An Australian teen made himself a millionaire in the early morning hours of April 28 when he landed a tagged barramundi with a $1 million bounty.
Keegan Payne, 19, of Katherine, Australia, was fishing the Katherine River with his sister and friends when he caught the 26-inch-long âbarra.â According to ABC News, Payneâs 11-year-old sister was the first to spot the red tag in the fish. âWe were freakinâ out,â he told ABC News. He said they were so excited they almost crashed the boat on the way back to the ramp.
âThis is crazy for us. Weâre a big family; thereâs eight of us. This is more money than we could ever ask for. This is just great,â Keegan said in a press release.
âIt means so much. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. Iâm happy, really happy. I can buy what I want, maybe help dad and mum out with the home loans.â
The $1 million tagged barramundi was released as part of a promotional campaign for Australiaâs Northern Territories sponsored by the sports gambling company SportsBet. More than 100 tagged fish are released in Darwin, Katherine, Arnhem Land, Tiwi Islands and Kakadu waterways each season. Some are worth a million dollars, and the rest are worth $10,000. Keeganâs catch was the first in nine seasons to hold a million-dollar red tag.
Hold up on booking a flight to Australia in search of your own million-dollar fish. The contest ended April 30, and season 10 dates have yet to be announced. If Keegan had caught that tagged fish a few days later, it wouldnât have been worth more than a good meal for his family.
For more information about the Million Dollar Fish bounty, go to milliondollarfish.com.au.