FISHING - Spots snapped up to hook $250,000

by Mike Dinsdale PRIZE CATCH: Tauranga's Vaughan Craven with the 9.315kg snapper that won him $53,000 at the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Classic last year.SUPPLIED
Northland's biggest fishing competition - the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Classic - is due to cast off next week, but there are still a few spaces left on the beach for the $250,000 competition.
The snapper classic, now in its 28th year, is limited to 1000 fishers and, while most of the tickets have been sold, organiser Yvette Urlich said registrations would be taken right up until Tuesday, when the competition begins.
"Many of the locals tend to wait till Sunday or Monday to get theirs," Ms Urlich said.
Now considered the largest surfcasting event in the world and with the biggest snapper taking out more than $50,000, as well as a total prize pool of more than $250,000, it has come a long way since it was first held in 1982.
Originally conceived to extend the tourist season in the Far North, the snapper classic has grown to become one of Northland's largest promotional events attracting national and international exposure.
The dates of the tournament are selected to provide the best tides in the optimum fishing period for the benefit of the tournament's contestants.
Ms Urlich said with stormy weather due at the beach this weekend she was expecting fine fishing conditions for the classic, which runs from Tuesday to Saturday.
The heaviest snapper caught each day will earn the fisher $3000, while the biggest snapper landed during the whole week wins $50,000. The heaviest snapper ever caught was Vaughan Craven's 9.315kg whopper last year.
Mr Craven, from Tauranga, proved that local knowledge doesn't necessarily bring in the big ones.
In the 27 years the snapper classic has been held, Northlanders have won the big prize 15 times, with the biggest fish being landed seven times on a Wednesday, six times on a Friday or Thursday and four times each on a Saturday or Tuesday.