You could feel the tension building at Mangawhai’s Offshore Adventure’s Lodge as the 10 finalists drawn from the thousands of Shimano Last Man Standing promotion entries gathered for the big draw late in March.

Proceedings kicked off with a meal at The Dune restaurant and a meet and greet, followed by a morning’s fishing. The prize was to be drawn later that afternoon.

The local constabulary were on hand to pluck the 1-10 numbered pool balls out of the bucket – first to determine the number for each finalist, the second to decide the last man standing.

The first eight were eliminated, walking away with an armload of great Shimano products, leaving just two very nervous last men standing – Gisborne’s Cambell Hoole and Tauranga’s Shaun Wood.

The contestant with the next ball out was going to Cabo San Lucas to fish for marlin and rooster fish with Tony and Bea Orton of Offshore Adventures/Journey of a Fisherman; the last ball would earn its holder an Extreme 545 Sports Fisher trailerboat on a Voyager trailer, powered by a Honda 100HP four stroke and equipped with the latest Garmin electronics.

The long arm of the law reached into the bucket and out came #2, sending Shaun to Cabo and leaving Cambell the proud owner of a new $55,000 trailerboat.

The champagne was popped and it was congratulations all-round for the two major winners.

One of the unsuccessful candidates captured the mood and the moment – “I came here with no expectations and the chance to take home a boat or a trip. I didn’t win either, but have some nice new Shimano tackle, was treated royally by the sponsors who were all here to join in the fun and enjoyed great fishing with a neat bunch of blokes. Thanks to all concerned – it was a neat experience with some neat people.”

Shimano NZ’s marketing and sales manager Alistair Arkell says he was rapt with the way the promotion panned out.

“For every $20 a customer spent on Shimano product over the promotion period (September 2018-February 2019), they had a chance to be in the Last Man Standing draw. Among our finalists were Shimano customers who spent a hundred or so dollars, through to one who purchased a full set of four Tiagra 80’s on matching rods – several thousand dollars worth,” Alistair says.

“Thanks to everyone who participated and thanks especially to our promotion partners – Extreme Boats, Voyager trailers, Honda Marine, Offshore Adventures/Journey of a Fisherman, Garmin and NZ Fishing News for their involvement. It is great to have such respected brands backing us.”

Alistair says the promotion will be repeated next summer and he was promising an even better set of prizes.