THE fishing has improved in the inland community of Mutchilba - this resident grabbed a 30kg barra from a drain with his bare hands.

Baker Tony Bambino was driving home on Saturday when he spotted a 30kg barramundi swimming in the Sunwater irrigation channel.

Pictures: Cairns fishing

"It was about 4pm in the arvo and I saw something shiny in the water," he said.

"Once I realised what it was, I grabbed it by the mouth with my hands.

"It took about 10-15 minutes to catch it and the hardest part was pulling it out of the channel and into the back of my ute."

Mr Bambino said the 1.25m fish would have started its life in Lake Tinaroo, more than 50km northwest of the tiny community, but had probably been living in the Mutchilba area for six or seven years.

Pictures: Barra caught near Cairns

He said the "massive" barra must have swum into the area before the fish trap was built at Walkamin.

"It’s never been heard of a fish this big in the channel," he said.

"There are plenty of small fish, which is what it would have been living on, but one this size is a first."

Mr Bambino said the irony of his large catch was that people spend thousands of dollars on fishing rods and lures and he managed to bag one driving along the channel.

"Most people would kill to catch a fish like this in the ocean," he said. "But I got one with my hands in the channel."

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