Boy, 8, lands 96.6kg marlin at Martin’s Bay, Warkworth during family holiday

Nate Barrratt, grandfather Kevin, and father Vance with the 96.6kg marlin Nate reeled in off Martin's Bay yesterday.

It took him over an hour, but 8-year-old Nate Barratt came out the eventual victor of his battle with a 96.6kg marlin at Martin’s Bay yesterday.

Coming from a family of experienced fishermen, and with a fair bit of practice under his belt already, the catch was Nate’s first-ever marlin.

The monster fish exceeded the minimum requirement for an official weigh-in, making it a standout achievement for the young angler.

The day of the catch, three generations of the Barratt family were aboard grandfather Kevin’s 8.5m boat, aptly named Bloodline, including Nate’s grandmother and his father, Vance.

Vance Barratt said the family did a lot of fishing up and down the east and west coasts of the country, but this holiday they were fishing out of Martin’s Bay, where his parents owned property.

He said Nate’s battle with the fish took about one hour and twenty minutes - and not once during that time did the 8-year-old think about giving up.

“And for a young fella, that’s pretty impressive,” he said.

Photo / File

The battle began with the monster fish taking out a decent amount of line before Nate dug his heels in.

“[Nate] just had to keep grinding and working, and he did that from start to finish. He didn’t give up,” said Barratt.

Once the fish was aboard Bloodline, Nate was “wrecked” from the adrenaline, he said.

“He was pretty amazed, but it took it out of him.”

With Vance being an experienced angler, Nate already had a fair amount of experience catching a variety of fish including snapper and a handful of undersize kingfish - “so it’s pretty amazing to jump straight from that and go to a marlin,” said Vance.

When Bloodline pulled into shore with the marlin aboard, Barratt said there was a pretty amazing reception, with about 50 people waiting.

“That was pretty amazing for him to tell everyone how he did it ... A lot of people were blown away when they asked who caught it, and Nate told them he did.”

Nate said it felt “pretty cool” to land his first marlin, and he was “surprised and happy” with the catch.

The family marked their victory by smoking half of the marlin and sharing the bounty with friends and family who had gathered to offer their congratulations to Nate - though it was an early one for Nate, who took himself to bed early with tired arms and legs.