Catfish in the firing line

Catfish and other things are fished out of the lake.

“Lures or bait, to be fair it doesn't really matter how they catch them so long as they catch them.”

The rules of engagement for the Motuoapa Fishing and Boating Club’s kid’s catfishing tournament on Saturday, April 12 are pretty open, says club president Victor Borok.

“The whole idea is to get them out of the lake.”

Though the competition also gets kids out of the house and into the lake and was fun for the entire family, he said.

“They’re all around here with their deck chairs and their cooler boxes and Mum and Dad just watching the kids while they are running around with torches trying to catch these horrible little catfish.”

The event was all about keeping the lake pest free, he said, with the last kids’ catfishing contest removing over 3,000 from the lake.

The Department of Conservation regards the Brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) as a pest for contributing to poor water quality, exacerbating algal blooms, stirring up sediment and uprooting plants.

Entrants can register online or at the club on Friday, 2-9pm, with the final weigh-in on Saturday from 3pm and prizegiving at 5.30pm.

Food and refreshment is available at the club the whole time, said Borok, with the club’s “very own Madam Gordon Ramsay” making the world’s best burgers.

He was aware of catfish recipes, he said, but as usual the catfish would end up as fertiliser on local farms.

Catfish were first released into New Zealand in 1877. They have been distributed intentionally and accidentally and are now widespread throughout the Waikato River catchment, occurring as far upstream as Lake Aratiatia. They are thought to have been in Lake Taupō since about 1980, although their presence was not documented until 1985 after an initial survey of Motuoapa Bay.