WYNNUM youngster Will McCarthy has a few secret fishing spots around Moreton Bay – and he is keeping them that way.
The 12-year-old has found places where the fish are plentiful and where he can sharpen his skills, often releasing his catches to help keep the waters well stocked.
For Will, fishing is far more than a weekend pastime.
“It’s something I couldn’t live without,” he said.
His mother, Amber Brennan, said what began as a mild interest about a year ago had quickly become an all-consuming passion.
“Will is the sort of person who doesn’t stop once he starts something,” she said.
“He likes to be an expert on the subject matter.
“If he could, he’d be fishing all day, every day.”
Will fishes most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, as well as during the week whenever the weather allows.
Living close to the water means he can walk to some fishing spots, while family holidays also become fishing expeditions.
“If we go on holidays, he will Google places near where we are staying and fish there,” Ms Brennan said.
“He will fish anywhere he can. He likes to mix it up.
“And if he’s not fishing, he’s watching something about fishing.”
Will enjoys casting a line with friends and with his father Cameron, who takes him out on his five-metre Powercat.
He has built up his own fishing gear through odd jobs, birthday money and Christmas cash, using a Samaki Optic rod and Daiwa Exceler 2000D reel with Daiwa J-Braid line.
His next targets are a kayak and filleting glove.
“I’m terrible at filleting and Dad doesn’t like fish, so I mostly don’t keep them,” Will said.
Trevally is his favourite catch because of the fight it puts up, while a mangrove jack is high on his wish list for the same reason.
Will has also landed two gummy sharks – although he left the handling to his dad.
“I left those to Dad to deal with,” he said.
The young angler hopes to eventually enter fishing competitions and has set his sights on becoming a Daiwa product tester after he finishes school.
His passion has even flowed into the classroom, where he recently based a school project on a fisherman he follows on YouTube.
“He did heaps of research on him and became really passionate about the project,” Ms Brennan said. “It’s nice to see him passionate when it comes to schoolwork.”
