It’s about 700km from Ninety Mile Beach to Ōpōtiki, but Bay of Plenty fisher Darin Maxwell seems to have no problems with making the trip up to compete in the Snapper Bonanza.

Maxwell has a nervous wait to see if he will win the $30,000 heaviest snapper caught in the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza on Ninety Mile Beach Te Oneroa-a-Tohe, in the Far North.

With the last days of fishing today and tomorrow in the five-day competition, Maxwell is leading the field with a 7.25kg snapper caught on Wednesday. He won $2500 for catching the heaviest fish that day and if nobody lands a heavier snapper today or Saturday, he will get another $30,000 for the heaviest fish caught.

But Maxwell has fine form fishing on Ninety Mile. He won the $30,000 for heaviest fish in the 2012 competition with a 12.03kg monster, which is still the heaviest fish in the history of the snapper surfcasting contest.

Fishing off the beach is the order of the day at the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza.

The Snapper Bonanza is the biggest snapper surf casting competition in the world, running for five days on Ninety Mile Beach / Te Oneroa-a-Tohe.

Sometimes you’ve just got to get in the water with them if you want to catch them. A fisher braves the surf at the 90 Mile Snapper Bonanza

The Snapper Bonanza brings fishers and supporters from throughout the country and puts several million dollars into the local economy as they battle it out over five days .

The event is in its 15th year after replacing the Snapper Classic, which ended in 2009 after 27 years, and since then it has gone from strength to strength as the country’s largest surfcasting competition. It offers well over $200,000 in prizes, including the $30,000 for the heaviest snapper caught and a new Mitsubishi Triton from the $150,000 in spot prizes and the major draw.

While about a third of 1200 competitors – and thousands more supporters – are from the Far North, that local knowledge didn’t necessarily equate to success, with only three of the previous 13 winners from the Far North, including last year’s winner Rory Collings, from Kaitāia, who landed a 6.635kg fish.

Around 1200 fishers are competing in the 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza in the Far North.

In fact, Maxwell is proving again that he’s more than a match for the Far North fishers wanting to land the big one.

The Snapper Bonanza headquarters is at Waipapakauri, at the southern end of the beach – where the weigh-in and prizegiving will take place – with fishing taking place across three zones of the beach, which may change daily depending on the beach and surf conditions.

Thursday was The Ryders Sports Day, when fish caught are auctioned off for local charities. About 120 fish were landed on the day and will be auctioned off at Kaitāia Market from 8.30am on Saturday with money raised going to the Kaitāia Fire Brigade. Last year’s auction raised $10,640 for Paparore School.

Check out the 90 Mile Snapper Bonanza on social media for daily updates of the heaviest fish caught.