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December 2025 Whangaroa Sport Fishing Club (Inc) NEWSLETTER  |
Dear Members, As we head into the festive season, we’d like to take a moment to wish all our members and their families a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy holiday period. The Club and the Hooked on Whangaroa Café will be open throughout the holiday period from 12.00pm each day. We invite you to bring your family and friends along to enjoy the sunshine, a cold drink, and good company. Keep an eye on our Facebook & Instagram pages, as well as the noticeboard for upcoming events, competitions, and updates. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas, a relaxing break, and tight lines for the season ahead! Warm regards, The team at Whangaroa Sport Fishing Club.
UPCOMING EVENTS Here’s what’s happening at the Club over the next few weeks. NEW YEARS EVE Tunks & Cave Band Join us for an unforgettable night with the Tunks & Cave Band as we celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Club!
JUNIOR OPEN Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th January 2026 Bring the kids down for a fun-filled weekend! Juniors can fish from a local wharf, from the shore, or off a boat, with heaps of cool prizes up for grabs. Registration in the Club Rooms:
WARREN HAY MARINE JUNIORS FISHING TOURNAMENT Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th January 2026 Junior anglers, gear up for an unforgettable weekend of action and adventure! With $15,000 worth of Shimano gear up for grabs, thanks to our awesome sponsors Warren Hay Marine & Shimano! Registration & briefing: Friday 9 January | 5 - 7pm Enter online
49th WHANGAROA ONE BASE Saturday 7th to Wednesday 11th February 2026 The 2026 One Base is shaping up to be a big one! We’re proud to have Kilwell and Warren Hay Marine on board as major sponsors, boosting the prize pool with some impressive gear and prizes. Calcutta Auction – Back by popular demand! Early Bird Bonus – Win $1,000 cash!
EXCITING TIMES We’re taking big steps towards species sustainability and conservation by introducing new measure and release categories in our competitions, alongside additional competitions throughout the year. The new PMG Measure & Release Competitions have already started with great success, and members are loving the new format! We’re also proud to share that we’ll soon be the first club to adopt SnapCatch, a groundbreaking mobile app that uses cutting-edge AI technology to recognise, measure, and submit your catches with a single photo — watch this space! A huge thank you to our sponsor, Pacific Motor Group (PMG), who have fully supported this initiative and generously provided the AI measure mats. With their support, we’re breaking new ground and making our Club one to watch. We’re pleased to welcome Warren Hay Marine as a supporter of our Club this season. They are the named sponsor of our Juniors Fishing Tournament and will also be partnering with Kilwell as a major sponsor of the One Base Tournament. Warren Hay Marine is offering our members 10% discounts off most products—take advantage of these discounts to stock up on tackle and gear for the season ahead:
Keep an eye out for the Warren Hay Marine Tackle Van, which will be on site at the major tournaments throughout the season.
NZSFC UPDATES NZSFC December Report – See what the New Zealand Sportfishing Council has been up to this month – click here to view the report NZSFC Yearbooks – The NZSFC yearbooks are now available! Pop into the Club and pick up your copy. 2026 Nationals Shirt Orders – The 2026 Nationals shirts are now available to order! Pelagic have provided their Exo-Tech shirts, top-quality fishing shirts designed for hot summer days. Purchase by 31 December 2025 to go in the draw for a Pelagic prize pack valued at over $500. Orders close 26 January 2026. Pricing and order details are included in the flyer – click here to view NZSFC Youth Nationals T-Shirt Design Competition – Looking for a creative activity these school holidays? Junior members are invited to enter the NZSFC Youth Nationals 2026 T-Shirt Design Competition. The winning design will be featured as the official Youth Nationals tee and will receive a prize pack generously sponsored by Daiwa and Just Another Fisherman. Entries are open now until 22nd February 2026—so get sketching and show off your creativity – click here to download the entry form
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DTF LURES MARLIN JACKPOT |
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Congratulations to our DTF Lure Marlin Jackpot winner, Lisa Clemmett aboard Nautilus! On 8 December 2025, Lisa successfully tagged and released a striped marlin to take out the jackpot, winning three DTF Lures and the accumulated jackpot of $700 cash. A huge thank you to our generous sponsors at DTF Lures!
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NOTABLE CATCHES |
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THE ORIGINS OF THE NZ SPORTFISHING COUNCIL |
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In 1957 the Governor General was Sir Willoughby Norrie and he was a keen sport fisherman. After World War II the existing fishing clubs were going about their own business independent of each other, but in 1957 he gave a trophy to be awarded nationally to the angler with the heaviest striped marlin - the Lord Norrie Cup, which is a replica of the Ascot Gold Cup. The existing clubs of which we were one, got together to decide how this cup was to be awarded and following on from that, they formed a national organisation - the New Zealand Big Gamefishing Council, now the NZ Sportfishing Council. Lord Norrie left a case of whiskey to give a bottle to each of the first 12 winners of the cup. In 1957 Lord Norrie came to visit Whangaroa and had a trip out on Tom Roberts' (current President) boat Lonestar. The first winner of the cup from our Club was G. Parlour, in the 1966-7 season with a stripy of 184.61kg.
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SUMMER HOURS |
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GRID MAP SPONSORS 2025-2026 Click the logo to check out our sponsor’s website! |
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