Teenagers' monster catch was no joke

Cooper Gannon and Tex Copeland “woke up most of Redcliffe” at the weekend when they landed this huge Queensland grouper.

The 13-year-olds who both go to Nudgee College, were fishing before dawn on April Fool’s Day at Scarborough Rocks.

But it was no laughing matter when they hooked this grouper, which turned out to be more than a metre long!

Heavy lifting

No official weight was taken, but it needed all the strength Cooper and Tex had to hold up their catch for a picture.

Tex’s mum Felicity said: “You could have heard the screams and excitement for miles! Waking up most of Redcliffe!”

Queensland groper is one of the largest bony fish, reaching a maximum length of three metres and weight of more than 600kg.

The grouper was quickly returned to the ocean and is reported to have swum away safely.