Fishing competition
The Ōmokoroa Boat Club’s fishing competitions took place on 1st March for the kids and 13/15th March for the adults. It was fantastic to see so many entries this year with a record 100 kids and 125 adults taking part.
It was millpond calm on the harbour at the 6am Sunday morning start for the kids’ competition. As with as last year, it was those parents who could persuade their children to get up early being rewarded with the best of the fishing. However, one very relaxed youngster decided to only start fishing at 2.30pm and still had something to weigh in at 4pm. Lots of well-conditioned snapper were landed but numbers of trevally and kahawai were down on last year. However, one kingfish was landed, by Lola Weir, which was great to see. Story of the day was Ada McMillan, age 8, reeling in a good-sized snapper when a bronze whaler shark decided it was hungry. It took the snapper from right beside the boat while breaching completely clear of the water. Ada thought it great fun but her Mum was more than a little shaken by the whole experience and required a stiff drink at the bar afterwards. Thanks to the generous sponsorship from many of the local businesses, all the kids received goody bags containing some great items and fish and chips from Skippers restaurant included in their ticket price.
The adults’ competition started at 6pm on Friday 13th, which was not a good omen for those of a superstitious nature. However, with lovely warm conditions and flat calm seas, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Some competitors did so well that they didn’t even bother to fish on the Saturday! The fine conditions carried into Sunday and it was great to see so many boats out on the harbour trying to bag the big one. Weigh-in was busy, with one lady competitor sprinting from her boat to make the weigh-in with 4 seconds to spare and the fish still twitching. Lots of great snapper were landed along with many good-sized kahawai and three kingies also weighed in. It is heartening to see that the harbour fishery seems to be thriving and it is easy to forget how lucky we are to be living in such an amazing place. Prizegiving was a hoot with a great selection of prizes (and spot prizes for those who hadn’t been so lucky). It was also good to see people taking their re-hydrating seriously after a long day out in the harbour in the sunshine.
A huge thank you to Rachel Millard at Tall Poppy Real Estate for once again being lead sponsor and to all our other wonderful sponsors. Without their donations and spot prizes, this great local competition could not happen.
Finally, thank you to all the Committee members involved in the organizing of this event and to Fee, our club manager, for all her efforts. I look forward to seeing you all next year. Tight lines!