A 13-YEAR-OLD Thornlands junior AFL player has proven he’s as skilled with a fishing rod as he is with a football after reeling in a prized morwong at the Cleveland boat ramp.
Phoenix Douglass, who plays footy for Coorparoo and is also part of the Brisbane Lions Academy, hooked the fish on an orange lure during a weekend outing with his dad.
“It was a fun battle. I was excited once I reeled it in,” Phoenix said.
The catch didn’t go to waste – the family turned the morwong into fish tacos and a curry.
Morwong are typically found in Queensland waters, but it’s not every day a young angler snags one so close to home.
Fishing is a favourite pastime for Phoenix, who spends much of his spare time around the bay despite the demands of football training.
He previously played for the Sharks at Victoria Point before switching clubs.
He has even been passing on his fishing skills to his younger sister, Shiloh, 6, who recently landed her first flathead on her own.
