Townsville fisherman catches huge shovelnose ray from Strand Jetty
A Townsville angler who has fished from the Strand Jetty for 19 years tells of some of the monsters he’s hooked, including a fish he claimed weighed more than 180kg.
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A Townsville angler who has fished from the Strand Jetty for 19 years tells of some of the monsters he’s hooked, including a fish he claimed weighed more than 180kg.
Bradley Mikic spent his Monday off fishing from his favourite spot and hooked onto a large shovelnose ray.
The battle was tough with Mr Mikic undergunned, using tackle better suited for smaller species of fish such as grunter or salmon.
“I was only using 20lb line,” he said.
The bite came as he went to get a meal at the fish and chip kiosk at the end of the Jetty, with a mate alerting Mr Mikic the unusual looking fish was hook.
The tussle with the five-foot long ray, which Mr Mikic estimated weighed about 20kg, stretched to 15 minutes.
Eventually he was able bring it to the surface, when climbed down the ladder to lift it up the Jetty for a photo and quick release.
“It was he first fish of the day. Fortunately they’re quite harmless,” Mr Mikic said.
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The large shovelnose wasn’t the biggest he had caught from the Jetty. In the past he has landed ones bigger, measuring up to seven-feet long.
It was one of a number of large predatory fish he has caught.
“I got a hammerhead here (on Sunday) about six-feet,” he said.
“And I got a big Queensland groper around 2.5 years ago, weighing around the 300 to 400lb (136kg - 181kg) mark. It took 45 minutes to bring in. I was sore, my arm was sore and a sore back.”
Originally published as Townsville fisherman catches huge shovelnose ray from Strand Jetty