A local man has taken the early lead in the Snapper Bonanza surfcasting competition after weighing in a whopping 9.995kg snapper caught on what proved to be a prolific morning for surfcasting on Tuesday, which saw 376 fish caught by the 600-plus anglers participating.
As the day one winner for heaviest fish caught, Neil Sides from Kaitaia took out the coveted first place cash prize of $2000.
However, he also now has the burden of an anxious wait over the next four days to see if anyone can better this weight, remembering that fish weighing under 9kg have taken out the major prize of $30,000 for heaviest snapper overall in the past.
Nothing bettering Sides' fish had been reported by noon on day two yesterday as the Age went to press.
The event continues until Saturday when the final weigh-in and prize draw takes place at 4.30pm. See pages 1 and 8 for more from the 2014 Snapper Bonanza.
