James Benge with the 8.165kg snapper that won him $32,000 in the 90 Mile Snapper Bonanza on Saturday.
James Benge made it through a very stressful three and a half days to stay of top of the leaderboard and claim the $30,000 prize for catching the heaviest snapper in this year's Placemakers 90 Mile Snapper Bonanza.
Competition spokesman John Stewart said after Mr Benge's 8.165kg fish was caught
on Wednesday - day two of the five-day event - the Hastings surfcaster would be "sweating on [major prize] $30,000".
Shortly after holding his winning fish, trophy and winner's cheque aloft before the crowd at the final day's prizegiving on Saturday evening, Mr Benge made no effort to discount Stewart's claims: he had indeed 'sweated it'. He resorted to using a psychological strategy to take his mind off the fact that the $30,000 was dangerously in touching distance.
"I challenged myself to better it," he said of his Wednesday catch which had also earned him $2000 for the day's heaviest fish.
"It has been terrible," he said of the long wait which took place over the following three days, "to know that last year a fish bigger than this got pipped at the end".
