The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

More than 200 entrants in Plumber Dan Kids Fishing Competition at Whanganui Town Wharf make it so popular that some missed out

Jesse King
By Jesse King
Reporter·Whanganui Chronicle·
24 Mar, 2019 05:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Jericho Kiriona with his 1.57kg kahawai that earned him third place in the Plumber Dan Kids Fishing Competition. Photo / Bevan Conley

Jericho Kiriona with his 1.57kg kahawai that earned him third place in the Plumber Dan Kids Fishing Competition. Photo / Bevan Conley

So many youngsters wanted to compete in the Plumber Dan Kids Fishing Competition that some missed out at the Whanganui Town Wharf on Sunday.

200 kids signed up for the competition that started at 1pm and ran through until 3pm with plenty of prizes up for grabs.

The whirring of winding reels, the whizzing of lines cast out into the green water and the "woohoo" of some big catches could be heard up and down the wharf.

One such catch was one of the earliest on the day and went to Rutherford Junior High School student Jericho Kiriona, 11, who caught a kahawai on his first cast.

"I was amazed because I knew I was going to catch it, my first one," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It took about a minute to pull in, it wasn't that long."

The kahawai weighed 1.57kg which was heavy enough to claim Jericho third place in the competition.

Everyone received a prize and they included chocolate bars, hats, fishing rods, McDonald's vouchers, drinking bottles, Columbus Coffee vouchers, rugby balls and toys.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was Jericho's first time entering the competition and helping him out were his mum Dorothy McPherson and his dad Tama Kiriona.

"Jericho likes to do a bit of fishing so we thought we'd give it a go and obviously that worked out," Kiriona said.

"You could see it jump so we knew it was a kahawai and we were stoked."

A keen fisherman, Kiriona caught his own impressive haul on the Saturday night before his son's competition.

"It's something for me to do to relax after work. I got 14 snapper last night up Kai Iwi way," he said.

"This competition is a good idea. It gets the kids out and it's good for the community. They need more of it to be honest. The turnout is awesome."

The sponsors of the competition included Hunting & Fishing New Zealand, Bunnings Warehouse, Zip Plumbing Plus, Mars Petcare, Meteor Office Products Depot, McDonald's and Mitre 10 Mega.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim

The Country

City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

The Country

The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim
The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim

Jock Davies was remembered for his infectious humour, caring nature and great strength.

14 Jul 04:21 AM
City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land
The Country

City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

14 Jul 03:16 AM
The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath
The Country

The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath

14 Jul 02:16 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP