24th April 2011 (Easter Sunday)
Following six long months of planning, Easter Sunday finally saw the 13th annual Otamarakau PTA Surf Fishing Competition take place.
This year we had perfect fishing conditions with over 650 anglers converging on the Matata Straight a beautiful piece of New Zealand coastline on St Hway 2 between Te Puke and Whakatane. Our competition is now one of the Largest Annual One Day Surf Fishing Competitions in New Zealand and is a major part of many seasoned anglers calendars.
Contestants, organisers and sponsors love the surf fishing competition because it is an afforable and great family day out, with the entry fee being $25.00 for a rod or handline.
Fishing got underway at 9am and with the tides and the weather looking favorable, there was excitement in the air as the organisers waited for news to filter back on how things were unfolding. By around 9.30am, the first of a total of 130 fish was brought back to the competition head quarters to be weighed in - a Snapper that ended up placing 3rd in its prize pool.
At 3pm fishing closed and hundreds of anglers and their supporters headed back to the competition head quarters to unwind and wait for the results to be processed. The Weighmaster worked hard to weigh each and every fish and the PTA's small but dedicated team helped by quickly recording and sorting the results.
MC, TV celebrity Brendan Horan entertained the crowd and by just after 4pm, the results were ready for the eager crowd.
As the results were read out, there were many many happy anglers leaving the stage with huge smiles as they collected prizes ranging from top of the line Fishing rods to a family Helicopter flight for 4.
The winners in each section were as follows:
· 1st place Ladies Section – Tuinga Simon with a 2.21kg Trevally – Winning a Surf Casting Rod and reel, jacket and goody bag - Sponsored by Hi-Way Liquor - Matata
· 1st Place Children's Section – Logan Billet with a 2.10kg Kahawai– Winning a $290 Surf Casting Rod and Reel package - Sponsored by Hunting and Fishing Tauranga, Whakatane and Rotorua
· 1st Place Other Species Section – Patrick Wallace with a 2.92kg Stingray – Winning a Kayak, paddle and Lifejacket valued at $400 – Sponsored by Farmlands
· 1st Place Kahawai Section – Shannon Anaru with a 2.81KG Kahawai – Winning a $2000 Contiki Predator Package - sponsored in conjunction with Hunting and Fishing Tauranga and Rotorua
· 1st Place Snapper Section –Tony Thompson with a 2.02kg Snapper – Winning a massive $4000 cash
A family day out turned out to be lucky for Seasoned fisherman, Tony Thompson who walked away with the massive $4000 cash prize for the heaviest Snapper.
Over $2000 of prizes were given away through various lucky ticket draws giving even those who hadn't caught anything a chance of going home with a prize.
Coast Care, who sponsored five $100 cash "Sand Dune Preservation" prizes, stated that this year's competition had also been our most successful in terms of environmental impact with everyone treating the beaches with respect.
All in all, the day was a huge success and the PTA would like to thank everyone who made it possible, especially the generous sponsors who provided such an awesome prize pool.
Planning has now started for the 2012 competition and we're sure that everyone who took part in the 2011 Fishing Competition will be looking forward to another great event!
A bit of fun with our digital Image!
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People starting to gather for prizegiving