Boats full of youngsters hit the water while families traipsed rural landscapes across the district in the 2026 edition of Katikati’s Kids Hunting and Fishing Competition.

A record 247 kids, aged from zero to 15, registered and went fishing for a range of species – from land or boat – and on hunting missions targeting pest species for two days from March 27-29, with nearly $20,000 worth of prizes up for grabs. The 2025 inaugural competition attracted 153 kids.

The Connelly brothers dig deep in their chilli bin to enter their catches while father Tristan Connelly looks on. Photo / Jamie Smith / The Light Alchemist

Youngsters had to register the afternoon of March 27, then were permitted to get busy – as they had to bring their catches to weigh-in by 3pm, March 29.

The competition’s base, at 2697 State Highway 2, hosted the weigh-in and prizegiving with fun and education on offer to youngsters. Free face painting, twisted balloons and bubble were on-site, Predator-Free Bay of Plenty had a stall, and food trucks fed those hungry.

Predator-Free Bay of Plenty had a stall at competition headquarters. Photo / Jamie Smith / The Light Alchemist

Possums, rabbits, hares and magpies were brought in by young hunters and tallied up while chilli bins were lined up by little fisher-people with species to be weighed and measured before prizegiving at 4pm.

A record 247 kids aged from zero to 15 entered the second annual competition. Photo / Jamie Smith / The Light Alchemist

Sarah Adamson, who, with husband Scott, headed organising the event with a committee and a bunch of parents, said the event saw heaps of locals enter as well as families that came from Cambridge, Taupō and Matata. “The only category we changed was we added most possums caught – because we wanted to encourage eradication of pests in the district.”