Luka and Ben’s 420-lb marlin leads Day 1

Luka and Ben under captain Rick George and crew members Philip and Mel Adan and Steve Igisiar landed a 420-lb blue marlin before lunchtime Saturday to take the lead in Day 1 of the Saipan Fishermen’s Association 27th International Fishing Tournament.

Luka and Ben pulled into the Smiling Cove weigh station past 10am on Saturday to drop their monster in the bank and headed back to the sea.

Then about an hour before Saturday’s 6pm deadline, Madda Flyer of captain Lino Tenorio, senator Luis Crisostimo, and Juko Ishikawa surprised the crowd with a massive 357.5-lb marlin.

“We actually called it a day and we’re heading back when we got the big strike. The reel kept going after it hit the lure and we could tell it was a marlin, but we’re also worried that we might not make it back on time,” Tenorio said.

“So the senator and my good friend Juko took turns winding it in as fast as they could. They did a great job and it only took about 15 minutes to get it on board,” he added.

Behind Luka and Ben and Madda Flyer is Bunita, which sits in third place in the bluefish category with its 224-lb catch.

In other categories, Marianas caught a 31.40-lb wahoo, Guam’ s Emmanuel had a 27.30-lb mahi-mahi, Joker IV reeled in a 16.85-lb skip jack and Saint Patrick went home with 18.45-lb yellow fin tuna.

Marianas’ wahoo edged three contenders. CM 452 PU is the Day 1 runner-up with a 29.45-lb wahoo, followed by Emmanuel (29.25-lbs) and Amazing Grace (28.55-lbs).

Sea Ray sits alone in second place with its 10.75-lb mahi and its 16.65-lb skip jack also teetered past Guam Magnificat’s 15.30-lb striper.

Joker IV’s 13.50-lb yellow fin was good enough for second place after Day 1.

Mahi and yellow fin keepers were hard to come by in Day 1, according to participants.

“I was not out in the water today (Saturday), but from what I heard on the radio the conditions varied on certain sides of the island. Overall, I did see a lot of small boats out there, which is a usually a good sign that the conditions are satisfactory…and seeing that big 420-lber come in so early was hopefully another good indicator,” said SFA president Gene Weaver.

The competition concluded at 6pm yesterday and official results were unavailable at press time.