A Million Dollar Fish winner and record-breaking catches: the best stories from Million Dollar Fish in 2024

Australia’s richest fishing competition had it all in 2024, with 19-year-old Keegan Payne becoming the first-ever Million Dollar Fish winner, record-breaking catches, and a legendary Territory angler catching his third $10,000 fish.

19-year-old Keegan Payne from Katherine made the catch of a lifetime, reeling in the Northern Territory’s prized million-dollar barra during Season 9 of Million Dollar Fish.

Australia’s richest fishing competition had it all in 2024, with 19-year-old Keegan Payne becoming the first-ever Million Dollar Fish winner, record-breaking catches of $10,000 barra, and a legendary Territory angler catching his third $10,000 fish.

Katherine-based teenager Keegan Payne, a self-described ‘mad-keen’ angler, made headlines in April when he reeled in the catch of a lifetime while fishing on the Katherine River in the early hours of the morning.

His sister spotted the tag on the fish and Keegan’s 1am call to the hotline came just hours before the end of Season 9, making his million dollar catch even more exciting.

Keegan Payne wins the Million dollar Barra. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Season 10, which kicked off in October, has already began delivering uplifting stories in the year’s back half.

Within the first week of Season 10’s launch, a staggering nine anglers caught $10,000 fish – matching the total number of $10,000 fish caught throughout Season 9 and setting a new first-week record.

By the third week of Season 10, 54-year-old Territory fisherman George Voukolus had written himself in the history books, reeling in his third $10,000 fish in nine seasons.

Mr Voukolus has reeled in six red-tagged barramundi since 2016 – three of which were eligible for cash prizes and three that were out of season.

Mr Voukolus caught the 13th prize fish of Million Dollar Fish Season 10.

The Daly River has proven to be Mr Voukolus’ lucky fishing waters, with all his winning barramundi caught just 140 kilometres south of Darwin.

His success began in Season 2 when he caught his first red-tagged $10,000 fish – a 64 cm barra.

He followed that up in Season 3 with another victory, reeling in a 70 cm barra as his second $10,000 catch.

Season 10 will run until March 31, 2025, and is open to people aged 18 and over.

Keegan Payne with his million dollar barra. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

By registering, anglers enter the monthly prize draw valued over $79,000.

Each season, Million Dollar Fish releases more than 100 red-tagged fish into the waterways of Darwin, Katherine, Arnhem Land, Kakadu, and Tiwi Islands.

Since the start of Season 10, 16 barramundi with $10,000 red tags have been caught, leaving 83 barramundi with $10,000 red tags, along with 10 fish sporting a million-dollar tag in Territory waterways.

Once a million-dollar fish is caught, all other million-dollar tagged fish revert to $10,000 fish until the season ends.

As Million Dollar Fish’s official charity partner, Cancer Council NT receives $1000 for every $10,000 tagged fish caught, which has resulted in total donations of $16,000 in 2024.

Altogether, $176,000 has been paid out to lucky fishers and Cancer Council NT since Season 10 began on October 1.

Register for free at milliondollarfish.com.au.