Two Hervey Bay fishermen have produced the catch of the year after hauling in a monster-sized grouper fish.
In an area known for producing some outrageously large fish, locals Chad Runnalls and Dylan Brooking topped the lot with their 100kg grouper.
The duo needed more than two hours to reel in the catch 300km north of Brisbane in front of a 100-strong crowd.
“We fish every day pretty much and try and catch big mackerel and tuna, but this was a real thrill,” Mr Runnalls said.
“It was massive.
“It’s a phenomenal fish – it’s a big beautiful girl of a fish.”
Runnalls and Brooking apparently weren’t the first to run into the grouper- they removed a number of old hooks from its mouth before releasing it back into the sea.
“They are living legends those fish and you would never in a million years do anything (to harm them),” Runnalls told Warwick Daily News.
“Obviously there was a bit of trauma being caught, as with any fish, but I think in the overall scheme of things it was good for her to be caught and have the hooks removed.
“We brought it up to the shallows and it had a lot of old hooks and lines stuck in her and we spent maybe five minutes getting all the hooks out of her.
“We patted her a bit and had a little bit of a moment with the fish, said go on old girl and she took off back into the water, no problem.”
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