James Tattersall asks Dave Rameka what the secret is to catching a winning fish on day one of the Snapper Bonanza on Tuesday night that won him $32,000.
Dave Rameka handled a huge amount of pressure after catching the best snapper on day one of the 2019 Ngai Takoto Snapper Bonanza last Tuesday to take out the overall winning prize of $30,000 at the final prizegiving on Saturday afternoon.
The Far North-born, Auckland-based angler admitted the nerves got
steadily worse as the week wore on and day after torturous day revealed he was still on top of the leaderboard, edging ever nearer the main prize while the tension that he might be overtaken on the last day, the last minute even, kept ratcheting up in excruciating fashion.
"It was so much pressure," said Rameka, in between sharing sips from the big trophy with his brothers on Saturday afternoon.
"I was just trying to block it out, keep fishing so you don't think about it. In my mind, I knew it could be beaten. A guy just next to me reeled in a big one this afternoon, I thought, 'Oh no'."
He finally knew he'd won the big prize when one brother - who had been hanging at the weigh station all day watching the board on Saturday - rang and confirmed the fact. Asked what he was going to spend it on, Rameka responded: "I haven't even thought about it. Still getting over it ... winning your dream.''
