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Record-breaking Day 1 in fishing derby
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Posted on Jul 27 2015
Day 1 of the 31st Annual Saipan International Fishing Tournament had a record haul in terms of quantity as 25 marlins were weighed last Saturday at the Smiling Cove Marina.
The Aquaholics are currently in second place in the unofficial results in the billfish category with a 146-lb catch on Saturday in the 31st Annual Saipan International Fishing Tournament at the Smiling Cove Marina.
(Joel D. Pinaroc)
The Emmanuel alone of captain Mike James and his crew caught four on Saturday, along with the tournament’s unofficial heaviest catch of a 234.5-lb billfish.
They caught another one on Sunday where nine more were also weighed in with just less than two hours left in the 6pm deadline bringing the total to 35 marlins.
Unofficial results had the Aquaholic having the second heaviest catch at 146 lbs. followed by Dr. Hoa Van Nguyen’s Blu By U’s 132.5-lb billfish. Tweety came in fourth with 128-lb fish.
The final results will be announced in today’s awards ceremony at 6pm at Pacific Islands Club.
James and his crew in the Emmanuel ruled the 2012 edition with a record-breaking catch of a 942-lb. Pacific Blue Marlin. Their fish broke the previous record of 624.34 lbs by Captain Danny Agulto in 1997.
Their three-hour fight with the 900-lb marlin was worth it as they collected a total cash prize of $14,600.
The Zeppelin of Tan Holdings legal counsel Steve Pixley is the current leader in the wahoo category at 31 lbs, while the Amazing Grace and SJ II are in second and third with 26.8 lbs and 22.05 lbs, respectively.
Pixley’s Zeppelin, on April 11 this year, placed third in the 11th Annual Mahi Fishing Derby with a 22.5-lb catch.
St. Patrick had the heaviest mahi caught on Saturday at 13.5 lbs, while MV Gloria and Trimia are in second and third with 9.1 lbs and 9.05 lbs each.
The Islander is currently on top of the skipjack category with 18.2 lbs followed by Blu By U with 18.05 lbs and My Lady Gora with 17.8 lbs.
The Trimia also caught two more billfish on Sunday that each weighed 102.5 lbs and 93 lbs, and a 21-lb wahoo. They also have an entry in the mahi but failed to catch a yellowfin.
A total of 58 boats joined this year’s fishing tournament where anglers tried catching the heaviest billfish, yellowfin, wahoo, mahi, and skipjack.
