A Sunshine Coast teenager is stunned after landing the catch of his life.
Maleny’s Billy Perske snared first prize ($20,000) in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Fish’n’SIP$ tagged fishing competition, after reeling in a 107cm barramundi at Lake Tinaroo near Cairns.
Billy was on a holiday targeting bucket list species, when he snared the creature while fishing from the water’s edge.
It wasn’t until the next day that he realised there was a competition and that he had won.
“I’m still shocked really,” he told Sunshine Coast News.
“Me and my mate went up there on a fishing trip, not expecting something like that to happen … it’s just wild.”
The competition started at midnight on December 14 and Billy caught the fish at 2am, before finding out just how important it was about 24 hours later.
“It’s funny how I actually caught it before we knew about the competition,” he said.
“My mate saw an Instagram post about it and called me at 1.30 in the morning and said he had some pretty big news.”
They then phoned the department later during office hours to get confirmation.
Billy was fortunate they took photos and videos of the fish before they released it, which proved to be crucial evidence of the catch.
He said the fish put up a fight.
“It was my first metre barramundi,” he said.
“We were live baiting mouth almighty (small fish) and the rod just absolutely squealed off.
“I ran as fast as I could and grabbed it.
“With the weight of the fish, I knew it had to be over a metre, and I started panicking.
“I was shaking and I thought ‘geez, I’ve got to get this in’.
“About 10 minutes later, after about 10 jumps, I got it in.
“All the boys were going off their chops and they were so pumped.”
The photos and footage proved crucial.
“There was a yellow tag on it, but just before we released it my mate said ‘hold up there’s another tag’ and that turned out to be the $20,000 tag,” Billy said.
“When a fish has a tag on it we usually think it’s for scientific purposes, for migration and size monitoring.”
Billy said fishing from the bank paid dividends.
“We had our kayaks there but decided to fish from the land and it goes to show that you don’t need a $200,000 boat to catch a fish.”
He said winning the prize “was the biggest fluke” and he would split the money with his friend, Tom Hallam, also of Maleny.
“He (Tom) found out about the competition and he also drove me up to Cairns and I think it’s just the right thing to do, it’s only fair,” he said.
Billy said he knows what he will do with his share of the cash.
“I’ve just turned 16 and I’m on my Ls so I’ll be looking to get a car pretty soon,” he said.
The avid young angler discovered his passion for fishing during a year-long journey around Australia with his family in 2018.
“We were fishing for barramundi in Darwin and Kakadu. It hooked me in,” he said.
He said his relatives were ecstatic when he told them about the big win.
“I reckon mum’s nearly as keen as me about fishing, which is pretty cool, but we all love it,” he said.
“She couldn’t believe it (the win). I think it’s still sinking in for her.”
Billy’s also a keen golfer, like his father Wayne, a former pro who played in the 2006 British Open.
“I don’t think he’s the best fisherman, he snaps more rods than he catches fish,” Billy said of his dad.
The youngster planned to enjoy the rest of his school holidays on the golf course and by the water.
“All my mates call me an old man because I love golf and fishing, but I really do love them,” he said.
Billy, who studied at Maleny State High, is set to attend Kelvin Grove State College next year.
Fish’n’SIP$ is the the first tagged fishing competition involving Queensland’s Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme (SIPS).
Twenty fish, including barramundi and bass, were tagged and released in each of Lake Tinaroo, Lake Proserpine, Kinchant Dam, Lake Callide and Lake Cania. The fish are worth between $1000 and $20,000.
Fishers need to purchase a SIPS permit to tackle the five impoundments.
