With some 27 boats and 66
junior anglers out on the water expectations were high for the Arthurs
Emporium Tutukaka Juniors Contest held on January 17th & 18th.
While conditions on the morning of Day One looked promising, rising winds in
the afternoon saw most boats heading home early, and the fish simply did not
come out to play. The tally for the day totalled 6 snapper, 2 Yellowtail
Kingfish and 1 Albacore. A great effort by Vanessa Martinovich on "Cara J"
saw her landing a 6.32kg Kingfish on 6kg line and 'small fry' Zachary
Crocker on "Konigheim" watched excitedly as his Snapper tipped the scales at
2.06kg on 6kg line. Melissa Baxter-Mackay landed a 1.7kg Albacore to take
out the special one-off prize for the day, but it was a family affair for
the remaining fish on Day One. Fishing with Dad on "No Worrys" Josh
Armstrong weighed in a Snapper of 2.9kg, with young brother Aaron Armstrong
weighing in two Snapper at 2.64kg and 2.78kg. Also fishing with their Dad on
"Berley Heads" were Daniel & Liam Keatley who had the best of Day One with
Liam Keatley weighing in two Snapper at 3.46 and 3.56kg and younger brother
Daniel Keatley landing a lovely Yellowtail Kingfish weighing in at 15.52kg
on 15kg line as well as the biggest Snapper of the day tipping the scales at
4.4kg.
Sunday dawned and the weather gods did not play the game, and nor did the
fish. Day Two saw only 4 Snapper and 1 Albacore weighed. Fishing on "Conchita"
Keeley Smith landed a 2.78kg Snapper on 10kg line, while older brother
Morgan landed a lovely 3.32kg Snapper on 10kg line. Harley Robb took the
honours for the "Maverick" team with a 2.72kg Snapper on 8kg line and Bevan
Johnson landed a 1.88kg Albacore to take out the special one-off prize for
day two.
Overall, both the Snapper and Kingfish section were cleaned up by Daniel
Keatley on "Berley Heads" walking away with arm loads of prizes.
As no Marlin were caught during the contest, our great sponsor Arthur's
Emporium had to make a difficult decision on how their donated Chopper Motor
Bike and Quad Bike would be awarded.
It was decided that the winner of the Quad Bike would be by way of lucky
draw and all of the Junior Anglers sat quietly in anticipation. The lucky
Angler drawn was birthday girl Charli Taylor-Mackie on "Voi" - what a great
7th birthday present !!
A popular decision, sees the Chopper Motor Bike held over and it will be
awarded to the first Tutukaka Junior to land a Marlin for the 2008/2009
Season - so get on out there Kids !!!!!
Despite the weather, thanks to Arthur, Toby and family, it was another
wonderful weekend for the kids at the Arthur's Emporium Tutukaka Junior
Fishing Tournament with a heap of prizes and loads of lucky draws.