Hauraki angler ‘closest’ to grand fishing prize of $25k

A Hauraki Plains angler has won a $200 prize in Fish & Game’s Fish for Gold promotion, getting closest to the grand prize of $25,000.

Neil Stockley from Waihou caught one of the specially tagged fish in the promotion to mark the start of the new fishing season on the Rotorua lakes, which closed on Sunday, October 11.

Pictured right: Andy Garrick with the choice of prizes - every qualifying red tag trout won the angler a $200 voucher for the Outdoorsman store or rod and reel set from Kilwell.

Fish & Game had released 40 rainbow trout with specially numbered red tags, corresponding to prizes in sealed envelopes – only one of which contained the big prize of $25,000.

Eastern Fish & Game Manager Andy Garrick says Neil Stockley couldn’t attend the opening of envelopes in person, but has been told of his prize.

“Neil caught a fish in Lake Rotoiti with tag number 25 while the winning number was 31 on a fish which was released to Lake Tarawera. Ten tagged fish were released into four lakes, with no one knowing where the big prize actually was.”

Consolation prizes were kindly sponsored by Rotorua companies Kilwell and the Outdoorsman Headquarters and Mr Stockley won a $200 voucher from the Outdoorsman.

Mr Garrick says the promotion had succeeded in generating some “great feedback” – anglers who fished the four lakes where the 40 red tag fish had been released “really enjoyed chasing the big prize.”

There had been a lot of banter back and forth between anglers on the lake and at the ramps, he added, with the promotion really “spicing up” the first ten days of the new season.

Mr Garrick says Fish & Game will consider running the promotion against next year.

“We are grateful to the local companies who got behind the promotion and considering that hundreds of anglers entered, we hope that local businesses might have received visits from a few additional anglers.

The Fish for Gold promotion was free to enter but anglers had to have a current Fish & Game trout fishing licence and register to enter.