A Tauranga teen angler has blown the local competition out of the water with a pending world record catch.
The shortbilled spearfish, which clocked in at a hefty 34.5kg and is almost longer than the angler himself, was reeled in by 13-year-old Ezra Keenan in late March at the Tauranga Sport Fishing Club.
The keen young angler is hoping to take out a world record with his catch and has already sent off the paperwork, signed by a Justice of the Peace, for inspection.
The catch was up for the world record in two categories - the junior all tackle and the men's 24kg line weight.
Ezra has been fishing since he was three or four and the year 9 student at Otumoetai College remembers starting off by pitching a line off a wharf.