100 AND NOT DOWNSIZING
Te Kai Whakarongo 18 March 2025 | Proudly locally owned and operated Issue 1149 Circulation 9000
theinformer.co.nz
SEE PAGE 7
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CONNECTING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COROMANDEL PENINSULA
BASKER ROAST NIGHT
3A Reweti Drive (opposite Mobil) www.basker.co.nz info@basker.co.nz Phone: 07 866 0645 Hours 8.00am to late
Every Wednesday night from 5pm Pork, lamb, chicken or beef Buffet salad and sauce bar Bookings recommended
Photo credit Fishing News
470 BOATS – AFTER THE DREAM CATCH
I
t is sometimes said, Whitianga is a fishing town with a drinking problem. The Informer doesn’t have any comment on the drinking part, but we have something to say regarding fishing. Whitianga is a remarkable fishing town. Recently, on the last day in February, the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club on the Whitianga Esplanade celebrated 100 years of operation. Just two weeks later, from last Wednesday 12 to Saturday 15 March, the largest Billfish tournament ever held in the world happened over four days and very successfully. This was the Kubota Billfish Classic, Kubota being the main sponsor of the tournament that had 470 boats competing for a prize pool worth over one
and a half million. With a shotgun start at 7.00am on Wednesday, 12 March, this huge flotilla of eager to fish boats roared out into, and then beyond, the Mercury Bay waters to catch the fish of their dreams, hopefully the biggest billfish. The boats ranged in size and style from super boat status to humble fishing boat not much bigger than a dinghy. A Shotgun started the tournament, boats roared out to the place where they might catch the best fish. PRIZES: The prize money was immense enabling a wide range and good number of hard-won prizes with spectacular cash amounts. The team, Wild Bill who caught the heaviest broadbill swordfish – 320kr received $400,000. There was the prize for the heaviest tuna of the tournament,
caught by Te Hana weighed in at 129.8kg – $20,000. Both the swordfish and tuna were tournament records. The top three boat teams in terms of points among 470 boat teams, were the victors of an enormous competition. This year, there was equal prize for third. The Champion team Big Nauti with the most points – 2,250 points, won $186,300. In addition, there was a daily jackpot cash prize for the biggest billfish caught each day of the tournament – $37,800; the biggest tuna of the tournament brought a prize of $20,000 for the Te Hana team. The heaviest Kingfish of 22.32kg brought a cash prize of $10,000. A Mahimahi, not normally caught in these waters was landed, weighing 9.86kg – $10,000 for Panama Jack. Continued on page 2
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BY PAULINE STEWART
Totalspan Coromandel
1/46 Kopu Road, Kopu, Thames Ph 07 869 0400 Email: coromandel@totalspan.co.nz The Coromandel Informer – 18 March 2025 | 1