Shimano Last Man Standing winner still buzzing

Image: Shimano Last Man Standing competition winner, Karitane’s Toni Parata, sits on his PWC with the rod he purchased to put him in the draw.
 

A week after Karitane’s Toni Parata witnessed the Shimano last Man Standing draw and realised he was the winner of the Extreme 605 Sportfisher  prize, he has still been skipping around the house like a kid, unable to believe his luck.

Some time after the event and talking to Fishing News, the Otago truck driver was still buzzing.

“I must have watched re-runs of the draw a millions times, and it is still just as exciting as the first time I saw it live,” Toni says.

He says when he was told by his son that he ‘had better get in touch with the Shimano people because you have won a trip up north’, that was exciting enough.

“I was really looking forward to fishing somewhere different and to catch something decent such as a kingfish or  snapper - that was a big enough prize for me, just that.”

Fate in the form of the COVID-19 outbreak intervened and the live draw and trip to Mangawhai, hosted by Tony and Bea Orton at their Offshore Adventures lodge, had to be canned under the lockdown rules.

Although disappointed, Toni still had the live draw to look forward to.

When the first seven balls had come out and mine was still in, things started to get a bit tense and all our eyes were glued to the screen. ‘At least I am going to win a major prize’ I thought.”

The eighth ball was drawn, belonging to Brett McLaughlin-who is now the proud owner of a Williams Warn Brewkeg pack. By now the excitement levels reached fever pitch in the Parata household, it was down to Toni and another Mainlander, Nelson’s Troy Dando . The next ball out would win the all-inclusive trip to Cabo san Lucas, Mexico, to fish for marlin with Tony for five days. The one left would take away the boat.

After what seemed to Toni like an eternity Troy’s ball was drawn as the trip winner, leaving Toni the captain of a new Extreme 605 Sportfisher, powered by a 115HP Honda four stroke outboard and Garmin electronics, all on a custom-built Voyager trailer.

Toni lives in a small coastal settlement 30 minutes north of Dunedin. He fishes off the wharf and uses a Sea Doo PWC to take him further afield to target blue cod, trumpeter and tarakihi.

He purchased a Shimano electric reel combination in anticipation of a groper fishing trip with some mates.

“I just want to say a big thankyou to Shimano for a fantastic competition, along with the sponsors and the participating stores. I cannot wait until after the lockdown and I can get my hands on the boat. It is going to get plenty of use I promise you.”

- Grant Dixon

The 10 finalists were :

Tim Morrison – H&F Thames; Brett McLaughlin Big Blue Nelson; Troy Dando – H&F Nelson; Toni Parata – H&F Dunedin; Matthew Wenzlich – H&F Thames; Jordan Rawlings – H&F Warkworth; Gavin Murphy – H&F Franklin; Haley Beardsall – Fishing Direct, Silverdale; Laurie Whitehall – Saltwater Connection, Whangarei; and Kelly Wech – H&F Whangarei