Discover the Beauty of The Waiau River with Jet Boat Fishing
Our guided jet boat fishing experiences focus primarily on the productive Upper Waiau River trout fishery in Fiordland National Park
Teeming with brown & rainbow trout and flowing through untouched rainforest, the Waiau river offers a very special wilderness experience.
Combine fishing and jet boating in the Fiordland wilderness for the ultimate kiwi adventure. Unforgettable fun for friends, couples, and families! Unforgettable fishing for experienced, well travelled fly fisherman.
It’s the ultimate hands-on Kiwi adventure.
TRIP PACKAGES
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Full day with Gourmet Riverside BBQ Lunch
Fish the river at your own pace with a riverside BBQ featuring locally sourced produce, prepared by your guide.
Minimum 8 Hours$2995 for up to two people
$225 per adult (18yrs+) after two people
$115 per additional junior (12-17yrs) angler, children 4-11yrs free of charge -
Full Day with standard packed lunch
Fish the river at your own pace with packed lunch and snacks provided.
Minimum 8 Hours$2480 for up to two people
$175 per adult (18yrs+) after two people
$75 per additional junior (12-17yrs) angler, children 4-11yrs free of charge -
Half Day
A morning or afternoon trip exploring the upper Waiau River…Morning/afternoon tea and beverages provided. Minimun 4hrs on the water.
$1565 for up to two people
$140 per adult (18yrs+) after two people
$65 per additional junior (12-17yrs) angler, children 4-11yrs no additional charge -
Additional fishing guide for larger groups
It is only practical for 1-2 anglers to be fishing from the boat at any one time, however adding an additional guide to your jetboat experience allows anglers to be dropped at private beaches and Islands to fish with a guide from shore, while other anglers fish from the boat with the jetboat guide.
$700 for extra Guide Half Day
$1300 for extra Guide Full Day
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Add drift boat for larger groups
Add a guided drift boat experience to your group’s jet boat fishing day to provide more diverse fishing options or cater for groups of up to 8 anglers, with 2 anglers in the drift boat and up to 6 on the jet boat. Clients can rotate between the drift boat and jet boat if they wish. The drift boat can take 1-2 anglers at a time and weight restrictions apply.
$1500 for half day drift boat (only available if booked concurrently with jet boat)
$2100 full day drift boat
25% Deposit required to secure your trip dates. All prices are in New Zealand Dollars and include GST.
Prices valid through May 31st, 2027.
Prices include fishing tackle, waders and boots BUT DO NOT include your NZ fishing licenses, make sure you buy your license online before you trip!
About Jet Boat Fishing
Let our friendly local guide welcome you on board our custom-built jet boat, as we drift down the river having a go at trout fishing along the way. For larger groups, we can also include a non-motorized drift boat into the day. There are high numbers of rainbow and brown trout here, and with our stunning clear waters and patient guides providing tuition, you are bound to hook up in no time!
But it’s not just the thrill of catching trout that makes this such a memorable day. The scenery is truly epic – think Lord of the Rings filming locations combined with the wilderness of the Fiordland National Park.
No experience is required for this experience and everything your need for the day is supplied except your NZ fishing license. Having your own boat and guide also means complete flexibility with how you want to enjoy your trip. We can cater to complete beginners through to highly advanced spin and fly fishers.
Enjoy morning or afternoon tea on half day trips or a delicious riverside lunch full day trips. For guests with a culinary inclination, we we recommend our gourmet riverside BBQ with locally farmed and harvested cuisine.
For the non-anglers in the group, sit back and watch the fishing action or enjoy the cycle trail or Kepler Track which runs along either side of the river. We can organise to meet up along the river so everyone can enjoy what they want to.
FAQs
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The fishing on this river cannot be easily accessed by walking – it has high terraced sides and bush right to the edge with only 10% of its banks accessible on foot – this is why we use boats and we use jet boats because of the superior manoeuvrability. The jetboat is basically like a 4x4 for the river. We can also use drift boats.
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Because you have to use a boat this river does not have the fishing pressure other rivers have and we never run into conflict on the river with other guides or anglers. You might walk for an hour up a river and discover someone else has just jumped in ahead of you – we don’t have to deal with this at all as we just move down the 28km length of river in the boat avoiding everyone else which is what a fishing experience should be.
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It is 5 minutes from Te Anau so you maximise your fishing time – on a half day most get at least 4-5 hours actual fishing time so far better bang for buck than driving to and from rivers and walking between pools maybe only getting 2-3 hours actual fishing time if any if you don’t see a fish. On a full day you will get a minimum of 8hrs on the water.
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We can fish from the boat drift style or sneak up on feeding fish to present to them from the casting deck. For those that want to spend more time on shore or wading, we use the boat as a means of getting between spots to walk-wade private beaches and islands. Elderly or less agile people or those that have had a full fishing holiday itinerary find it perfect if they can’t cover the ground they used to, we simply drive them to the fishing spots, low effort.
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The Waiau River offers lots of variety to suit different styles of fishing – spin, fly and drift experiences, from the very experienced angler to the first time learner. We can choose challenging waters, target big browns in the back waters or target active Rainbow in the fast water. We can effectively cater for everyone on the same river all in a different style.
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Fish and Game drift dive this river annually and it is consistently 200-300 trout per km with some sections boasting 600 + trout per km – this is some of the highest densities of trout in New Zealand and much higher than the other Fiordland and Southland that carry densities in the 10-100 trout per km.
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This river is not affected by rainfall like all the other rivers – it is a tailwater fishery controlled by the Lake Te Anau Dam, so it will not rise significantly or turn dirty overnight – it is a very dependable and fish-able river and all weather conditions which gives everyone peace of mind when booking so far ahead. When other rivers in our region or blown out, the upper Waiau is still fishable by boat.
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The guides know this river like the back of their hands because they spend most of the season on it, whether guiding commercially or fishing it recreationally with their friends and family
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Our prices do not include fishing licenses. All clients wishing to fish will require a valid New Zealand Fishing License from Fish and Game. They can be purchased online from the Buy a License page on the Fish and Game Website. Information and pricing for Non-Resident Angler Licenses and Resident Angler Licenses is available on the Fish and Game Website.