By Dave Gousmett
We again had good conditions for the classic with light winds and fine weather both days and this resulted in some excellent tallies being weighed in. We had 58 entries and they shot 1948 koi carp with a total weight of 4.84 tonnes which is our 4th best result ever.
In the DOC teams trophy competition, the Stick Chuckers (Carl & Craig Hine) took a handy lead on Saturday with 268 kg followed by Mad Keen (Carlos Martinez & Ross Bartels) 233 kg, River Raiders (Graeme Warrender & John Gow) 203 kg and Morland Pride (Kyle & Jordan Morland) 202 kg. Further back in 6th place was the re-united Koi Killers team of Bob Gow and Reuben Mills who won the title three years in a row from 2001 to 2003. However Reuben has been away overseas and this was his first carp hunt for some time so it took him a while to get his eye in. At 191 kg they had a lot of ground to make up, but they really hit their stride on Sunday and weighed in a massive total of 325 kg to take out 1st place with over half a tonne of koi. Both the River Raiders and Morland Pride teams also had good days but it was only enough for them to fill the minor placings.
The Waikato River Authority Trophy for the heaviest koi carp went to Mark Turner while the Fulton Hogan – HEB Cup for the best koi carp by a junior went to Angus McMillan.
Our major sponsors were the Department of Conservation, Waikato Hunting & Fishing and the Waikato River Authority while we had a new sponsorship this year from Fulton Hogan – HEB Joint Venture (Waikato Expressway, Huntly Section) who have generously offered to sponsor the event for five years. Peter Sweetman and his Huntly Rotary club team were a great help in running the event, and special thanks go to Theo & Jenny Ryks who stepped in at the last minute to supply and run the tractor operating our berley machine.
Full Results:
Waikato River Authority Trophy (for heaviest koi carp):
| Postion | Name | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Mark Turner | 8.04 kg |
| 2nd | John Gow | 7.6 kg |
| 3rd | Tony Burt | 7.25 kg |
Department of Conservation Cup (for heaviest weight of koi carp by a team):
| Postion | Team | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Koi Killers (Bob Gow & Reuben Mills) | 515.8 kg |
| 2nd | River Raiders (Graeme Warrender & John Gow) | 417.6 kg |
| 3rd | Morland Pride (Kyle & Jordan Morland) | 411.4 kg |
| 4th= | Stick Chuckers (Carl & Craig Hine) | 391.0 kg |
| 4th= | Mad Keen (Carlos Martinez & Ross Bartels) | 391.0 kg |
| 6th | Monsters Inc (Ruben Hastings & Ben Passau) | 358.2 kg |
| 7th | Brothers in Arms (Carl Saunders & Kevin Watson) | 213.0 kg |
| 8th | Sunset Broads (Carly Anderson & Kate Turner) | 204.4 kg |
| 9th | The Carpenters (Tony Burt & Dennis Powell) | 152.6 kg |
| 10th | Top Shot (Gary Keoghan & Ezra Oates) | 148.6 kg |
Fulton Hogan – HEB Cup (for heaviest koi carp by a junior):
1st Angus McMillan 4.46 kg
Other Results:
| Description | Name | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Heaviest Koi Saturday | Mark Turner | 8.04 kg |
| Heaviest Koi Sunday | John Gow | 6.72 kg |
| Most Koi Carp | Jordan Morland | 114 |
| Heaviest White Carp | Carl Hine | 6.40 kg |
| Smallest Koi Carp | Kelvin West | 200 grams |
| Heaviest Other Fish | Ezra Oates | 2.18 kg mullet |
Corporate Teams Competition:
| Position | Team | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Fulton Hogan – HEB (Daniel Southall & Ryan Goodwin) | 143.8 kg |
| 2nd | Waikato Hunting & Fishing (Scott Fraser & Logan Baxter) | 101.6 kg |
Statistics:
| Hunting area | # shot | Average Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Waikato River | 1021 | 2.84 kg |
| Whangamarino | 300 | 2.46 kg |
| Lake Waikare | 172 | 1.71 kg |
| Mangawara Stream | 169 | 1.95 kg |
| Lake Whangape | 151 | 2.18 kg |
| Lake Waahi | 80 | 1.84 kg |
| Lake Hakanoa | 43 | 1.89 kg |
| Kimihia | 12 | 1.95 kg |
| Total | 1948 | 2.49 kg |
Carp Disposal: Although the event was a great success the disposal of the resulting pile of koi carp presented a major problem. We do ask fishermen to take away all they want for bait and berley but that only makes a small impression. We would ask anyone who has any ideas to solve this problem to contact the NZBS committee. If we cannot find a permanent solution it could place the continuation of the event in jeopardy.