There was plenty of competition for fish in the Tasman Bay waters on Sunday, but Bruce Rentoul wasn’t just competing against the other fishers who had their eyes on the Motueka RSA fishing competition prizes.
Casting from his kayak about 4km off the beach in Kina, Bruce found himself whipping in his line to wrestle a snapper out of the mouth of a sizeable bullshark.
Bruce was completely unruffled when retelling the story as he weighed in his fish at the RSA fishing competition. He brought in six snapper – one with the shark’s toothmarks still clearly visible – as well as a kahawai and his first kayak-caught trevally.
The Motueka-based Talleys worker was also one of the generous fishers who donated his catch, which was then auctioned off as a Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter fundraiser.
More than 70 snapper were entered into the competition, and plenty of these fish, as well as gurnard, kingfish, kahawai and a select few blue cod, groper, and crayfish, were bid on by the crowd outside the RSA on Sunday afternoon, raising almost $4000.
Some fishers, such as Tākaka’s Carolyn Rose, as well as the Sixtus family, had been out to collect bins of fish just to donate to the cause, which organisers Devon and Daniel Hovenden describe as “absolutely amazing”.
A filleting station, run by some hard-working and deft-handed volunteers, meant that fishers and buyers could take their fish straight from the RSA carpark to their home fry pans. This venture brought in a further $300 in donations.
The RSA’s office, which overlooked the filleting station, still had a film of fishy residue on the windows and snapper scales scattered across the floor when The Guardian visited earlier this week to gather more information about the annual competition’s results.
The event was the club’s best yet, says Daniel, with 173 adult entries, as well as 75 entries in the children’s category.
Blaire Stilwell won the grand prize for the biggest snapper with his 8.85kg fish, fetching him a Yamaha outboard, lifejackets, grab bags and apparel, donated by Marahau Marine and Yamaha.
Chevron Davies’ 33.45kg monster took out the groper category, and Sarah Fisher topped the kingfish category for her 12.9kg kingfish. Keaton Fry’s 4.88kg crayfish was big enough to win him the top prize there.
The organising committee is hugely grateful to Burnsco as well as all of the event’s other sponsors, who between them donated more than $20,000 of prizes, including $4000 in children’s spot prizes alone.
“We work really hard to make sure that the kids are cared for in the event,” Devon says. “They are our future generation of fishers, so we’ve got to look after them.”
