Snapper riches await at fishing contest

Perfect conditions are expected to greet more than 900 anglers from throughout New Zealand and Australia as they line up this morning on the first day of the 26th annual Snapper Classic fishing contest on Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North.

The five-day event, which ends late on Saturday, offers prizes worth $250,000 in cash and giveaways and is the biggest surfcasting contest of its kind in Australasia.

The heaviest snapper weighed in during the Lion Red-sponsored competition wins its angler $50,000 cash. There's a $3000 prize for heaviest fish each day.