Fisherman races to buy scales after hauling in 11kg kingfish off Bay View

Cody Webster was thrilled his first ever kingfish was an 11kg catch off the beach at Bay View. Photo / Supplied

A first-time kingfish catcher was so stunned by the size of the fish he'd just hauled in from a Hawke's Bay beach, he and his partner raced off to buy some scales.

Cody Webster was just about ready to call it a day off the coast of Bay View on Saturday, having had no bites for two hours, when his rod started to bend in a big way.

The Pahiatua man was up in the Bay for a trail ride over the weekend when he decided to turn his hand to his other hobby - fishing.

"I used to do a bit of fishing when I was younger but only started getting back into it late last year," he said.

Webster thought he might have landed a shark until he saw the colouring on the side of the fish.

"I've never caught a kingi [kingfish] before."

His partner Laura McKenzie helped him reel it in.

A couple passing by told Webster and McKenzie it was the first kingfish they'd seen caught from the beach in several years.

They measured it - coming in about 1m long - but decided to run to the store to pick up some scales to get a final weight of 11kg.

While recreationally-caught kingfish average 10kg but can weigh more than 30kg, it's unusual to catch such large ones from the beach.

Bay View has proven a successful angling spot previously with Napier man Tareq Assa'd reeling in a 15.58kg kingfish earlier this year.

Webster said he was "feeling pretty bloody good" about his first time catch.

He was going to spend Monday afternoon carving it up and expected get a "good feed" from it.