Fishing with family is so important – not only do you get to spend quality time with loved ones, but you create great memories, get away from the madness back on land, strengthen relationships and connect with nature. I have fished all my life with family, starting from an early age fishing with my dad and brother, to now fishing with my wife and daughter. Being able to share my passion for boats and the marine environment with loved ones is so important to me.

Each year in March, the Dawnbreakers Fishing Club based in Nelson runs their major event – the Snapper Cup. It is a family-focused event where the kids get a lot of attention, and seeing the junior members of the club coming through with beaming smiles, even if they don’t catch anything, makes it even more special. Adult entrants are also well looked after with the 14 different prize categories. Previously it has been a weightbased competition, where the main prizes were for biggest snapper overall and average weight snapper. For the 2024 Snapper Cup, the format was changed to a measure-based competition where you can easily upload photos on the measure board and choose to release the fish, should you wish. The competition could not happen without the sponsors and both national and local businesses getting in behind and supporting the Snapper Cup. The event is run as a fundraiser to give back to the community, and the major benefactor is Coastguard Nelson.

Other changes for 2024 included a larger fishing area encompassing Golden Bay and Tasman Bay and the comp being held over a 48-hour period. Having a greater area for fishing over a longer period makes fishing more accessible despite the size of vessel or weather conditions.

The first day of the Snapper Cup (Saturday) resulted in a strong southwest wind and only a few hardy folks ventured out to try their luck. Despite the less than perfect conditions, there were still some good fish caught which was great to see. Based on the weather forecast, our game plan was to sleep on the boat Saturday night, for an early start Sunday morning.

We launched Saturday afternoon and trolled some Rapalas along the Boulder Bank for a kingfish. Unfortunately, the

strong sea breeze and outgoing tide made for uncomfortable conditions, so we returned back to the harbour and settled on a mooring for the night.

On the boat, Ang is in charge of the food, and it wasn’t long before she had a platter prepared and we settled in and enjoyed each other’s company before dinner. I took the opportunity to teach the girls a few knots, how to tie fenders on the boat, and how to tie a rope off on a cleat. It was great to see them both pick up these skills, and very pleasing to see Brianna’s commitment where she continually repeated the knots until she had mastered them.

As the sun set, the sea breeze eased and the wind turned to the southeast. This was not the best direction for where we were moored, so I moved the boat to find more shelter and provide a more comfortable night on the mooring. Once settled on the mooring, we got to enjoy a stunning sunset and I was bursting with excitement about fishing the next day.

The alarm did not need to go off as I woke just before it. The first thing I did was check the wind readings; the southeast breeze was still present, so I didn’t rush to get the boat ready in the hope that it would ease out as forecast. After releasing the mooring rope, I eased out of the harbour into a flat, calm sea while the girls stayed asleep in the cabin. It was a nice smooth ride out, and once at our destination I deployed the electric trolling motor. It was still dark, and from the previous few weeks of fishing I knew the snapper were not feeding until just after first light, so I concentrated on getting everything set up and some berley in the water.

Ang got up just before daylight and I had all the rods in the water ready and waiting for bite time. It wasn’t long before the first fish hit. I had a strayline out the back with a whole pilchard and something hit it like a freight train and the reel started singing. As I was fishing recurve hooks, I slowly increased the drag setting and then engaged the gear and let the fish hook itself. It came up solid and the fish was not happy, but I was, as I knew it was that characteristic nod of our target species – snapper!

The light was just breaking above the hills in the east and for me this is the best time to be on the water. It wasn’t long before an orange glow of a nice snapper appeared from the depths below. Seeing this first snapper come up was rewarding for the early start that day. A quick measure on the mat and the fish was uploaded using the tournament app. It was a solid 74.5cm fish to start the day.

With the strayline quickly rebaited and set, Brianna was also up out of bed due to the action that had just taken place. The girls were ready and had no idea of what was about to unfold in front of them over the next couple of hours. The fishing was hot, and it was so great to see the girls having a good time and, as I had hoped, we were enjoying ourselves and creating memories out on the water.

Brianna was up next, the rod loaded up in the rod holder, and she was very quick to swoop in and grab it out. Light rods and reels are the key to making it enjoyable for younger kids as they can handle the rod more easily, concentrating on playing the fish without fighting the weight of the rod. Brianna handled the rod superbly and we were fizzing when we saw another stunning fish come to the surface. I let it go headfirst into the net and it was high fives all ‘round as this was a great fish. On measuring the fish, it came out at 75cm and was in great condition.

We could not be happier, and someone had certainly rung the dinner bell as multiple rods started going off and this kept us all very busy, fighting fish and getting lines back in the water. Brianna managed to hook a nice trevally which was a welcome sight – not only another species, but a first for Brianna. With their soft mouths, I quickly netted it, and we soon had it onboard.

As we were taking photos of the trevally, the rod in the back corner doubled right over and I could tell straight away that was a nice fish by the load on the rod. Ang grabbed the rod and did a great job of playing the fish. It ran a bit of line out, but that does not worry me as I know we have no structure in Tasman Bay for the fish to bust off on, and with the trolling motor working away up front there was no risk of the fish going around the anchor.

Despite the fish’s best efforts to return to the bottom, Ang had it under control and from the depths appeared an amazing snapper. It was fat too, with a big head on it and when I netted it, the fish went nuts, splashing us all with water – but that did not matter, it was in the net and in the boat!

We took the opportunity to get a few photos of this great-looking fish as it was certainly one to remember. On the measure mat it measured out at 79cm, and given the condition I was keen to see what it weighed – a solid 20.4lb! Again, high fives all around and we were fizzing. We had achieved what we had set out to do – firstly have a great time together and secondly catch a few good fish for the competition. Often competitions can be tough, but fortunately this day went our way.

As the action started to slow, we had a good bin of fish on ice and we stopped fishing. It had been a great morning, and it was now our breakfast time. Ang quickly set about whipping up some bacon brioche buns which went down a treat, even all the more tasty out in the salt air. After a nice breakfast and freshly brewed coffee we decided to call it a day and head back to port to get cleaned up.

The club held the prizegiving on a separate weekend from the fishing, allowing time to sort all the prizes out and it also meant people weren’t tired after an early start and full day on the water. The prizegiving was a spectacle in itself, held at the Trafalgar Centre and catered by Under the Hood BBQ which was amazing. It was a great turnout and very good getting lots of like-minded people together to have a few yarns and relax. There were a lot of families present, which was great to see and what it is all about.

It’s not all about the prizes, and we certainly did not enter the competition in the hope of winning, but we were rewarded with some amazing prizes thanks to the many generous sponsors. I was so proud to see Brianna come away with the biggest junior trevally and biggest junior snapper, and she was very proud to go up and collect her prizes. Ang just missed out on first place by 1.5cm but came in with the second biggest snapper and I managed fifth biggest snapper. Catching three of the six biggest snapper in the competition for that weekend was very rewarding and certainly made it a trip to remember. A special thanks to the Dawnbreakers committee for organising the competition and of course the great sponsors for making it happen.