The occurrence of adult quinnat salmon {Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum)) in the Rangitikei River, North Island, New Zealand, has been confirmed on several occasions since 1922, but juvenile salmon have not previously been recorded. In late February 1981 a 79-mm-fork-length smolt was caught in a stranded side channel 180 km upstream from the mouth. This suggests that quinnat salmon can spawn successfully in this river.