Man lands second $10k barra

A Darwin fisherman has defied the odds by becoming the first person to catch two $10,000 prize tagged barramundi as part of the NT Government’s Million Dollar Fish competition.

Nathan Neave caught his first tagged barra on New Year’s Eve and his good luck continued on the weekend remarkably landing another of the prized fish in Darwin Harbour at the same secret family fishing spot that delivered his first win.

"I didn’t even think I would catch one of the fish let alone two," said Nathan.

The 19-year-old caught the 65 centimetre barra while fishing with childhood friend, Joseph Puntoriero. The two friends have been fishing together for many years but never quite experienced a day like this.

"The fish got snagged and we thought we were going to lose it and then when we saw it was a barra and then saw the red tag we couldn’t believe it."

Nathan said he’ll be giving a share of his cash prize to his good friend and using the rest to fix his boat. The pair then plan on hitting the water again as soon as possible to try and catch the elusive $1 million barra.

Tourism NT CEO, Tony Mayell congratulated Nathan on his incredible achievement.

"Nathan will surely be the envy of fisherman around the nation after catching not one but two of the $10,000 tagged barramundi from the Million Dollar Fish competition," said Mr Mayell.

"It truly is remarkable. I encourage everyone to tell their family and friends interstate to book a holiday up here to the Northern Territory and take part in this amazing competition while you can. You never know it could leave you one million dollars richer."

Matt Tripp, CEO CrownBet, was thrilled for Nathan after he became the first fisho to land a second $10,000 cash prize.

"Congratulations to Nathan. He’s beaten the odds landing two $10,000 prizes and just earned serious bragging rights," he said.

Tripp also suggested CrownBet expects more prizes will be won before the season finishes on February 29 with 68 tagged fish still remaining including the one million dollar fish.

"We hear the barra are on the bite and CrownBet has just ordered more of the trophies that accompany cash prize wins. Get out and wet your line. The $1,000,000 fish is still out there," said Mr Tripp.

Expert tagger Bill Sawynok from Info Fish, who spent two months catching, tagging and releasing the prized barramundi in locations across the Northern Territory last year, said he was shocked by Nathan’s second winning catch.

"The odds of someone catching two of the fish are huge. It’s like winning lotto, and what are the chances of someone winning lotto twice," said Mr Sawynok.

"It is very, very rare. I’m not aware of any competition like this where one person has caught two of the fish."www.milliondollarfish.com.au