Fisherman in Australia catches barramundi and wins $1 million — ABC News Australia

In Australia, 26-year-old Matthew Morris caught an 80-centimetre barramundi with a red tag in the Corroboree Billabong, east of Darwin, and won $1 million in the Million Dollar Fish competition. As ABC News Australia reports, he became only the second person in the competition’s 12-year history to claim the top prize.

Two minutes of panic

Morris was fishing with his younger brother on Thursday evening when he noticed the fish jump out of the water. He said that within the first 10 seconds, he saw the bright red tag hanging from the barramundi.

“There was about two minutes of absolute panic, and then I don’t even remember netting it,” the fisherman said. He called it probably “the most intense two minutes” of his life. After the win was confirmed, Morris said he felt as though he was in a dream.

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Plans for the winnings

Morris first called his mother and told her he had become a millionaire. The fisherman’s father replied that he was proud of his son and that he was “set for life”.

The winner said he wanted to use the prize money wisely: buy a house, pay off necessary debts and spend a little on himself. The prizes in the competition are paid by betting company Sportsbet. The contest was created to attract tourists and anglers to the Top End region during the quieter months of the wet season.

This year’s competition featured one fish tagged for $1 million and 100 barramundi, each worth a $10,000 prize. Four of these fish have already been caught. The competition will run until March 2027, while another 96 prize fish worth $10,000 each remain uncaught.