WHOPPER: Monster mud crab caught in Calliope

DAN WILSON's boat hasn't been in the water for nine months because of a cracked hull, but on Sunday he hauled in a mud-crab that put a big smile on his face.

"In all the time I've been pulling in crab-pots around Gladstone I've never seen one this big," he told The Observer.

Measuring 20.5cm and weighing two kilograms it's certainly at the top end of the scale of mud-crab heavyweights.

The crab was caught off the bank at an undisclosed location in the Calliope River using mullet heads for bait.

Earlier this month Mr Wilson also landed a 117cm barramundi on the salt-water side of Joe Joseph weir at Callemondah Lake.

"I got that one on a 30 pound braid using a 35cm live mullet for bait," he said.

According to Mr Wilson the crab was delicious.