Fishing near Wairau Valley, Marlborough

Wairau Valley sits in the upper Wairau catchment in Marlborough, at the heart of one of the South Island's most varied trout fisheries. The Wairau River runs directly through the valley, offering brown trout in everything from remote headwater pools to wide braided reaches, with sea-run brown trout and salmon accessible further downstream toward the coast. Tributaries including the Branch, Waihopai, and Pelorus rivers extend the options considerably.