Man catches enormous kingfish off Napier beach

Tareq Assa'd said he has given fillets of the fish to friends, family and neighbours. Photo / Supplied

A Napier man cried "happy tears" when he caught a 25.29kg kingfish while surfcasting at Awatoto beach.

Tareq Assa'd, a member of Pania Surfcasting Club in Napier, said after a half-hour struggle, he finally landed the 1.4 metre long "monster".

"It caused a lot of excitement and even some happy tears," he said. "It was a bit of a fluke. I was fishing with the club that morning and they had chosen that spot.

"I turned my back for a couple of minutes and next minute the line was going crazy. I looked behind me and the line was almost doubled down and bent in half.

"My father in law who was fishing next to me came and helped hold on. I couldn't wind it at all. It took me way down the beach at one point from where we had been fishing."

Assa'd added: "I was shouting to my father in law that the line was going to finish before we even know what it is.

"I finally landed it and sunk to my hands and knees and had happy tears. My father-in-law came over and gave me a hug and congratulated me."

Using a "pretty huge kahawai" as live bait to catch the kingfish, Assa'd decided to share the motherload of meat with his friends and family.

"The fish has been filleted off," he said. "The neighbours got a few fillets each, some friends took some fillets. We smoked some of it and we had some raw too.

"We do not waste anything. One of my friends even took the frame and the head, as he likes cooking the whole thing.

"There is even some in the freezer as well for the next few days. I don't think I will be fishing for a while with the amount we have in the house."

The kingfish was 1.4 metres long and weighed in at 25.29kg. Photo / Supplied

Kingfish fillets currently sell for about $30 per kilogram, which means this catch of the day would be worth about $600-$700.

Originally from Jordan, Assa'd took up fishing seven years ago when his father-in-law took him out for the first time and said it was "special" to share this moment with him.

"I love my fishing. My father-in-law got me into it after he took me out to show me the ropes, as he had been fishing his entire life. First day I hooked a small fish and that was it for me.

"Since then, I started fishing on my own. I joined the club with my father-in-law and have been there for a few years now. I honestly did not think I would get something like that ever."