Far North anglers in hunt for $50,000 fish

By TONY GEE

Up to 1000 anglers from New Zealand and overseas will descend on Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North early tomorrow in the hope of landing a snapper big enough to claim a $50,000 cash prize.

Surfcasters from Britain, Australia and Malta will join locals, including an expatriate Kiwi returning from Vietnam, at the start of the annual, five-day Lion Red 90 Mile Beach Snapper Fishing Classic.

The contest, run every year by the Brljevich family from their motel at Waipapakauri Ramp on the beach north- west of Kaitaia, is one of the biggest of its kind in the world.

Total prize money is worth $80,000, including $3000 for the angler weighing in the heaviest snapper on each of the five days, and $50,000 for the contest's overall heaviest snapper weighed in before 5 pm on Saturday.

Angler numbers are limited to 1000 and each must be registered with contest organisers.

Co-organiser Paul Brljevich said yesterday the beach had been fishing well recently and last week an Auckland angler "practising" for this year's contest had caught an 8.9kg snapper.

If that fish had been weighed in during last year's contest, it would easily have won its owner the overall first prize, claimed last year by Far North surfcaster Tony Carey with a 7.17kg snapper.

Mr Brljevich said weather on the beach through to the weekend was expected to be mainly fine and sunny with some cloud cover and a slight easterly wind.