Flu Verses Tuna

Zach Krouse

The past year, the word vacation has not been used nearly enough as it should have, as the pandemic hit, spirits broke, and vacations would never be the same again. As we continue to inch closer to normalcy, I wanted to look back at my last vacation before the virus hit back in January of 2019.

Going to Hawaii was a surreal experience, and I never want to forget it… Most of it. After two days of what was supposed to feel like paradise, I was still feeling sick from the plane ride, and dreaded what was to come. On the third day what I was looking forward to the whole trip was scheduled while I was sick, the fishing trip.

I woke up feeling better than the night before, the sleep helped but I still didn’t feel the same. I was woken up around five, which was actually around eleven back at home, and left with my dad at the crack of dawn to the harbor. Getting to the harbor was one of the best parts, since the water was so blue and the sky was pink from the sunrise. Hawaii has all types of fish, but what we were going for that day was tuna. Sure other fish could bite, but a 300-pound tuna would be the highlight of the day, since it is such an expensive and sought-out fish.

Eventually, sunrise went away, leaving the scolding day behind. The heat didn’t make me feel much better either, since I spent the first hour or two laying down on the boat feeling off. After about two hours, I was still feeling sick but heard a call out of nowhere. “We got one!” one of the boat captains shouted. My nausea was quickly replaced with adrenaline, and I picked up my line to test its strength.

After 10 minutes or so, the line finally started to budge and I reeled in. After that it was a battle, and I spent the next thirty minutes grunting and fighting the beast to the boat. After close to fifty minutes of fighting, I could see the fish at the surface… It was a tuna, but it still wasn't at the boat. At this point all my energy was coming from adrenaline, but I toughed-out the last five minutes of the fight until it was right at the stern of the boat. “Here it is,” I said, and got to the side so the captain could hook the fish with his pull. What happened next felt like an instant, as there was a loud snap and splash knocking me on my feet. “Damn thing got away” one of the captains muttered to me. I was pretty shocked at first, but was mostly relieved that the battle was at least over. Getting the fish to the dock meant a lot to me, and getting to see the yellow stripe and how big the fish was made me and my dad's day, even if it wasn’t what I wanted.

The rest of the day went smoothly even with me feeling off. After the fight I felt much better than I previously had, and we even got to catch some wahoos before docking up again. The next day I finally felt like myself again, and could finally clearly think about the fishing trip. To this day, I’m surprised how I was able to find the strength to finish reeling the fish in. Maybe I was too focused on how big the fish was, or wanted to make the crew happy, but what I do know for sure is that pushing myself in order to get the fish to the side of the boat made me realize how far I can really excel if I work hard towards the things I want most. I left Hawaii a happier person, and even though the pandemic I remember that fishing trip and use it as motivation to push forward even when I’m feeling the most down. If there is a will, there is always a way.