'Dinosaur' Snapper Leads Export NZ Fishing Comp

A last-minute boat swap and a flat trailer tyre set the tone for a memorable day on the water at Cape Egmont Boat Club’s annual open fishing competition – but it was a 96.0cm, 15.82kg snapper that ultimately stole the show.

Charlie Anderson had originally planned a beach launch in a small tinny with visiting South Island mate ‘Beanie’, targeting kingfish and snapper off the Taranaki coast. However, with swell up and a full tide looming, discretion won out. A quick call to skipper Willis Luttrell secured a berth aboard the 7.3m vessel Ranger, already crewed by Luttrell and his father ‘Shifty’. Luttrell is no stranger to giant snapper, having landed a 14.56kg model surfcasting the Taranaki coast a couple of years ago.

Launching at Cape Egmont at 7am didn’t come without drama. A flat tyre on the trailer and a stubborn compressor that refused to cooperate with a 240V plug delayed proceedings, but the team eventually hit the water with kingfish on the agenda.

Despite leaving much of the jigging gear behind, the crew managed to piece together a couple of workable setups and found promising sign early. The kingfish proved cagey, with two smaller models landed before the call was made to switch tactics and lay down a berley trail over one of Luttrell’s productive snapper marks.

With current pushing hard at the first spot, only a handful of fish came aboard before the crew shifted again to better sign. The move paid off as quality snapper began to trickle in. Fishing 12kg mono on a Daiwa VIP 870S-BW rod matched with a Free Swimmer 8000, Anderson hooked into what would become the first standout fish of the day – a 10.2kg snapper destined for the weigh station.

The light-hearted banter ramped up as the net slid under the fish, with Anderson joking he “should have entered the comp”, briefly fooling Shifty before revealing he was indeed in the running.

But the best was yet to come.

As bait supplies dwindled and talk turned to chasing hāpuku, the Daiwa Free Swimmer screamed into life. After several shark encounters earlier in the day, the crew braced for disappointment, but heavy head shakes and stubborn runs hinted at something far better.

When colour appeared beneath the boat, excitement turned to disbelief. The snapper that surfaced was described by those onboard as a “dinosaur” – an old-guard reef fish accompanied to the surface by schools of kingfish, trevally and other snapper as it rolled on its side for the net.

Charlie Anderson’s 96.0cm, 15.82kg capture proved both a highlight of the Cape Egmont contest, and the new snapper leader for the online, nationwide, free-to-enter Export NZ Fishing Competition’s 2025/26 season.

Weighing proved tense. A single set of hand scales onboard initially failed when the leader snapped mid-lift, but a second attempt confirmed what the crew already suspected – they had a horse. Official weight later settled at 15.82kg, measuring 96.0cm in length.

Anderson’s capture proved both a highlight of the Cape Egmont contest, and the new snapper leader for the online, nationwide, free-to-enter Export NZ Fishing Competition’s 2025/26 season. The 96.0cm fish topped the previous leading snapper by a whopping 6cm and will prove tough to beat before the competition rolls over this winter to the new season. The entry has also secured top spot on the Comp's all-time Hall of Fame leaderboard, knocking off Brad Bowden's 95cm catch that has been sitting uncontested since 2015.

Check out The Export NZ Fishing Competition and how you can win prizes here.

Anderson gives credit to Luttrell for skippering and the Cape Egmont Boat Club for running the annual event and providing first-class facilities and hospitality. For all involved, it was a case of right place, right boat… and one very big snapper.

-    Nick Jones