ALL Marc Bizilis-Hughes wants for Christmas is a new fishing rod.
If Santa comes through, the nine-year-old Redland Bay local hopes it will mean more adventures at the water’s edge with his grandfather, 73-year-old Kosta Bizilis, and the neighbourhood kids who gather at the Redland Bay jetty most afternoons.
It might even help him land his current dream catch – a flathead.
Marc and his grandfather are familiar faces at the jetty near the passenger ferry, where they regularly haul in mullet, bream and the occasional catfish.
For Marc, it’s not about what ends up on the line – it’s the thrill of the chase.
“I like reeling them in,” he said.
“If I use a lure, I jerk the fish, and if I am using bait, I like to cast near the poles.”
His biggest catch so far was a catfish, which he proudly returned to the water.
“I also caught my dad once. I hooked him on his shirt,” he grinned.
“I threw him back too.”
His mother, Imogen Bizilis-Hughes, said fishing had always been Marc’s “happy place”.
“He’s been fishing since he was three,” she said.
“He heads down to the jetty on his bike with a tackle box over his shoulder.
“Dad goes down on his mobility scooter.
“It’s a nice bonding thing and I like it because it gets him and his friends outside in the sunshine near the water doing something they all enjoy.
“Fishing is sometimes hit and sometimes miss.
“The two of them are good at throwing things back.”
She said she was proud of their commitment to doing the right thing.
“It is good to see a little one understand about sustainability,” she said.
Marc’s patience also stands out.
“He might be out all day fishing then come home and ask if he can go night fishing,” she laughed.
While Marc sticks mostly to the jetty, his grandfather also heads into the mangroves to check his mud crab pots.
“It’s very relaxing,” Mr Bizilis said.
