Man went night-fishing with his brother just to talk. Then he caught a $1 million fish
'The first thing that lit up was pretty much a big silver body and a big red tag hanging out of it'
Luck works in the strangest ways. When 26-year-old Australian mechanic Matthew Maurice took his mother Carolyn's boat in the dark, he only wanted to sit and chat with his younger brother. He tossed a casual line into the water with zero expectations. Then came a tug. Maurice clicked on his headlamp and spotted a bright red tag dangling from a barramundi. He thought he had landed a decent $10,000 prize. However, he soon realized he had hit the $1 million jackpot of the Northern Territory’s Million Dollar Fish competition. Good Morning America (@GMA) reported the story on November 3, 2026, which has since received over 640,000 views.
A surprise catch
The whole trip started on a whim. Maurice borrowed his mother Carolyn's boat to spend some downtime with his younger brother. The primary goal was to sit around, catch up, and talk. Naturally, the pair cast a couple of casual lines into the dark water while they chatted. Neither expected anything major to happen. That was until the rod suddenly bent deep into the night. Maurice hauled in the catch and switched on his head torch to inspect the fish. "The first thing that lit up was pretty much a big silver body and a big red tag hanging out of it," he recounted. Maurice recognized it immediately from the Northern Territory’s seasonal competition. He knew 99 tags paid out ten grand, but only a single one carried the top million-dollar prize.
Instant millionaire
Maurice initially thought he held a modest $10,000 ticket. "I was over the moon," he confessed, recalling how he shook with disbelief throughout the night. Daylight changed everything. Competition officials verified the tag and broke the unexpected news to him. "I’m about to give you the best news of your life," the NT's chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, told him. She then handed him the giant novelty check for $1 million. The young mechanic went from everyday routine to overnight multimillionaire in a day. In fact, he's just the second person in the competition's history to win the top prize. Before him, only a local man from Katherine, Keegan Payne, had caught the $1m fish three years ago.
The catch of a lifetime
The whole trip started on a whim. Maurice borrowed his mother Carolyn's boat to spend some downtime with his younger brother. The primary goal was to sit around, catch up, and talk. Naturally, the pair cast a couple of casual lines into the dark water while they chatted. Neither expected anything major to happen. That was until the rod suddenly bent deep into the night. Maurice hauled in the catch and switched on his head torch to inspect the fish. "The first thing that lit up was pretty much a big silver body and a big red tag hanging out of it," he recounted. Maurice recognized it immediately from the Northern Territory’s seasonal competition. He knew 99 tags paid out ten grand, but only a single one carried the top million-dollar prize.
Not everyone gets as lucky as Maurice, but they do get some quality time with their friends and family through fishing. According to a 2024 Special Report on Fishing, a striking 8 out of 10 people fished in groups of 2 to 5 people. Of these people, 87% reported catching at least one fish, with 43% even opting to release the catch back into the water. The study further revealed that 78% % correlated fishing with quality time with family and friends.
Lunch's on Maurice
After seeing Maurice return to work after bagging a million dollars, the people couldn't help but crack jokes. @TheRealMcCoy88 commented, "Now all his coworkers are gonna be like, 'Hey, lunch is on you, right?'" Meanwhile, @YooZherName pointed out, "Americans have been conditioned into thinking the government has the right to take a large portion of anything won. It’s hard for us to believe the Australians just let a guy win a prize this size and keep it all, tax-free. Glad for this guy that he’s going to be able to enjoy this with his family, too."
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