Locals take out top prizes at Northland’s Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza

Kaitāia’s Zane Kaaka with the 8.225kg snapper that won him a total of $32,500 as the heaviest fish caught at the annual Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza. Pictured with him are bonanza organisers Dave Collard and John Stewart.

A nervous five-day wait ended with delight on Saturday for Kaitāia’s Zane Kaaka when the fish he caught on the first day of the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza ended up being the heaviest of the competition - earning him a total of $32,500.

Kaaka caught his 8.225kg snapper on Tuesday - earning him $2500 as the heaviest fish of that day - then spent the next five days trying to beat it, while also hoping nobody else did.

And at the end of Saturday’s weigh-in, nobody had managed to knock him from his perch and Kaaka also walked away with the $30,000 top prize for the heaviest fish caught.

Organiser John Stewart said it was an amazing competition this year, and probably the best yet.

“It went very well and was probably the biggest we have had so far. It was a great week,” Stewart said.

He said Kaaka had a nervous few days waiting to see if his first-day effort would be bettered.

"And it’s so good that the top prize was won by a young local guy."

Stewart said another amazing aspect of this year’s competition was the size and number of fish which were donated to the auction at Kaitāia markets on Saturday to rise money for the Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade. This year’s auction saw $17,450 raised for the Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade - a record amount.

“That’s the biggest amount we’ve ever raised for the Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade from the auction. This year, it was the size of the fish donated that was impressive, with the average weight of the donated fish 3.5kg.”

A swag of fish caught at the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza were auctioned off on Saturday, raising $17,450 for the Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade.

He said it was another Far North local - Anaru Murray - who won the draw for a brand-new Mitsubishi Triton on Saturday.

"It’s nice that the two top prizes went to locals," Stewart said.

Local knowledge also saw the second-heaviest snapper landed by Kaitāia’s Quinton Collings and the average weight for teams competition won by Marty Black’s Awanui team with an average weight of 19.835kg.

However, the teams competition was won by the Bounty Hunters, from Wairoa, who won $5000 for their combined weight of 82.52kg.

Stewart said as well as raising funds for the Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade, the Snapper Bonanza also pours several million dollars into the Far North community from the competitors and their families and supporters.

“There’s always a good bunch of fishers coming here. For many, it’s their annual holiday, and they come up here for the week with their whānau and they love it. Many come back year after year from all around the country.”

The event has become a must-do competition on the fishing calendar and the 1000 tickets available always sell out.

“The tickets [for next year’s event] go on sale on June 1, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they sold out the same day,” he said.

Stewart said the one of the highlights of the event for him was the karakia by Fran and Rapiata Hokianga that closed the competition on Saturday afternoon.

Far North man Anaru Murray won the Mitsubishi Triton draw at the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza.

"That was very, very powerful. To have the whole crowd taking part and really getting into the karakia was powerful and a great way to finish another successful week."

The Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza is famous across New Zealand and the wider Pacific, bringing 1000 keen fishers to the region every year. They all hit the famous Northland beach looking to catch the big one and reel in some serious prize money.

The single-species fishing competition runs for five days and the cash pool is more than $72,000.

Darin Maxwell holds the record for the heaviest snapper recorded in the competition’s history. In 2012, the Te Puke fisherman reeled in a massive snapper that weighed in at 12.03kg.