As a result of low water flow the mouth of the Ashburton River is often closed off by shingle.

Ashburton mouth. Just not enough water for salmon or searun trout to run up the beach!

Ashburton River

I once talked about salmon fishing in the Ashburton River with an older bloke who was doing some work on my 4WD Toyota. He told me that as a youngster he could remember a day when as many as 200 salmon were caught at the mouth of the Ashburton River. I'm guessing that had to be 50 to 60 years ago! Alas nowadays the Ashburton is a shadow of its former self. Abstraction for irrigation has all but reduced this once mighty salmon river to a trickle.

Some searun brown trout do still run up through the river mouth when conditions permit. So the lower river is probably your best bet for a trout.

In Jack Byrne's excellent book Salmon Country there is a full page photograph of a huge salmon caught at the Ashburton River mouth in 1978. It weighed 43 lb (19.5 kg). That is now almost three decades ago but shows just how good the trout and salmon fishing were in those days.

If planning to visit the mouth check with a sports store in Ashburton first to determine its condition.

The Ashburton River is not recommended as a destination for salmon anglers.

Return to Salmon Page