From minnows to whoppers

WHAT A CATCH: Liam Dimock, 5 [left], Jayde Dimock, 9, and Jacob Dimock, 7, show off their fish. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

While some in the Waitotara Hotel fishing contest were showing off 5-7kg catches, 7-year-old Jacob Dimock was proudly posing for a photo with his .08kg herring.

"I caught it at the river mouth," Jacob exclaimed, before launching into a detailed explanation of how many times he'd cast his line out.

Jacob caught three fish on Saturday, after a long day of fishing with his siblings.

They were out from 6am to 9pm, grandmother Colleen Dimock said.

"The first thing they wanted to do next morning is get up and go fishing."

Jacob said his favourite part was catching his three fish.

Meanwhile, winner of the competition was shaping up to be Hamish Sandford, with his 7.48kg snapper.

Chris Wairepo looked to have the biggest snapper in surf-casting, at 2.62kg, organiser Peter Johnson said. There were 188 entrants into the competition this year. Another organiser, Wayne Collins, said the day was "absolutely perfect".

"Everybody went out ... when we came back in just the whole beach was lined up with rods. It looks like a picket fence there was that many," he said.

"This year we got a good turnout with the kids. Just about every one of them brought a fish to weigh in."

The main prize for the biggest fish is $100. Second and third prize are $50 and $30, and there were spot prizes as well.