South Island bluewater fishing steps up with launch of month-long Buller Bluewater Classic
Westport will host a new month-long big game fishing competition this February with the launch of the Buller Bluewater Classic, following an exceptional 2025 season that saw Blue & Striped Marlin, Bluefin and Yellowfin tuna as well as Mahi Mahi landed for the first time in the South Island. The event will run throughout February out of the Port of Westport and is designed to grow into a legacy bluewater fishing event for the South Island.
The Buller Bluewater Classic allows fishos to fish when conditions suit, enter once or multiple times, and take a measured approach. Tag and release is encouraged, with fish weighed and recorded through a local volunteer-run system and tracked on a live digital leaderboard.
“This isn’t about hype,” says working group member Jessie Creedmore. “It’s about backing what actually happened last summer and building something that lasts for the communities of the Buller district.”
For fishos from afar, the appeal is simple: Direct access to deep water, less pressure, and a fishery that’s clearly on the move.
“The biggest thing is how close the action is,” says James Cameron, of local fishing shop Coast Outdoors. “Commercial fisherman have been quietly talked of gamefish for years off Westport, and we knew it was only a matter of when not if the fishery hit the mainstream with recreational captures. The fever has well and truly hooked us all after what happened in 2025.”
Weekly Saturday afternoon tally sessions at Shortjaw Brewing provide a place for crews and brews, visitors and locals to swap yarns, check the leaderboard and make new mates.
Sponsor, working group member and Shortjaw Brewing owner Luke Robertson says that mix of tradition and opportunity is deliberate.
“We wanted to keep the grassroots feel while opening the door to something new,” he says. “You’ve got locals and visiting crews rubbing shoulders, and hopefully a new annual event with a night market planned for prizegiving.”
The final prizegiving and night market brings fishing, food, music and community together to close out February.
The organisers are upfront: this is year one. There’s no glossy history yet. But there is proof, momentum, and a clear intention to build a legacy bluewater event for the South Island.
“Someone had to back it,” Anderson says. “We figured, why not us, and why not now?”
For fishos looking for something different this summer, the invitation is clear: Head west, give it a crack, and be part of the start of something big brewing.
The Buller Bluewater Classic runs throughout February, out of Westport.
Event and entry details will be available via Facebook (search Buller Bluewater Classic) or visit www.bullerbluewaterclassic.co.nz [note: website being set up as we write]
