After weighing and photographing, the large catches became a delicious meal for all the contestants as well as visitors.
The first and second day of the ‘Tuna fever Rogoznica 2017’ big game fishing competition passed with flying colours especially for the lucky few who caught more than 60 kg heavy fish, reports Dalmatinski portal on August 26, 2017.
Organized by Big Game Fishing Croatia from Split and Tourist Board Rogoznica, the competition gathered more than 250 competitors from 10 countries as well as many visitors. The fishermen set out to the open sea in order to catch the biggest tuna fish and win a chance to compete in the 2018 World Cup in Costa Rica along with the most successful ‘big-gamers’ from all over the world.
On the first day, the total of 7 fish was caught, of which 4 tunas were brought on board, two were scored by the “catch and release” system, and one, unfortunately, fell off the hook, reports Pomorac.net. On the first day of the competition, “Mojo” crew with captain Mare Mihočević caught the heaviest fish, weighing as much as 69.8 kilograms. The greatest joy, however, experienced the crew of the popular Hajduk footballer Hrvoje Vejić on the ship ‘Seven’, who for the first time caught a fish. His first scored ‘trophy’ weighed 46.6 kilograms. Two more crews landed decent catches, but unfortunately were not scored because they weighed less than 40 kilograms – the crew on the vessel “She II” with the captain Andrey Chebotok caught a fish of 37 kilograms, while the crew of young captain Andi Županović on the ship ‘Gladiator’ landed a 38 kilogram heavy tuna.
The second day, as well as the first one, was successful for some, and less so for others. On the second day of the competition, the largest tuna was caught by the crew named ‘Nikad Dosta’ (Never Enough), who caught a prize fish of 62.4 kilograms. The second heaviest fish was caught by Ivan Komar and his crew “Super Cat” whose tuna weighed 50.8 kilograms. There was a lot of cheering and laughter, too, as Komar promised to catch a fish as heavy as him. He even weighed himself (111kg), but in the end caught a fish half his weight. The fishing crew from Brač called “KŠR Arbun” from Supetar competed for the first time, and caught a 38 kilograms heavy fish, which was, unfortunately, not enough.
The weighing part of the competition was closely watched by many visitors, both locals and tourists, who all wanted to take photos with these mighty and heavy fish. After weighing and photographing, all the fish caught in the Rogoznica Sea became a delicious meal for all the contestants and everyone who came to the waterfront. Later in the evening, there were performances by the Four Tenors, Mate Grgat and the klapa “Cromatica” and Lidija Bačić who all made the event more festive and lively.
Opening night
‘Tuna fever Rogoznica 2017’ continues on today [Saturday] when more than 30 crew will set sail again in search for the biggest and heaviest fish. There will also be a special competition for the youngest fishermen called ‘Little game fishing’ competition. The award ceremony will take place on Saturday evening, where the best fishermen will receive valuable prizes as well as an opportunity to compete in the big game fishing world championship in Kostarika. The event will end with a concert of Željko Bebek.
Excerpts translated from Dalmatinski portal and Pomorac.net
Photos by: TB Rogoznica
