Glen Best shows off his first-ever bluefin tuna, landed Sunday in Princeton, on Newfoundland's Bonavista Peninsula. (Submitted by Glen Best)

A lifetime of fishing didn't prepare Glen Best for the experience of trying to reel in a 922-pound bluefin tuna.

But he managed it — much to the delight of locals in the Bonavista Peninsula area of Newfoundland.

"When it comes to a rod, pulling up a codfish is pretty boring compared to trying to get in a 922-pound tuna," he said with a chuckle.

Best, who lives in Fogo, has had a rotational licence for tuna since 2008, but this summer was the first time he's gone out to fish for them himself.

On Sunday morning, he and a couple of friends set off from Princeton to try their luck at what locals said was a pretty high number of tuna seen feeding in the area.

A smiling Kris Prince strikes a pose behind the massive tuna as it gets weighed in Princeton on Sunday. (Submitted by Paul Dolk)

"I had some friends up that way who have seen a lot of tuna in the past few years, so they've been telling me, 'Glen, there's lots of tuna up here, so why don't you come up here, if you got a tuna licence … and give it a try?'" Best said.

"This year I decided, just for the hell of it, I'm gonna give it a try and see what it's like. It sounded like it could be lots of fun, so I went and got some gear and gave it a shot."

Best said it's hard to say how many tuna he saw, but it was "maybe dozens. Maybe hundreds. Who knows?"

He and his friends, Kris Prince and Corey Prince, didn't have high hopes for their tuna fishing expedition, so when he hooked one, it was a pleasant surprise — but a lot of work.

"We were pretty proud of ourselves that we managed to, a bunch of greenhorns that managed to get a fish," he said with a laugh.

"It was a pretty big rush, pretty exhilarating, because I'd never done it before and I really didn't know what I was doing."

Kris Prince, Best and Corey Prince are all smiles with their 922-pound catch. (Submitted by Paul Dolk)

The tuna was hooked around 9:40 a.m., and they reeled into the boat just before 11 a.m.

"We saw the fish come along and actually take the hook and it flew by — they're so fast and so strong — and it flew by and it grabbed the hook and off we were. The line was flying off the reel and everybody was excited."

Best said there was no way he could have done it on his own, and was grateful he had a couple of friends so they could take shifts holding the rod.

Corey Prince is obviously quite pleased with the catch. (Submitted by Paul Dolk)

"No, my gosh, you wouldn't do it on your own because he was too tiring.… We were in a 23-foot open speedboat so this fish was towing the boat backwards probably at least two knots, and he towed us probably a mile and a half," Best said.

"They're strong fish and when they fly out, you just gotta play 'em and move with them and keep tension to the line and hopefully you don't lose him."

As a rookie, Best said, he really didn't know how large the fish was until it got weighed on the wharf.

Initially, he guessed it was around 500 pounds. When it got closer to the boat, he thought, maybe it's a little bigger.

And people flocked to the shore in Princeton to see it.

The massive tuna gets towed in alongside the boat. (Submitted by Paul Dolk)

"It made quite a buzz in the community. There were tons of people on the wharf and everybody of course wanted to take photos," Best said, adding that he was told by someone there that the last time he remembered seeing a tuna landed there was back in 1982.

"There was quite a stir there."

All 922 pounds of it is now sold to a local restaurant, Best said.

Well, nearly all 922 pounds.

Best, of course, had to have a feed.

"It was the first time I've ever eaten fresh tuna, and it was tremendous. It looked so good — the texture and the colour, it's a beautiful fish."

Best was grateful to be out with a couple of friends who could take turns trying to hang onto the massive fish. (Submitted by Glen Best)

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