Kauri  
Coast  
Fishing Contest 2026
BY MATHEW HEWETSON
H
aving grown up 
in Dargaville and 
surfcasting all my 
life along the longest 
beach in Godzone, 
Ripiro Beach is my 
favourite place to 
head and cast the line.  
The Kauri Coast Fishing Contest is 
always held in autumn with cash 
prizes for kahawai and tackle prizes 
for trevally and snapper.
Last year, our fishing crew of 
seven anglers did well in the 
snapper category with two of the 
crew picking up first and second 
with a stunning 7kg+ fish taking 
the honours for Shawn House, 
which is the record weight for 
this long-standing contest.
This year we had a much smaller 
team of just three anglers who 
could make it, including myself 
and with another bad storm hitting 
Northland at the end of March just 
before the Saturday of fishing, it 
wasn’t looking good for the fishing.
The Kauri Coast Fishing 
Contest held on Ripiro 
Beach in autumn is a 
great surfcasting comp 
with good prizes up for 
grabs, with the proceeds 
supporting the local 
Dargaville schools.
In the foggy gloom with good low 
light for fishing, Brian hooked a fish 
just before 9.30am and was looking 
to break his duck after bagging zero 
fish in the contest the year before.
 /FISHINGINGODZONE  17

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