The 29th Annual One Base 2006 at Whangaroa Big Gamefish Club - Whangaroa Harbour Big Game Fishing Marlin Capital New Zealand

The 29th Annual One Base 2006 at Whangaroa Big Gamefish Club

What a One Base this year! The weather was kind to us, the fish were out there and the anglers were treated to a fabulous competition. This year the marquee was back, a spotter plane was up, a fun Calcutta-type auction was run, which generated lots of interest, and if you didn’t have enough fish, there were Tui buoys and ping-pong balls to find. Our major sponsors Tica-Kilwell, Lion Red Breweries and ATL Ltd all sponsored the competition with a fantastic set of prizes. Trophies and prizes were also given by many other sponsors who helped to make this One Base memorable. They included DB Breweries who sponsored the Tui buoys each day, St Paul’s Cannery who provided prizes and our spotter plane (our ‘eye in the sky’), Keri Sportsworld, Seamount Ltd., the Marlin Hotel, Hair by Chris in Kerikeri, the Mangonui Hotel, the White Swan Tavern in Kaeo, the Whangaroa Motel and Whangaroa Bed & Breakfast, the Fishing World and Fishing News magazines, the BP garage in Kaeo, the Marina Café, Leigh Distributors, Dennis (Smokey) Smith, Sands Marine Ltd., Reel Rods in Kaitia & Vernons Plumbing & Drainlaying in Mangonui. Sorry to start reading like a list but our sponsors helped to make this competition a success, with 78 fish caught in total over the four days. The marlin were thick out there, providing excitement for the anglers, with 42 striped marlin either weighed in or tagged and released, and 4 blue marlin. It was good to see that the majority of fish were tagged and released. The other species much in evidence this year were mahimahi, with packs of them appearing out of ‘#8217; water. 16 were caught, with the heaviest being 11.4kg which fell to Peter Matheson on ‘Violator’. Only 2 sharks were caught this year, both makos, with one tagged and released by George Rawson on ‘Cobar II’, and another landed by Brad Maker on the Warkworth boat ‘Gamestation’ which tipped the scales at 173.5kg. A few kingfish were around, but only 1 tuna, an albacore of 10.2kg also caught by Peter Matheson, put in an appearance. Six snapper were landed with the heaviest at 6.92kg being caught by club president Kelvin Mowat.
The first day of the competition was dominated by the mahimahi but there were still 8 marlin which came to the boat. On the evening, prizes were presented by Kilwell, and Chris Reesby auctioned off every boat in a fun Calcutta-style auction which everyone enjoyed enormously and had great fun with. $4050 were raised which would be won by the angler catching the heaviest striped marlin over the next 3 days of competition.

A triumphant Johnny 'Longline' Blake on his boat 'Delightful Lady' after catching the first stripey for the boat in 29 One Bases

Day 2 was Lion Breweries day and it saw the marlin appear in force, with one blue landed by Alastair Membery on First Affair at 206.8kg, and 13 stripeys caught. The highlight of the 2nd days catch was made on the boat ‘Delightful Lady’. Johnny ‘Longline’ Blake the skipper had broke his long-standing zero count for marlin caught on his boat in a One Base. This was the 29th One Base and Johnny had fished them all, and has the flags to prove it! Today, Johnny’s angler Tony Keith reeled in a stripey at 106.0kg caught on 24kg line. To put it mildly, Johnny was absolutely ecstatic and everyone who knows him was happy for him as well. They arrived in force at the weighstation to see him come in and have the stripey weighed. Johnny got a special rum prize for the skipper with the most perseverance, and I’m sure he will be back to fish the 30th One Base next year and perhaps bag another fish. The stripey which eventually won the Calcutta was caught on this day, by Antonio Guzzo on the boat ‘Team Simrad’, which weighed in at 135.6kg.

Day 3 was the most successful day of the competition with 27 fish caught which included the only sharks of the competition; makos, another blue marlin and 16 stripeys. This days blue weighed 171.0kg and was caught by Bevan Jones on ‘Sapphire’. Some anglers had taken the president’s hint and gone after snapper and yellowtail kingfish. Five good snapper came out, with the heaviest caught by the president himself who must have taken his own advice! This day was sponsored by Tica-Kilwell and lots of fantastic prizes were handed out. The first tag and released marlin of the day was by Anthea McIntyre on ‘Reel Passion’ who won a Kilwell Sceptre 15/24kg stand up rod. Bevan’s blue marlin won him this section, and the mako caught by Brad won him a rod, lure bag and gimbal belt in the shark section

The heaviest fish of the competition; a blue marlin at 222kg caught by Boyed Jones on'Swansong'

Day 4 was ATL’s day with lots of fantastic navigational, fishing and communication equipment for prizes. The catch rate for the final day was down, with 14 fish being caught. The day did produce 6 stripeys and 2 blue marlin, with the heaviest blue at 222kg caught by Boyd Jones on ‘Swansong’ turning out to be the heaviest fish of the competition. This blue was actually found in the middle of a work-up by the spotter plane with ‘Swansong’ trolling through and picking up the fish. After the daily prizes and the lucky angler and skipper draws, and prizes for the Tui buoys were drawn, it was time for the final prize-giving. Boyd’s blue marlin was the heaviest fish of the competition, with the 2nd heaviest being Antonio’s stripey, which also won him the Calcutta money. The Varta Cup for the launch tagging and releasing the 1st marlin went to the crew of Macksom. In the marlin section the team with the most points was ‘Gamestation’, 2nd was ‘Macksom’ and 3rd was ‘First Affair’. The angler Peter Baker on ‘Gamestation’ also landed the 1st qualifying marlin of the competition and won himself $165 off the price of a fish mount, or a free bill carving. ‘Gamestation’ was prominent throughout prize-giving with either the launch or individual anglers on the boat winning the Marlin Hotel Trophy, A&D Adams Trophy and the Snooks & Lola Fuller Trophy for the launch with the most T&R or weighed billfish and sharks. In the mahimahi section, the winning team was Ventora, 2nd was Saltiga and 3rd, Santana. The WBGFC Ladies Committee Trophy awarded for the heaviest gamefish by a lady angler, was won by Janice Allan on ‘Marlin Magic’ with a stripey of 103.8kg caught on 24kg line.

The crew of 'Gamestation' receiving the patron's Snooks and Lola Fuller Trophy for the launch with the most T&R and weighed billfish and sharks.

The prestigious Waiataiti Trophy for the club with the highest average points again went to Warkworth – well done. Local accommodation in Whangaroa kindly helped out anglers fishing the One Base, with the Whangaroa Motel giving Mark Whiter on the boat Nevada a prize voucher for being the small boat travelling the greatest distance, which was from south of Papakura. The Whangaroa B&B gave a voucher for the angler travelling the greatest distance which went to Jason Fojtik from Texas. Anglers from far and near enjoyed this competition with so many fish around, planes in the air, good food and drink on the evenings, good prizes and most importantly a good atmosphere in which to catch up with your mates you hadn’t seen since last year, and tell fishy stories – see you next year for the 30th One Base Competition.