Fishers competing in the Tauranga Game Fishing Club's One Base competition could be spending the last day of the contest in the bar.

The four-day contest started Wednesday and finishes at 3pm tomorrow, but the weather is expected to put many off the last day, says club captain Grant Holley.

'I would think if they are wise, their plans would probably be to come home tonight because it's not looking too sharp for tomorrow,” says Grant.

'Cut off for the weigh station is 3pm tomorrow afternoon anyway.

'Wednesday was a bit lumpy, Thursday yesterday was great, and today I was talking to someone in the lee of Slipper and he says it's not very nice out there this morning –blowing and raining.”

The Metservice's forecast for Sea Area Plenty today is for 20 knot northerlies, moderate seas with a one metre north east swell. Fair visibility in scattered rain.

The outlook for the following three days is for a northerly rising to 30 knots Saturday afternoon becoming southwest 30 knots on Sunday. A northeast swell becomes moderate offshore Saturday, easing Sunday. MetVu is forecasting 15 knots in rain.

There are more than 400 fishers in 130 boats taking part in the contest in a fishing ground that includes the wider Bay of Plenty, from the Mercury Islands past Waihou Bay near East Cape.

'They had a pretty good day yesterday,” says Grant.

'There was marlin landed, there was a number tagged; a couple of short bill spearfish caught, some mahi mahi.

'The heaviest king fish was 23kg, a nice fish.

'The heaviest snapper is over 9kg so the only fish that's missing at the moment are the tuna unfortunately.

'Tuna have been notable by their absence, but that's all round the country.

'There's just no tuna around, but there were reports of tuna being seen yesterday, but how accurate that was I don't know.”

The two blue marlin caught were landed at Waihou Bay and transported by road to the weight station at Sulphur Point.

'The heaviest fish of the tournament so far was a blue marlin caught down there, 211kg,” says Grant.

'In the first two days we have had either 12 or 13 marlin tagged and released.

'We had a couple of underweight ones weighed last night – one was dead at the boat and the other had a hook through an eye, so they decided they had better keep them.”