Battling outback teen Keegan Payne became an instant millionaire after reeling in the prize catch in unique Northern Territory fishing competition

A Northern Territory teenager whose family has been through some very tough times in recent years has become the first winner of a huge Australian fishing prize.

Keegan Payne thought the 67cm barramundi he pulled in from the Katherine River on Sunday would make a nice meal for his family.

He had no idea what it was. It was a very special fish, worth a million dollars to whoever caught it, in a prize that had never been won before.

The avid fisherman from Katherine was fishing with his sister and some friends on Sunday morning when he got the best bite of his life.

“We didn’t actually expect a tagged barra at the time until my sister asked what was in the fish,” Mr Payne said.

He had no idea what it was. It was a very special fish, worth $1 million (pictured) to whoever caught it, in an award never before won in nine seasons of the competition.

When he realized it had been tagged and that tag was worth $1 million, the 19-year-old said he and his sister “freaked out.”

“We almost crashed the boat coming back to the boat ramp.”

His sister Addyson, 11, was the first to discover the colored tag worth a magic million.

“We were sitting and my brother’s fishing rod tipped over,” she said ABC.

‘He thought it was a catfish, but it was a barra.

“And they didn’t see the label, but I did, and I said; “What’s sticking out?”

“And Keegan turned it around and said, ‘No way, no way.’

“He was jumping around and screaming.”

Her brother said: ‘It was a pretty good fight, it didn’t last more than 10 seconds.’

Mr Payne has become the first person to win the biggest prize in the Northern Territory’s annual Million Dollar Fish competition, which is in its ninth season.

He said the win is life-changing for his family, who suffered the tragic death of one of his brothers in an accident four years ago.

“This is crazy for us, we are a big family, there are eight of us, this is more money than we could ever ask for. This is just amazing,” the teenager said.

‘The whole family was shocked; they are all proud of me,” he said.

“It’s difficult for us at the moment with money, but now with a million dollars we don’t have to complain about that.”

He added that “I can buy what I want, maybe help mom and dad with the home loans,” and said the family can now afford to go on vacation and is planning a trip to America.

Mr Payne also plans to buy a new boat and a car this week.

The NT Government said it would guarantee there would be a winner of this year’s competition – which was set up to attract tourists to the Top End during the off-season – but did not reveal exactly how that would happen.

Mr Payne said his family (pictured) can now afford to go on holiday and are planning a trip to America

The very grateful and humble teenager was a worthy recipient of the huge prize.

When asked what was the best thing about fishing in the Northern Territory, he replied: “You can catch a million-dollar barra.”

The Cancer Council also received a check for $10,000 after the teen chose it as his charity of choice.