A TOWNSVILLE angler was stunned to find a live green tree frog in the throat of a perch he caught at the weekend.

Angus James was unhooking the fish to throw it back when the frog leapt over his head to freedom.

“I was pulling the lure out of its mouth and there was this little frog staring up at me,’’ he said.

“I was shocked. I thought it might have been grass at first, then it blinked. I always carry a camera so I took the pic and then he jumped out.’’

The pictures taken by Angus, a professional field angler at Tackle Tactics, have become an overnight internet sensation.

“It has gone all around the world. So many people have shared it. There’s people commenting on the photo in languages I don’t even understand,’’ he said. “Everyone keeps saying the frog got its second chance at life.’’

The fish was caught about an hour’s drive north of Townsville.