King’s Birthday weekend gets a new reason to hit the water this year.
NZ Bait Masters launches on 30–31 May 2026, and its timing is no accident. NZ Lure Masters — the event it grows from — turns ten this year. What began as a handful of anglers gathered at a Stanmore Bay club night in 2016 has spent a decade proving that competitive fishing could look different: no kill, no weigh-in queues, just a measure mat, an app, and fish that swim away. Nearly a thousand competitors now show up annually. A tenth anniversary feels like the right moment to open a second front.
NZ Bait Masters applies that same philosophy to a completely different style of fishing. The ruleset is bait and livebait only — no lures, no soft plastics. It sounds like a constraint, but in practice it’s the opposite. More species come into play, more of the country’s coastline becomes relevant, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re working a rod from a boat, the shore, or a ski. Anglers from the Far North to the South Island are all in the same competition. That kind of reach is genuinely rare.
The prize pool tops $30,000. That breaks down to over $15,000 in Daiwa product, more than $10,000 in Garmin gear, and a BBQ package worth upwards of $5,000. Species categories span snapper, kahawai, kingfish, gurnard, and trevally, with top honours in snapper and kahawai.
Fish are measured and submitted through the Snap Catch app — catch it, put it on the mat, photograph it, upload it, and release it. No weigh station, no travel required. The first 200 registrations include a free Snap Catch measure mat; after that, competitors will need to purchase one to submit their catches. Getting in early is the practical move.
More at NZ Lure Masters.
