A GROUP of fishing buddies from the bush reeled in the catch of their lives and a story to take home when they fished a bum bag full of drugs out of Newcastle Harbour.
Digger Valks was visiting from Gunnedah for the weekend and spent most of his spare time down at the water fishing with his siblings and cousin.
They were down at the water on Sunday afternoon when, in a bizarre turn of events, they noticed something suspicious floating on the surface near Honeysuckle Hotel.
"We were just walking to our fishing spot and I saw this bum bag in the water," Digger said.
"We hooked it with our hook and sinker and brought it up, we saw a little bit what was in it, so we called the cops."
The teenager told the Newcastle Herald he straight away noticed "scales and little baggies" at the top of the bum bag.
Also inside were drugs like oxycontin, a heavily controlled opiate painkiller, Digger said.
They decided they'd better not touch it and waited for police officers to arrive.
"They came down, gave it a quick little search and took it away," Digger said.
NSW Police have been contacted.
Digger, his younger brother Cameron and their cousin Zac Devine fish regularly in the Namoi River back home.
"We're used to catching Murray Cod, but not drugs," he said.
"We normally find the occasional needle or something at Gunnedah, but not a bag full of drugs."
The avid catch-and-release anglers didn't go home empty-handed though, they managed to reel in a stingray, a couple of jewfish and other small creatures during their holiday - and a cracking story to take home to their mates.
Relatives they've told in Newcastle have had a more unexpected reaction though.
"They're not really too surprised, because it is Newcastle," Digger quipped.
It's not the first time a suspicious package found floating in the water or washed up on the coast has caused a splash in the Hunter.
A major investigation was launched last year after sealed parcels of cocaine began washing up on beaches along the east coast, including a 39-kilogram haul at the Newcastle Ocean Baths on Boxing Day.
An alleged operation to retrieve 82 kilograms of cocaine from the hull of a ship in Newcastle Harbour was thwarted in January 2023.
A superyacht tour operator plotted a drug importation which was discovered when the body of a professional diver was found floating in Newcastle Harbour with cocaine nearby in May 2022.
