Kiwi Anglers Reel in the Big Ones in Niue

The first annual ‘Niue International Wahoo Tournament’ was held recently, wowing competitors and locals who collectively hauled in over a tonne of game fish during the 4 day tournament.

Twenty six anglers from New Zealand made the trip to Niue for the event along with television personality Geoff Thomas and his crew who were filming for his popular TV3 show – ‘Outdoors with Geoff’.

The action began as soon as the boats hit the water. With no reef surrounding Niue, and a 200m drop not far from shore, game fish like wahoo, mahi mahi tuna, sailfish and marlin cruise very close to the island so it didn’t take long for competitors to start getting strikes.

The local Vaka fishermen were also included with a separate competition held alongside the tournament. Over 30 canoes joined in the action.

The anglers competed for over $10,000 worth of prizes including return trips to Niue, accommodation and cash. But for most, the tournament was just a chance to have fun and experience Niue’s incredible fishing and other attributes.

Trevor Issit of Christchurch took out both of the top two prizes for his 22.8kg Wahoo and a 45.2 kg sailfish. The fish netted Trevor two packages, each worth $2500, to Niue for the next year’s competition.

Niue Island offers some of the best game fishing in the pacific and since the island’s tourism office has begun promoting it they have seen more than a 200 per cent increase in fishing specific trips to Niue in 2011 alone with two new charter operations opening this year. Niue Island is also about to launch new spear fishing regulations and designated areas for the sport which will open up a currently untapped market. The addition of at least 6 new FAD’S (Fish aggregation devices) will help enhance a fisherman’s chances even more.

Niue Tourism Development Manager Hayden Porter says “The first Niue International Wahoo Tournament proved to be a huge success and it was fantastic to see such keen fishermen blown away by what we have to offer here. Fishing tourists are also among our highest yield visitors so the tournament was very beneficial to local business on the island. Even though the fisherman were happy we actually usually see more fish being caught so that really encouraging”

Many of the places have already been filled for next year’s tournament which promises to be even bigger and better.”