The Clinton and Worsley Controlled Fisheries

The Clinton and Worsley rivers and their tributaries are Controlled Fisheries.

Special licencing requirements apply to these rivers - you must hold one of the Adult whole season licences. 

Controlled-Period Licence Requirements

To help manage angling pressure on the Clinton and Worsley rivers, a fortnightly ballot operates throughout the sports fishing season (1 November-31 May).

Winners of the ballots are issued with a Controlled-Period Licence. 

Clean gear certificate requirements 

Please note, if you are successful in the ballot, you will need to obtain a clean gear certificate within 48 hours of going fishing in the Clinton and Worsley. 

Your certified clean gear must not be used in any other waters before reaching your Fiordland river. 

It must be carried with you whilst fishing, clean gear certificates are available free of charge from:  

• Southland Fish and Game’s Invercargill office
• Department of Conservation (Te Anau office)
• Outside Sports (Te Anau)              
• Fiordland Frontier Supplies (Te Anau)   

Rangers will be checking for clean gear certificates and if anglers are found without a clean gear certificate, enforcement action will be taken.

The potential spread of aquatic pests (like didymo) into Fiordland is a serious threat to these fisheries.

How does the ballot work? 

The Beats

The Clinton River downstream of the Prairie has been split into two actively managed beats.

The Lower Clinton Beat includes the Clinton River North Branch, the Clinton River downstream of the con­fluence with West Branch, and the Neale Burn.

The Middle Clinton Beat includes the West Branch of the Clinton River below ‘The Prairie’ to the North Branch con­fluence.

The Upper Clinton River above the ‘The Prairie’ has no beat controls but normal angling etiquette applies.

The Worsley River Beat is one actively managed beat.

Click here to see a map of the whole Clinton River showing the fishing beat boundaries.

The Ballot

• The Clinton and Worsley beats are balloted fortnightly.
• The ballot for a specific fortnight period opens four weeks in advance.
• Anglers will then have two weeks in which they can enter the ballot.
• There are six fishing allocations balloted for each beat, each fortnight period.
• These allocations are Monday/Tuesday, Wednesday/Thursday and Friday-Sunday.
• Anglers can enter the ballot for up to six allocations across all beats, each fortnightly period.  
• A party leader and up to three companion anglers can be included on a ballot entry but each angler can only appear on one ballot entry, regardless of whether they are a party leader or companion angler.
• If an angler enters the ballot more than once for a given fortnightly period, all of their ballot entries will be void for that period.         
• The ballot will close two weeks out from the start of a fortnightly period.
• Anglers will be advised by email if they are successful with their ballot entry and issued with a Controlled Period Licence.
• After the ballot for a given period, there may be fishing allocations that remain unallocated. These allocations become available to anglers on a first-come, first-served basis. To check for the availability of allocations, please contact the Southland Fish & Game Office.

To enter the Clinton or Worsley ballot, applications will open on October 5 check back here then.

Compliance Monitoring

These regulations have been adopted to provide a better angling experience in response to increasing complaints regarding crowding and angler conflict on these fisheries.

While we appreciate it won’t suit all anglers, we urge people to ensure they only fish these waters if they have the correct controlled period licence.

To maximise the benefits of these changes, Fish & Game will be monitoring compliance on designated waters fisheries during the season.

Non-compliance with the designated waters and controlled period licence requirements is an offence under the Conservation Act and subject to a maximum fine of $5000 and will be treated the same as fishing without a licence offence.

We look forward to your cooperation in the management of these fisheries, and hope you enjoy your season.  

For more information please contact Southland Fish and Game on 03 215 9117 or [email protected] 

Prevent the spread of aquatic pests  

To help prevent the spread of aquatic pests, remember to check, clean and dry your equipment.  

Please be aware that didymo is present in Lake Te Anau. Boots, waders and equipment that gets wet with lake water should not be used in the river.   

No watercraft (boats, pack rafts etc) are permitted in the Clinton River catchment.

Glaisnock Wilderness Area

NOTE: The Worsley River is situated within the Glasisnock Wilderness Area. No commercial activities, including fishing guiding, are permitted in this area.

Ballot entry page

Please open, fill out, save and then email the editable PDF below to enter the ballot for the period when applications open: [email protected] 

Ballot entry dates