There were plenty of pirates, tropical fruits and flowers, palm trees, rum and calypso music around.172 anglers and 63 boats took part, and caught a total of 26 striped marlin (15 weighed), 3 yellowfin tuna, 1 mako, 2 mahimahi and 2 kahawai. On the briefing night a Calcutta-type auction was held for all the participating boats, with the prize amounting to a very substantial sum, to be won by the person who had bought the boat landing the heaviest striped marlin of the competition.

The weather for the first day was quite good with only light winds and very little swell, and the ladies put in a great effort, landing 7 and tagging & releasing 7 striped marlin, with the biggest fish of 120.6kg caught by Shirley Smith from the launch ‘Marlin Magic' skippered by Dave Robinson. Three yellowfin tuna were also caught, with the biggest of 48.1kg caught by Kath Hudson from ‘Waimana' skippered by Brent Andrews. Buoys with a surprise attached were also put out at sea and to claim their prizes for returning the buoy, the skippers had to wear the attached naughty girl's underwear into the club which was very funny. The rod and reel and gift-pack prize for the heaviest marlin that day went to Shirley with her 120.6kg stripey, and Kath Hudson won a beautiful gift pack for her yellowfin tuna. The club patrons Snooks and Lola Fuller gave a cash prize for the best clean poem which was won by Chris Tomlinson from ‘Cobar II' with a very funny version of a song, with lots of verses - Everybody's Hookin' Up But Me! There were also lots of team uniforms which included; Rastafarians, fairies, and lots of team t-shirts which looked very smart. The prize went to the Roadrunner crew on ‘Wai-iti' with a Rastafarian team uniform.

The second day the wind got up slightly and the sea was a bit choppier, but conditions were good nonetheless and a large workup of bait fish and birds in the Clayworks area had all the boats around dashing into the area and hooking up on marlin with livies and lures. For the day, 8 marlin were weighed in and 4 tagged & released, along with a mahimahi and 2 kahawai. The biggest striped marlin for the day was a fish of 132.8kg landed by Julie Smith on 37kg line, from the launch ‘Mexican Wave', which won her a rod and reel and gift-pack. Six boats dressed up to try for a prize, and we had ‘Dry Red' with a Tropicana theme, ‘Justice' as a pirate ship, ‘Elusive' with a Rastafarian colour scheme, ‘Masquerade' became the Pepperpot Nite Club, ‘Lady Luck' was Pam's Coruba Rum Shack and ‘Wai-iti' also had a Coruba rum theme. The winner was ‘Masquerade' with a boat that lit up at night and really looked good as a night-club and had a party on board to test it out!

For the final prize-giving, Julie Smith on ‘Mexican Wave' won the prize for the heaviest marlin overall with her 132.8kg striped marlin, which also won her the Dutton Trophy for the heaviest billfish, and the Donna Watson Trophy for the heaviest gamefish. The skipper Garry Somers won a chainsaw and the boat won the Calcutta prize and everyone in the room sent Mexican waves around the onlookers in appreciation of their accomplishment. The Hair by Chris Trophy for the 1^st billfish landed was won by Leisa Henwood of ‘Midnight Express' with a stripey caught at 11.30am on the first day. The Kingfish Lodge Trophy for the heaviest gamefish caught on 24kg line, and the Weighstation Trophy for the gamefish most IGFA points, went to Kathleen Nixon on ‘Lady Luck' for a striped marlin of 112kg which took half an hour to land. The prize for the boat with most points for marlin was a tie between ‘Millennium' and ‘Gladiator' who both earned 230 points for T&R 2 marlin but as ‘Millennium' caught their fish first, they won the prize. The boat with most points for shark was ‘Gamestation' who T&R 1 mako for 35 points, and the boat with most points for tuna was ‘Waimana' with 48.1 points for a weighed yellowfin tuna. There was also a lucky draw for the anglers to win a $2000 voucher ($1000 sponsored by the Road Runner Tavern & Wholesale) for a Trixie Newton's World Travel holiday for two, which was won by a very lucky Jessica Mason of Kerikeri. After the prize-givings the band ‘Three's A Crowd' entertained everyone who danced the night away.

Our huge number of sponsors helped to make the event a fantastic fishing and social occasion so please support our sponsors who are:

Kilwell Sports Ltd., St Paul's Cannery, Dennis (Smokey) Smith, Gemtime Jewellers, G&S Sinclair, Snooks & Lola Fuller, Buildall Holdings, Hair by Chris, Sands Marine, Natural Wood Creations Ltd., McCoy & Thomas in Kerikeri, Makana Confections, Youngman Richardson & Co. Ltd., Kingfish Lodge, Road Runner Tavern & Wholesale, Errol Rogers Ltd., Hooker Lures, Lion Red, Bay Dive & Fishing, The Scullery, Waimanu Lodge, Trixie Newton's World of Travel, New World Kerikeri, Kwan Garden Creations, Beauty Essentials, First Mobile, Living Nature, Four Forty Clothing, Kerikeri Goldsmith, Wet & Forget, Redwood's Dental, Gourocks, Coco's Deli, Bait Barn, Santeez Café & Bar, McFadzien's Pharmacy, Doubtless Beauty, Billabong, Anne of Craicor, John Archer Electrical, Dancing Light, Pacific Ford Waipapa, The Landing Bar & Restaurant, Citrus Bar & Bistro, Liquorworld Waipapa, Mallett's, Paper Plus Kerikeri, Omaha Plumbers & Drainlayers, Adel Hassel, Adams Trimmer Insurance, Unichem Pharmacy, House of Fun, La Kazz Fashions, Country Corner, Jubile Fashions, NZ Fishing News, Smith's Garden Centre, Kings Court Interiors, Enz of the Earth, Kaeo 4 Square, High Voltage Surf, Olivado, Ace Dressmaking & Alterations, WS Laurie & Co., Liquorland Waipapa.

Our next competition is the Taiho II Cup Challenge - Three Northern Clubs, fishing for a trophy for the heaviest gamefish. This takes place on 14-15^th March. The week after (21^st - 22^nd March) is the WS Laurie Classic Boats Competition for boats over 40 years old, and the club will be running with a vintage theme.

Full results and catch tallies are available on our web-site at: www.whangaroabiggamefishclub.co.nz/