When Mr Gear and his girlfriend Nadine Roach headed to their favourite fishing spot, Chifley Dam, on December 31 they never expected to catch such a whopper.

“We were out there to get a feed of redfin [English perch] for dinner and were lucky enough to have the cod get on the lure,” he said.

The Murray cod Mr Gear caught was 106 centimetres long and he estimates it weighed 66 pounds (30 kilograms).

“It’s twice the size of the biggest fish I’ve ever caught,” he said. “As soon as the fish got to the top of the water I knew it was big. It was pretty exciting.”

Mr Gear said he did not put the cod on the scales as he did not want to injure the fish, or cause it further stress, before he released it.

The large size of the fish meant it was subject to catch and release regulations, so Mr Gear took a few photos for posterity and then let it swim free.

“You can’t keep them if they’re under 55cm or over 75cms,” he said. “We just got a few photos and then put it back and enjoyed the moment.”

Mr Gear also takes part in an online national fishing competition and said he was just four centimetres off the largest Murray cod caught last month.

For those hoping to catch their own giant Murray cod, Mr Gear was only too happy to detail what equipment he was using.

“It was a Oar-Gee lure, pink and black in colour and I was using 14-pound line,” he said.

The last giant Murray cod catch the Western Advocate reported on was a huge 70 pound (31.75 kilogram) fish caught by Daniel Finn in February, 2010.