lists
Guides
6 name it
Shops
1 nearby

Today on the Mataura River

No live reading
Why there is no reading

No provider we read publishes a machine-readable feed on this water. We show no number rather than a guessed one.

Regulations & lists Guides & shops

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water. Photo: Alan O'Dowd, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More about the Mataura River

The Mataura River is a freestone river in the Southland region of New Zealand. Fish & Game Southland lists it as one of its fisheries and runs a voluntary beat system on the upper river. This page covers the whole river, from the Eyre Mountains to Fortrose. The upper reaches are fished under a voluntary beat system, and it is open all year below the Mataura Island Bridge.

Where to fish

About this

Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish. Most waters here need a rod licence or permit and often a beat booking or club ticket; the listing pages under Regulations say which.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Restrooms near Mataura River

Restrooms near Mataura River

Restrooms within 2 miles of Mataura River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.

Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near Mataura River (6)

Sources OpenStreetMap via Nominatim (position)Overture Maps places (guide map points)

Where the map point comes from

Position: the OpenStreetMap feature “Mataura River, Southland District, Southland, New Zealand” (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), found with Nominatim; a point on or near the named feature, approximate.

We hold no access map for Southland yet.

The map shows shops and guides nearby that publish a street address on their own website. Everyone else is in the lists below.

Regulations and official lists

About this

Each line is an official list that names this water. Those pages are the authority on seasons, licences, limits and closures for each beat or reach; read them before you go.

Named among the country's best by Fish & Game New Zealand.

Guides and shops near Mataura River

About this

Listings are unclaimed: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

6 guides name it on their website

Guides

Show 3 more guides

  • Te Anau, Southland · 135 km

    Fishjet NZ

    • Fly-fishing guide
    • Names this water
    • Wade trips
    • Drift boat
    • Unclaimed

  • Wanaka, Otago · 192 km

    Aspiring Fly Fishing

    • Fly-fishing guide
    • Names this water
    • Lake & stillwater
    • Beginners & lessons
    • Unclaimed

All Southland guides

1 shop nearby

All Southland shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Shops whose website names this water first, then fly shops within 100 km when the shop's website gives its location.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species

About this

The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.

Listed by the agency

  • Brown trout

Fish these in the US

About this

Matched on the fish the agencies list for both waters first, then the same water type, an official designation or flagship listing on both, and a similar mapped size where USGS hydrography covers both.

At most two waters per country. A shared fish is a listing, not a promise: presence varies by reach and season.

Like the Mataura River? Same fish, US waters.

  • The Roaring Fork River in Basalt in autumn, with golden cottonwoods along the bankGold Medal Water
    Photo credit

    The Roaring Fork River in Basalt, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Roaring Fork River

    Colorado

    Same fish: brown trout · also a freestone river

  • The Manistee River curving around a wooded island below forested hillsBlue Ribbon
    Photo credit

    The Manistee River, Michigan. Photo: Eric Schmuttenmaer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Manistee River

    Michigan

    Same fish: brown trout · also a freestone river

  • Two rafters below a small waterfall spilling into the Rogue RiverFeatured sport-fishing water
    Photo credit

    The Rogue Wild and Scenic River, Oregon (BLM). Photo: Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Rogue River

    Oregon

    Same fish: brown trout · also a freestone river

  • The broad lower Yellowstone River bending past a sandbar below badland bluffs near Terry, MontanaAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)
    Photo credit

    The lower Yellowstone River at the Badlands Fishing Access Site near Terry, eastern Montana (far downstream of the Paradise Valley trout water). Photo: Bureau of Land Management Montana-Dakotas, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Yellowstone River

    Montana

    Same fish: brown trout · also a freestone river

  • The New Fork River running open through snow beneath a two-span timber truss bridge, with bare cottonwoods behindBlue Ribbon
    Photo credit

    The New Fork River at the DDZ Bridge near Boulder, Wyoming, in winter. Photo: Clayton B. Fraser, public domain, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons

    New Fork River

    Wyoming

    Same fish: brown trout · also a freestone river

  • The Colorado River at Lees Ferry flowing past a rocky shore beneath red sandstone cliffsBlue RibbonRepresentative photo · not Canyon Creek
    Photo credit

    The Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Arizona. Photo: Denny Armstrong, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Canyon Creek.

    Canyon Creek

    Arizona

    Same fish: brown trout · also a freestone river

Gear checklist

About this

A wade-fishing checklist for big trout rivers: a 9 ft 5–6 weight outfit, nymph, dry and streamer setups, waders, boots and a wading staff, with estimated prices by tier and where to buy.

Big trout rivers (wade fishing)

9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Mataura River.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 5 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Live readings come from the named provider when the page is shown, under the licence shown on each card. Designations, species and the flagship note link to the agency or body that publishes them; this page copies only the list wording and the species names. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the OpenStreetMap feature “Mataura River, Southland District, Southland, New Zealand” (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), found with Nominatim; a point on or near the named feature, approximate. Water type is our own classification.