Darwin local Colin Carthew has landed the sixth $10,000 barra of Million Dollar Fish Season 11, reeling in an 80cm catch at Darwin Harbour Middle Arm and his second winning fish for the competition.
Colin headed out early on the warm Monday morning (20 October) and told his partner as he left, “I’ll send you a photo of a red tag.” After waiting for the low tide to turn around at 11:30 am, he moved further up the creek but returned to the first little inlet to try a promising gutter. After being out on the water for a few hours, he was using his last live bait for the day when the barra took at 1.30pm.
Using a live mullet with no sinker, Colin began to reel in what turned out to be an 80cm barra, catching sight of the red tag while it was in the water.
“I saw the red tag while it was jumping around. So, it was total panic. Yeah, pretty exciting,” Colin said. “And I've got a video. I had my action camera on my head. You can hear my voice trembling.”
This is the second $10,000 fish caught for the avid angler, having already reeled in a winning red tag in Season 8.
“I reckon... what are the chances? I still can't believe it, honestly, but yeah, persistence,” he reflected.
As for what he’ll do with his winnings, Colin says he plans to share with his family and not just spend it on bills.
“We'll do something yummy with it, like thinking maybe a new push bike to start off with, maybe a trip, a holiday, head overseas, maybe some scuba and snorkelling.”
There are still 94 red-tagged barramundi worth $10,000 swimming around Top End waterways, and 11 carrying a $1 million tag.
&w=3840&q=80)
&w=3840&q=80)
