In the morning we left the lodge and, on the way to the Hallaniyat Islands, decided to check for tuna that we quickly located on the radar.
There were lots of dolphins, and the tuna were moving beneath them. At first we tried using poppers, but as soon as I realized the whole school was staying at a depth of 10–30 meters, I immediately switched to a sinking 130 mm stickbait. On just the second cast, it got smashed by a powerful strike...

When the fish got hooked, I expected it to weigh around 10 kg. “It’s coming in too easily,” I thought. But after just 5 minutes, a 59.5 kg tuna was successfully landed in the boat.

☑️ So how did that happen? Why so fast?
Usually, a fish of this size takes 2–4 people and over an hour to land.

Here’s the explanation: after the hook-up, the fish fights depending on where the hook sets. If the hook gets into the stomach area, naturally the fish struggles less effectively and tires faster.
Also, fish are like people — all different. One may be skinny but incredibly strong and durable, while another looks big but has little power. Tuna are no different...

By 1:00 PM we had already arrived at the island, where a delicious lunch was waiting for us. After that, we headed back out to sea to a nearby fishing spot just 15 minutes away.

☑️ That’s exactly why I love staying on the island — you head out and start fishing immediately instead of spending 2 hours going out and another 2 hours coming back. In the end, that’s 4 hours a day just riding in the boat. Over a 5-day fishing trip, that’s 20 hours wasted — basically 2 extra full days of fishing. The math is simple, everyone makes their own choice.

We headed back out to sea once again...
where another trophy was waiting for us — this time, a giant GT.