PHOTO FISHING COMPETITION 2026 IS NOW UNDERWAY

This competition is being run to encourage members and their families to get out and enjoy the marvellous resource we have on our doorstop by taking a photo of your catch and entering this in the competition. Also, to gain maximum points you will need to target different species, which will hopefully encourage anglers to expore fishing opportunities they have may have not considered.

PLEASE NOTE THERE HAVE BEEN CHANGES TO THE RULES THIS YEAR. 

KEY POINTS ARE:

  • Entry is free and is open to all Mana Cruising Club Members - there is no formal joining requirement for the Fishing Section - simply turn up to our meetings and take advantage of the information provided and enjoy our guest speaker presentations.
  • Competition runs from 1st December to November,  closing off on the Sunday prior to the overall prizegiving.
  • This is a Two in One Competition:
    • A Fish of The Month competition, AND
    • An Annual Photo Competition, with entries made up from the monthly entries.
  • Children’s Category for those members 12 years and under as 31st December
  • Monthly Entries.
  • 5 Categories. Only photos of fish in these categories will be accepted:
    • Kahawai – average length 53cm 
    • Gurnard – average length 43cm
    • Terakihi – average length 43cm
    • Snapper – average length 56cm
    • Blue Cod – average length 44cm


  • Only one photo per category per entrant per month
    • Photo must include the full fish on an official measuring device such as a MAF ruler or standard measuring tape.
    • All photos shall be of fish more than the minimum legal length
    • Only one prize per person per month.
    • Fish must be caught in our traditional fishing grounds. For the avoidance of doubt the area is defined as per the Cook Strait Chart (see copy below) with the inclusion of the complete Marlborough Sounds area.

  • Monthly Main Photo Prize

  • The winner is the person with the most points, calculated as below, for the month entered.   If no fish entered is above the average length, then the nearest to average wins. 
    • Kahawai  1 point per centimetre above average as above
    • Gurnard1 point per centimetre above average as above
    • Terakihi 1 point per centimetre above average as above
    • Snapper 1 point for every 2 centimetres above average as above
    • Blue Cod 1 point per centimetre above average as above
  • Entrants must be at the monthly meeting to collect prizes, otherwise the prize goes to the entry with the next highest score.


  • Annual Photo competition
    • Only 3 fish from each category can be entered into the Annual Competition.
    • Entries will be the three highest scoring fish entered monthly in each category. Once you have 3 fish entered into the Annual Competition in a category, no further entries in this category will be accepted.
    • The points for the 2 longest fish entered will the annual score for that category.
    • Each fish entered earns 50 points plus 1 point for every 10cm of length. E.g. a 49cm Blue Cod earns 50 + 4.9 = 54.9 points. Or an 89cm Hapuka earns 50 + 8.9 = 59.5 points.
  • A formal prizegiving for the overall competition will be held late November. Entrants must be at the Annual Prizegiving to collect prizes. An angler may nominate a person to accept the prize to the convener (fishing@manacc.co.nz) prior to the prizegiving if unable to attend.
  • If an angler is not present at the prizegiving and a nomination has not been received, the prize will go to the next angler in the prize list.
  • Photos to fishing@manacc.co.nzby midnight on the Sunday prior to each monthly fishing section evening (3rd Wednesday of each month).
  • Please ensure the photos you submit have a date stamp on them so we can see the date the photo was taken. Photos will not be accepted without a date-stamp. To do this:
    • Android, open the camera app, go to Settings, find the Watermark or Timestamp option, and enable the date and time settings.
    • iPhone, either:
      • Download a third-party app: Search the App Store for "date stamp" or "timestamp" apps like Date Stamper or Timestamp Camera Basic.
      • Grant access to your photos: Open the app and allow it to access your photo library.
      • Select and stamp photos: Choose the photos you want to add a timestamp to and apply the stamp. Many apps let you customize the format and include the time or location
      • Select the image and type ⌘+i. In the info window you'll see the capture date of the image:
  • Photos of fish caught while commercial fishing or on-board commercial fishing vessels will not be accepted.
  • Photos of fish caught by members on a fishing charter will be accepted.