Over the weekend the Whangaroa Big Gamefish Club held its annual Great Snapper Classic fishing contest, which was sponsored by Warren Hay Marine of Whangarei. Warren Hay Marine are dealers of new and used boats, boat outfitters, outboard stockists and also have a large range of fishing tackle. They also service boats and motors and the staff are very helpful and knowledgeable in all aspects of fishing and boating. From their range of items they furnished the club with prizes for the contest, both for adult and junior sections, and generously provided a 5hp Mercury outboard for a lucky angler draw.

Other prizes included rod and reel boat sets, coolers, sleeping bags, reels and folding chairs. A lucky angler draw was also provided by the Roadrunner Tavern & Wholesale who made up a basket of goodies to produce exotic cocktail drinks.

The competition attracted 55 anglers, both in boats and land-based, who went out on the Saturday into a flat, satin-smooth sea where you could see for miles, on a warm and still day. They came back to the weigh-station with 26 fish which were in good condition and ranged in size from 2kg to 7.58kg. By Sunday the weather had changed; it was windy and cold and the water was ‘confused', and it was even blowing in the harbour, and worst of all - the fish had stopped biting. Something else was out there fishing as well that day, as 7 orcas popped up for a look around, between the harbour entrance and Tauranga Bay - always a welcome sight. The weigh-station only saw 6 fish on the 2^nd day but spirits were not dampened and anglers eagerly awaited the prize-giving and lucky draws.

In the adults section the winners were: 1^st - Rodger Corbin on ‘Saltiga'; 7.58kg, 2^nd - Stephen King on ‘Hot Gossip'; 7.28kg, 3^rd - Bunty Campbell on ‘Hot Gossip'; 6.44kg, 4^th - Johnny Blake on ‘Delightful Lady'; 6.34kg, 5^th - Stu Sheard on ‘Kahlua II'; 5.3kg. Junior section: 1^st - Austin Bosch on ‘Pipihura'; 4.2kg, 2^nd - Austin Bosch on ‘Pipihura'; 3.84kg, 3^rd - Baily McIntyre on ‘Topgun'; 2.58kg, 4^th - Ricky Corden on ‘Jaksea'; 2.48kg, 5^th - Matthew Campbell on ‘Hot Gossip'; 2.3kg. Rodger Corbin who is the Daiwa agent, generously donated his prizes back to the club. The club will raffle off a Daiwa SL SH6.1 Jig reel, a Pharoah sleeping bag and a folding chair in the next few weeks. The average weight snapper was calculated as 3.69kg and a 58L wheeled cooler was won by Neil Hudson on ‘Orange Roughie' with a fish of 3.72kg which is the biggest fish he has ever caught, and on a new rod and reel bought earlier in the week. Neil was thrilled with his catch and getting a prize for it was an added bonus. A test of fishing skill is to catch a big fish on light line which gives the angler more International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) points. These points are worked out by multiplying the weight of your fish (in kg) by 100, then dividing your answer by your line weight (in kg). The prize for the angler with most IGFA points went to Stu Sheard who caught a 5.3kg fish on 4kg line, giving him 132.5 points. The lucky anglers who won the draw prizes were Stu Sheard for the cocktail set from the Roadrunner Tavern, and Trish Erceg who won the outboard motor from Warren Hay Marine.

For another successful competition, the club wishes to thank it's sponsors Warren Hay Marine, the Roadrunner Tavern & Wholesale, NZ Fishing News, and everyone who organises and helps out including the bar and kitchen staff, Whangaroa Coastguard  Radio, our weigh-master Laurie Stephens of the Marlin Hotel and last but not least the skippers and anglers who took part. Our next competition is the Light Tackle Competition sponsored by Lion Red, which takes place on Queen's Birthday Weekend from 2^nd - 4^th June.

Full details and photographs of the competition can be seen at www.whangaroabiggamefishclub.co.nz/