River
Check

Live South Island river conditions

Know the river. Plan your day.

Compare current flows, recent trends and fishing-relevant weather in one quick view. River Check adds practical condition bands to help make sense of the numbers, while the final call remains yours.

Latest station data Open access · limited time through 31 October
ExploreLive overview
344 stations 🔒 Flow bands · River Check Plus 306 current · updated 03:11 NZST
Ashley RiverNorth Canterbury · 3 gauges Source: Environment Canterbury 🔒 River Check bandsAvailable with River Check Plus 15.2 m³/s 🔒 Unlock trend 41m ago
Hurunui RiverNorth Canterbury · 4 gauges Source: Environment Canterbury 🔒 River Check bandsAvailable with River Check Plus 16.5 m³/s 🔒 Unlock trend 1h 11m ago
Rakaia RiverNorth Canterbury · 1 gauge Source: Environment Canterbury 🔒 River Check bandsAvailable with River Check Plus 149.0 m³/s 🔒 Unlock trend 2h 6m ago
Waiau Uwha RiverNorth Canterbury · 3 gauges Source: Environment Canterbury 🔒 River Check bandsAvailable with River Check Plus 5.6 m³/s 🔒 Unlock trend 1h 11m ago
Waimakariri RiverNorth Canterbury · 2 gauges Source: Environment Canterbury 🔒 River Check bandsAvailable with River Check Plus 126.0 m³/s 🔒 Unlock trend 26m ago
Measured flow Named monitoring organisationsCondition & trend River Check interpretation
01Scan every riverCompare flows and trends at a glance.
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How flow ratings work

The band tells you where it sits. The trend tells you where it is going.

River Check first compares the latest measured flow with four established thresholds and a derived high-side boundary for that water, placing it into a practical band. It then adds the recent direction of change—rising rapidly, rising, steady, falling or falling rapidly. Any band can appear with any trend.

Low· Falling

Below the preferred flow range, but may still be fishable.

Ideal· Steady

Within the preferred flow range, though other conditions still matter.

High· Falling rapidly

Above the ideal range, but still within the established high-flow allowance.

Marginal· Falling

Above the established High range. River Check cannot confidently assess fishability here; conditions are increasingly location- and method-dependent.

Unfishable· Rising rapidly

Far below the preferred range or extremely elevated. Fishing may be impractical, but this is not a safety judgement.

The band is the starting point. Recent flow direction, weather, local conditions and your own experience help you judge what that reading may mean on the day.

Your planning tools

Start with the overview. Go deeper where it matters.

River Check keeps the first scan simple, with more context and personalisation ready when you need it.

Flow ratings

Compare a measured flow with practical fishing bands, recent direction of change and the evidence behind the shared rating. You can also set personal bands for water you know well.

How flow ratings work

My Rivers

Save the rivers and stations you check most, then return to a focused view without rebuilding the same search each time.

Sign in to personalise

Fresh Watch

See the days since a detected fresh on major systems. Add any available river and choose an in-app or email alert after the detector confirms a peak.

Set up Fresh Watch

Alerts & reports

Keep important river and weather information together, and receive scheduled briefings shaped around your selected regions, rivers and conditions.

Use every planning tool

Built by a fly angler

Note from the founder

“As a passionate fly angler, I’ve learned that success on the water rarely comes down to luck—it starts with good planning.”

Dave MondsFounder & fly angler

I built River Check because I was spending too much time working through separate river-data and weather websites before every trip. I wanted one convenient place to see the information, understand the flow in context and build a clearer plan.

River Check cannot tell you where the fish are or make that crucial first cast. It can help you arrive at the water better informed.

Read the story behind River Check

Make it your own

Build your river-planning system.

Save the rivers you care about, use shared or personal flow bands, compare fishing-relevant weather and receive reports tailored to the way you plan.

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