90 Mile Bach Snapper Bonanza - local leading the way in Far North comp

A line-up of the heaviest fish caught on Thursday at the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza, in the Far North.

After a couple of days of fairly average fishing the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza saw plenty of action on Thursday with local knowledge seeing a Far North fisher leading the competition.

The Snapper Bonanza kicked off on Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe / Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North on Tuesday with 1200 fishers all angling to land the big fish that takes out the $30,000 first prize.

But with more than $200,000 in prizes on offer, there is enough bait to get all the fishers excited.

Co-organiser Dave Collard said Tuesday and Wednesday were not the best fishing days they’ve had on the beach, but Thursday saw better fishing conditions and bigger fish landed.

The Snapper Bonanza is in its 14th year after replacing the Snapper Classic, which ended in 2009 after 27 years, and since then it has gone from strength to strength as the country’s largest surfcasting competition.

In a sign of how popular it is, all 1200 tickets were sold out within three hours of going on sale on June 30. About a third are sold to Far North folk, with the rest from elsewhere in the country and a few from overseas. Competitor numbers were increased from 1000 two years ago, given the huge interest.

While about a third of competitors are from the Far North, that local knowledge didn’t necessarily equate to success, with only two of the previous 13 winners from the Far North, including last year’s winner Zane Kaaka, from Te Kao, who landed an 8.225kg snapper.

But on Thursday Milton Arnold, from Ngatiaki, 52km north of Kaitāia, led the field with an 8.645kg whopper he landed. Arnold will now have a nervous wait until Saturday, when fishing concludes, to see if he lands the top prize, or can catch an even bigger snapper.

Milton Arnold, from Ngataki, in the Far Far North, is leading the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza with this 8.645kg monster

His fish was more than 2kg heavier than the 6.62kg snapper Skarn Hokai, from

Kaitāia, landed to lead the comp on Wednesday.

Second in the competition is Justin Carroll, from Hastings, with a 6.855 fish landed on Thursday, with Hokai third with his snapper from Wednesday.

The Snapper Bonanza headquarters is at Waipapakauri, in West Coast Rd at the southern end of the beach - where the weigh-in and prizegiving will take place - with fishing taking place across two zones of the beach, which may change daily depending on the beach and surf conditions.

Another important aspect of the competition was its contribution to local groups, with fish caught auctioned off at the end of the competition and proceeds going to a local good cause.

1200 fishers are on Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe / Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North for the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza

Last year’s fish auction raised $17,450 for the Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade, a record amount. This year’s auction will provide Paparore School with some much-needed funding.

About 3000 people are expected to attend the prizegiving on the final day of competition.

On Saturday, fish will be auctioned at Kaitāia Markets from 8.30am.