Lake Arapuni Fishing Contest 2024: Te Awamutu anglers catch trout, rudd, eel

Isaac (left) and Clayton Hoyes proudly holding fish they caught for the Lake Arapuni Fishing Contest. Clayton's fish was fifth in the junior section.

The annual Lake Arapuni Fishing Contest was a success, organisers said, as 89 anglers took to the waters on March 16 and 17.

The fishing competition, run by Te Awamutu Fish & Game Club, was off to a great start as participants were greeted with sunshine.

The different fish species being caught included trout, rudd and eel.

The rainbow trout total was made up of 19 tagged, 12 fin-clipped and 13 naturally spawned fish with 10 brown trout also weighed - a total of 54 fish on the scales.

In the junior section, a large number of rudd were weighed in and some large eels.

The eels were not consumed and returned to the lake alive, which made it a “fun” undertaking to weigh the eel while alive to determine the winner, organisers said.

The winner of the Bill Sullivan Memorial Cup for the heaviest overall fish was Leon Duncan.

Lake Arapuni Trout Fishing Contest Results

Adult - 1st Leon Duncan 2.810kg brown trout; 2nd Graham Howie 2.490kg brown; 3rd Harrison Sharpe 2.427kg brown; 4th Trevor Johns 2.333kg brown; 5th Adam Strawbridge 2.312kg brown; 6th Stephen Butcher 2.213kg brown.

Junior - 1st Chase Butcher 2.534kg brown; 2nd Daniel Duncan 2.143kg rainbow; 3rd Jake Hemingway 2.122kg rainbow; 4th Kyle Holmes 2.081kg rainbow; 5th Clayton Hoyes 2.016kg rainbow; 6th Marlee Gillespie 1.725kg rainbow.

Heaviest rudd - Teegan Hoyes 0.316kg

Heaviest bag of five rudd - Ben Abbott 1.617 kg

Heaviest other fish - Brayden Holmes 3.4kg eel

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