When a giant trevally pulled the fishing rod out of his girlfriend’s hands, Jack Roberts had no time to react to save his rod-and-reel outfit worth $1,800, so he quickly removed his hat and dove into the water, not thinking about removing his $250 Mako sunglasses.
The hilarious fishing moment occurred over the weekend off Mackay, Queensland, Australia, after Roberts borrowed a boat from a friend. His girlfriend Bianca Wellby really wanted to catch her first giant trevally and Roberts was “super excited for her” when he spotted a school of bait, he told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors.
“I saw a giant trevally launch through the school of bait at her lure and knew she was on to a good fish,” he told For The Win Outdoors. “Before I could give my next bit of advice to lift the rod, it spat out of her hands. The drag was too tight for her. My thoughts instantly were jump in and retrieve the rod, but I had my $250 Mako glasses on and my hat.
“On a quick thought process, I decided to throw my hat back in the boat but leave sunglasses on and proceeded to lose them as I hit the water.”
Fortunately, he recaptured the fishing rod.
Roberts was in the water fighting the estimated 35-pound fish for a couple minutes before his brother turned the boat and picked him up.
“In this time, I became very tired trying to tread water and hold the fish back from swimming into reef structure and risk being snapped off,” he said. “I was tired, but my mind told me hold on so I can land this fish for Bianca. Also knowing that there is regularly sharks in the area, I was still determined to not give up.”
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Once on the boat and with adrenaline still pumping, he began fighting the fish again, but “sadly, the fish shook the hook off and I lost it.”
He said he then gave his girlfriend a “serious lecture” on how to hold a fishing rod correctly.
The incident was reminiscent of an episode on the old TV show “American Sportsman” with Curt Gowdy when Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw was fly-fishing for tarpon in Florida. A tarpon pulled the fishing rod out of his hands and Bradshaw went diving in after it.
“I never laughed so hard in my life,” Gowdy said in the book “Celebrity Fish Talk.” “It’s the only time I ever saw a fish catch a man.”
Gowdy was happy to get his rod back because it had a $350 reel on it.
The story had a happy ending for Roberts, too. When it heard about the incident, Mako eyewear sent him a new pair of sunglasses for free.
Photos courtesy of ViralHog.