Game fish season now in full swing

Auckland spearfisher Darren Shields, who is guiding the Hawaiian team, with a 134kg striped marlin caught off Nine Pin Rock last Tuesday in a warm up for the Inter-Pacific Spearfishing Competition.

Organisers of the annual Houhora One Base big game fishing tournament said the weather forecast was looking good for this year's event, which starts tomorrow and runs until Saturday.

It's lining up to be one of the biggest tournaments yet.

At this point, with numbers still to be crunched, expectations were that angler numbers would crack the 300-plus mark, while about 80 to 100 boats would register for the 2016 running of the event.

The main prize is $20,000 cash for the heaviest striped marlin along with $1,000 for the heaviest snapper.

There are also prizes for billfish, tuna, kingfish, T&R shark and broadbill, along with a major lucky draw prize for a overseas holiday.

The event can be fished on both coasts and features two stay away nights this year on Thursday and Friday. The public was invited to watch the weigh-ins taking place at the hosting Houhora Big Game and Sports Fish Club every evening from around 4pm (although the Thursday and Friday weigh-ins are regarded as traditionally quiet because of the stay away nights).

The final prizegiving will take place on Saturday night when the major prizes will be awarded.

In other news, the annual Radz Challenge - once described as the Ranfurly Shield of local big game fishing - was again contested between teams of anglers representing the Ahipara and Muriwai gamefishing factions on the west coast last weekend.

As well, 36 spearfishers representing six nations - New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Hawaii and Guam - competed in the 2016 Inter-Pacific Spearfishing Competition which ran from Friday to Saturday in the Bay of Islands.

New Zealand applied local knowledge to win the event for the first time since 2007 and in conditions described as less than conducive, with easterly winds of up to 40 knots and an at times two metre swell, which caused visibility to be below par for this time of year.

More from both the Radz and the spearfishing event should feature in upcoming editions.