New Zealand topwater classic
17-22 november 2026 | $20,000+ in prizes
LIMITED ENTRIES AVAILABLE. ONCE THEY ARE GONE, THEY ARE GONE.
The inaugural New Zealand Topwater Classic launches 17-22 November 2026, bringing together topwater anglers from across the country.
What is the NZ Topwater Classic?
A 5 day, kingfish only, topwater fishing competition where you can fish anywhere legally accessible in New Zealand, from a boat, from the land, or both.
Your best fish is measured on a official SnapCatch mat (either topwater classic or other official SnapCatch mat) and uploaded through the SnapCatch app. Land based captures earn 5 additional points to recognise the extra difficulty, while successfully releasing your fish earns 5 additional bonus points.
Only your highest scoring kingfish counts on the leaderboard.
The competition starts with an online briefing at 8:00 am, 17 November, fishing closes at 12:00 pm, 22 November, followed by a physical & digital prizegiving in Tauranga at 3:00 pm.
Choose your water. Choose your approach. Find one kingfish that puts you on top.
GOLD PARTNERS
Bringing New Zealand’s Topwater Community Together
From the first cast to the final prizegiving, the NZ Topwater Classic is designed to bring together a passionate community of topwater anglers, brands, and supporters.
Set across 5 days from 17 to 22 November 2026, you can fish from a boat, from the land, or mix it up and do both. This is your chance to put your topwater lure fishing skills to the test and be part of something with real energy behind it.
You choose where you fish.
You choose your strategy, so long as you are casting stickbait, poppers or topwater specific lure with no bait or burley you are in to win!
Competitors can fish anywhere they can legally access within New Zealand during the competition window.
We want as many competitors as possible to make it to the official prizegiving in Tauranga. Bringing the topwater community together at the end of the competition is a big part of what the Topwater Classic is about.
However, this is a national competition. If you are fishing in Wellington, Northland, South Island the East Coast or elsewhere around New Zealand, we recognise that requiring you to return to Tauranga simply to retain an overall placing is unfair.
Competitors finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd Overall do not need to attend the prizegiving to retain their placing or receive their associated prize (but we really want you there!)
Attendance is still required for spot prizes, random draws and any other prize specifically identified as an attendance based prize.
Anglers are expected to fish regions such as:
Bay of Plenty
Coromandel Peninsula
East Cape
Northern and eastern coastlines
West coast
This format removes unnecessary restrictions and rewards anglers who understand conditions, structure, and timing.
Prizegiving Location - Tauranga (venue TBC) 3pm Sunday 22 NOvember 2026
The prizegiving is part of the Topwater Classic experience and we want as many competitors as possible to be there.
Overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors do not need to attend to retain their placing or receive their associated prize.
Attendance is required to win any *attendance based prize (spot prize and random prize).
*An attendance based prize means a spot prize, random draw, or any other prize specifically identified as requiring the competitor to be physically present at the prizegiving. If the winner is not present when their name is called, the prize may be redrawn or awarded to another eligible competitor.
No bait.
No burley.
just cast
PARTNERS
We are building a seriously stacked prize pool for the inaugural NZ Topwater Classic.
High end rods and reels, technical fishing equipment, premium stickbaits and poppers, terminal tackle, apparel, outdoor gear and some very cool prizes are already coming together from the brands backing the Classic.
And it is not all about finishing 1st.
There are major prizes for our Overall, Land Based, Boat Based and Junior podiums, plus Best Release, Best Capture of the Eat, Biggest Pelagic and heaps of spot prizes throughout the prizegiving. Prizing are still being confirmed, we’ll add them as the brands confirm
We will be revealing the exact prizes, prize packs and product details over the coming weeks, but here is what you will be fishing for:
NZ topwater classic prize categories
TOPWATER CLASSIC OVERALL CHAMPION
1st Place - DAIWA NEW ZEALAND Longest Fish - Prize Value $3000
DAIWA MAJOR PRIZE - $1500 Value (TBC)
Desolve Beaufort Pro Jacket in Black + Helios Vented Cap Kingfish in Navy - $299
Malosi Lure Package - $200
Lo Cab - Fiddy Cent Rock Vest 2.0 $389
Hunting and FIshing Voucher $500
Swordfish Mojo - hoodie - $189
2nd Place (TBC)
Majo TBC
Desolve Thermocline Pro Hood in Navy + Born to Battle Cap Kingfish in Bluestone -\
Smith Optics - Guides Choice Bi Focal - $309
Swordfish Mojo - hoodie - $129
3rd Place
Major TBC
Zephyr Top Kingfish, Born to Battle Cap Kingfish in Bluestone Value $199
SMITH Optics - GUides Choice $309 Value
HUNTING & FISHING | LAND BASED
1st Place - Value $3200 +
Hunting and Fishing Value $2000
Lo Cab - Fiddy Cent Rock Vest 2.0 $389
SMITH Optics - GUides Choice $309 Value
OTL Lure Package - $300
Beaufort Lite Hoo + Helios Vented Cap Kingfish $209
2nd Place
Hunting and FIhing Major Prize TBC $1000
Helios Hooded Fishing Shirt Kingfish + B2B Kingfish cap $160
Veza Lure Pacakge - $250
SMITH Optics - Guides Choice $309 Value
Hutchwilco Pro Fish lifejacket $179
3rd Place + TBC
Hunting and Fishing Major Prize - TBC
OOSH Lure Package $250
Hutchwilco Pro Fish lifejacket $179
Zephyr Top Kingfish + Born to Battle Cap Kingfish in Bluestone $120
DESOLVE | BOAT BASED
1st Place - Value $2000 (plus more TBC)
More to be announced
Malosi Lure Package $150
Smith Optics Guides Choice $309
Elevate Jacket in Ash and Orange
Elevate pants in Black
Beaufort Lite Hood in Black + Black AOP
Helios Pro Hooded Fishing Shirt in Ice Water (Men’s or Women’s)
Ripline Shorts in Khaki (or Elevate Leggings Women’s)
Bommie Gloves
Helios Vented Cap Kingfish in Navy
2nd Place - Desolve Value $950 (plus more TBC)
Swordfish Mojo - hoodie - $189
Ironloft Jacket in Ash
Thermocline Pro Hood in Navy
Helios Pro Hooded Fishing Shirt in Ice Water (Men’s or Women’s)
Ripline Shorts in Khaki (or Elevate Leggings Women’s)
Bommie Gloves
Helios Vented Cap Kingfish in Navy
3rd Place - Desolve Value $730 (plus more TBC)
More to be announced
Fathom jacket in Black Charcoal
Fathom pants in Black Charcoal
SolarDry Hooded Fishing Shirt in Shift Grey (Men’s or Women’s)
Ripline Stubbies in Black
Bommie Gloves
Helios Vented Cap Kingfish in Navy
JUNIOR | OVERALL
1st Place Junior $800 value
More TBC
Born to Battle Hoodie Kids’ Kingfish in Kelp
Born to Battle Towel Poncho Yellowfin Kids’ in Spruce
Kingi Cap in Corsair Blue
2nd Place Junior- $600 Value
More TBC
SolarDry Hooded Fishing Shirt Kids Ahi
Kingi Cap in Corsair Blue
3rd Place Junior $400 Value
More TBC
Born to Battle Tee Kids’ Kingfish in Sand
Kingi Cap in Corsair Blue
Junior competitors must be under 16 as at 31 December 2026 and can also take out an applicable overall podium position if their score is good enough.
DAIWA - BEST RELEASE
1 Winner -$2000 Daiwa Prize
TRAEGER | BEST CAPTURE OF THE EAT
1 Winner | Traeger Woodridge BBQ
You do not have to land it. Capture the eat, capture the fight and capture the moment. The judging panel will decide the winner.
BIGGEST PELAGIC
1 Winner
For the biggest eligible pelagic species caught during the competition, excluding kingfish.
Average Kingfish Major Prize - $2000 Prize
At the close of the New Zealand Topwater Classic, the average size of all eligible measured kingfish entered into the competition will be calculated.
All eligible measured fish lengths will be added together and divided by the total number of eligible measured fish.
The angler with an eligible kingfish measurement closest to the final competition average wins the Average Kingfish Major Prize.
If 2 or more competitors are equally close to the final average, the competitor who uploaded their qualifying fish to the competition app first will be declared the winner.
The app timestamp will be used as the official tie break.
Average Kingfish Major Prize Package
SVORD Knives
OTL Lures
Veza
Oosh
Swordfish Mojo
Shimano
Desolve
Daiwa prize
Hunting & Fishing
Smith Optics
Final prize specifications and values will be confirmed before the event.
PLUS HEAPS OF SPOT PRIZES
Rods. Reels. Stickbaits. Poppers. Technical equipment. Terminal tackle. Apparel. Fishing gear. And plenty more.
With prizes and support from Daiwa, DESOLVE, Shimano, Smith Optics, meatery, SVORD, Swordfish Mojo, Soundboks, Hutchwilco, Hitchwilco, Malosi lures, Veza lure and more still to be announced.
You do not need to win the Classic to win something seriously good.
Spot prizes are attendance based. You must be present at the official prizegiving to win when your name is called.
Full prize packs and individual prize details will be revealed over the coming weeks.
Scoring
Simple. Transparent. Earned.
Every fish is measured in Millimetres using the official SnapCatch measure mat. Image sent in via the competition app on the mat, the fish will then be a provisional score until it has been authenticated.
Your score is built from three parts:
1. Fish length
Your base score is the total length of your fish in millimetres,
2. Release bonus
Release your fish and earn an extra 5 points
Keep your fish and receive no bonus points
3. Technique bonus
Catch your fish land based earns an extra 5 points
Boat based captures receive no bonus
Example
A 1000mm kingfish caught from land and released from land scores 1010
A 1000mm kingfish released from a boat scores 1005 points
A 1000mm kingfish kept & caught from land scores 1005 points
A 1000mm kingfish kept & caught from a boat scores 1000 points
The system is designed to reward skill, decision making, and ethical fishing.
Not every competitor needs their own mat. You can use one official mat per boat, or one shared across your land based crew. All fish must be measured using an official event mat.
Best eat WINS a traeger - Capture the eat!
Capture the moment. Get rewarded.
BEST EAT wins a Traeger Woodridge BBQ
How? we will have a panel of expert judges, with a score card who will judge your eat based on the scoring criteria
To qualify, your footage must show:
The eat on a topwater lure, showing the technique aka big sweeping pull of rod, then the EAT
The fight from hook up through to landing
Its all about the eat, if you lose it, send in your video, you might still win!
The video must be continuous with no edits and have accurate time stamp
Clear video, date stamped between 17-22 November 2026 must also show:
The fish on the official measure mat (bonus points)
The lure visible in the fish’s mouth (bonus points)
Verification
If it is not recorded, it does not count
All fish must be submitted digitally through the official SnapCatch app and then they are provisional until confirmed by judges.
You will need to upload your images and video for verification, and share content into the event group.
This is about keeping the comp honest while also showcasing the best moments from the water.
The measure mat
The standard that everything is judged against
Every valid entry must be measured on the official NZ Topwater Classic measure mat or a official SnapCatch mat, if you measure a fish on a mat that is not verified as official snapcatch mat (these can be purchased online at www.topwaterclassic.co.nz or in some NZ Hunting and Fishing Stores).
The number 1 rule is that your kingfish needs to be measured on a official SnapCatch mat, and uploaded to the SnapCatch app in the NZ Topwater Classic event.
No mat means no score. It is that simple. You can have one mat in your group, not every angler needs a mat, you just need to measure on a official SnapCatch mat whether a Topwater Classic Mat or other SnapCatch mat.
This keeps the competition consistent, fair, and credible across all locations.
The bottom line
This is not about luck or numbers.
It is about execution.
Make the right call.
Throw the right lure.
Be ready when it happens.
That is what this event rewards.
