Whakatāne teenager Wyatt Johnston says it was tiring but fun to catch a possibly record-breaking fish while having a broken collarbone.
Wyatt Johnston with the 364kg black marlin that is being shared among his family and friends. Photo: Supplied / Wyatt Johnston
Wyatt Johnston, 15, is on track to break the record for a New Zealand junior on a 37 line class after the catch of a black marlin weighing more than 360kg yesterday.
Photo: Supplied / Wyatt Johnston
The feat is made more remarkable by the fact that he had fallen off a motorbike and broken his collarbone two days before making the catch.
He said he could not use his left arm, but instead relied on the strength in his legs to help land the fish. It took more than two hours from hooking to landing.
"It was a bit of a fight without my left hand, left arm and all that, but I just set my hand on the reel, spread the line and then used my right hand to crank it in," he said.
"It's definitely a big fish but it's just knowing what I was doing, using my legs instead of trying to use just my arms to pull it in. It was more my legs."
Waytt said it was the third ever black marlin brought over the Whakatāne bar and the first in 15 years.
He said his juniors record was in the process of being verified and could take up to two weeks to confirm.
The fish has been chopped up and will be divided among family and friends, Wyatt said.