“I'm usually a feeder of the fish, not a catcher,” he said, laughing.
The Sunday after Christmas, however, Mr McKellar caught a payload — literally.
He caught one of the 50 fish tagged with a gold bounty worth $2000, which were released into the state's waterways late last year.
Mr McKellar took his grandchildren fishing in the Goulburn River while they were visiting from Melbourne, heading to the boat ramp under the main bridge at Shepparton.
He had modest goals.
“I was hoping to get some sort of fish to show the grandkids."
They tried for about two hours before Mr McKellar took one of the rods, and within five minutes he'd pulled a fish out of the water.
“When I pulled it out we were all jumping up and down,” he said.
“Only when we started taking photos of it did we realise it had the tag on it."
The 58 cm Murray cod turned out to be the most impressive haul he'd pulled in, and he wasn't shy in ribbing his brothers, both keen fishermen, about his catch.
“They were the first to find out,” he said, laughing.
“I was that excited talking to them.
“My brothers fish a lot. I think this was the first time I'd been since last Christmas, I normally don't go out unless it's with someone else."
As for what he'll do with the cash? He's not sure yet, but his lucky charms — the grandkids — "might see some of it".
Fifty fish with $2000 bounties and 20 with $10,000 bounties were released by the Victorian Government to boost tourism in regional areas.
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