In early September the FishingBooker team headed down to the idyllic coastal Croatian town of Rovinj for some well-earned team-building fun after a busy summer. But they weren’t there to relax. They were there to catch a GIANT Bluefin Tuna.
Being at the helm of the world’s biggest database of fishing boats, it wasn’t hard for the FishingBooker team to find a good captain to take them Tuna fishing. They chose Abyss Big Game Fishing. After meeting up with Captain Ozren and his mate Matteo at the dock before dawn, they headed out into the depths. They had one thing on their mind – and that was Tuna. Well, also pizza. But mostly Tuna.
After drawing straws (or, as they do it in Croatia, elastic bands) city boy Peter won the opportunity to be the first in the fighting chair to battle a Tuna. Excited to have the opportunity to catch the biggest – ahem, *first* – fish of his life, he watched the fishing rods like a hawk, waiting for something to bite.
He waited. And he waited. Hours passed, and all anyone caught was some tiny snappers. Worst of all, the pizza and prosciuto provided by the captain were almost running out. Even the schools of dolphins swimming past seemed to be losing interest.
But then – BAHM – something bit. With a pop of a balloon and a scream of a reel, the whole boat jumped into action. Peter leapt into the fighting chair, FishingBooker’s usually cool marketing director suddenly turning into a gazelle.
He grabbed hold of the rod and started winding the enormous reel like a pro. Ozren barked instructions, and the rest of the boat looked on.
There was definitely something there. But was it a Tuna?
Peter reeled. Everyone else reeled too – could it be that they’d done it, they’d caught a Tuna that could match the 340 kg plus beast that had been hooked aboard this boat the week before?
As the fish drew closer, the excitement mounted. It reached the surface, and there it was: a Bluefin Tuna. Large as life. Not quite as large as 340 kg, but, Peter would say, close. After all, a 70 lbs (30 kg) fish is not a bad way to begin your angling career.
Safe to say, Peter will be back in the fighting chair before the year is out!