KEILOR Park’s Makayla Buttigieg has broken a world fishing record and is already angling for her next big catch. The 10-year-old fishing champion accompanied her father Darren Buttigieg to the New South Wales coast on the Labour Day weekend. During the first day of their fishing trip, Makayla set a new Australian record when she caught a 92.5kg striped marlin on a 15kg line.
But that was small fry, compared to her next catch.
Using a 24kg line, the next day Makayla hooked a striped marlin weighing in at a massive 147kg. It broke the International Game Fish Association national and world record in the ‘Small Fry’ category for under-11s.
The previous world record in the category was caught in New Zealand in 2002 and weighed 132kg.
Makayla’s proud father watched from the boat as his daughter spent almost two hours bringing the fish in, handing her cups of water throughout her mighty effort.
Mr Buttigieg said he had lodged the paperwork to list Makayla’s achievement on the International Game Fish Association website’s list of world record breakers and was just waiting for it to be formalised.
Merimbula Fishing Club listed Makayla’s whopping catch as a “pending record”.
Makayla said she found breaking a global record “very unexpected”.
“I was relieved, I was sweaty and exhausted and very happy,” she said.
“The line nearly went in the water a few times.”
Makayla’s record breaking haul has been sent to the taxidermist and then will be hung in the family’s garage.
Makayla said she had been fishing with her father since the age of five.
“It’s just heaps of fun,” she said.
Makayla said she hoped to break another world fishing record in the future.
“I want to try to get some tuna records soon,” she said.