HEY DAD, I’VE HOOKED A ... BIG ONE
Eleven-year-old shocked after hooking humpback
KEEN angler Nicholas Brasen has always dreamed of landing a big catch but the 11-year-old from Tweed Heads South never expected to hook a whale. “I was just petrified,” Nicholas said, after snagging the whale off Kingscliff on Saturday. “It was huge ... and it was only a baby.”
THIS really is the tale of the one that got away.
When keen angler, 11year-old Nicholas Brasen, hit the water with his dad and friends on the weekend he had hoped to land a big one.
But when that “big one” ended up being a humpback whale the Tweed Heads South student couldn’t believe his eyes.
Nicholas said he was shocked when he hooked the massive whale while anchored off the coast of Kingscliff about 7am on Saturday.
He and mate Tyler Bryant, 10, were forced to keep an eye out in case the nose of the boat went under from the force of the huge mammal.
“I was just petrified,” Nicholas said. “I was really surprised. It was huge ... and it was only a baby.”
Tyler said while the encounter was startling, it wasn’t enough to stop the lads heading back to sea the next morning.
“It was shocking to see the whale just pop up and come towards us,” he said.
“But then it turned around and the line broke ... I was thankful it turned away.”
Nicholas’ father, Glenn Brasen – whose video footage of the catch has gone viral on social media – said he had often seen whales while fishing, but had never accidentally hooked one.
“It was amazing,” Mr Brasen said.
“I think they’re curious more than anything and (encounters) seem to be happening on a more regular basis.”
Despite the mishap the boys didn’t return home empty-handed from the trip.
Mr Brasen said they nabbed some great snapper along with a 15kg jewfish.
Nicholas will compete in this weekend’s Tim the Bream Fishing Classic at Yamba, where he last year claimed first prize for the “most random” catch.
Sea World head of marine science Trevor Long said there were no penalties for accidental hook-ups with protected mammals.