All set for Rota fishing derby

About 20 off-island boats and around 10 from Rota is expected to take part in this weekend’s 2006 San Francisco De Borja Fiesta Fishing Derby, according to event chairman Lino S. Tenorio.

“The morale is pretty high and everything is pretty much ready for this Friday and Saturday’s fishing derby. We are all very excited and there have been many calls asking about the tournament. In fact, I’m getting calls from Guam about every 15 minutes,” he said.

Originally slated for last month, the 2006 San Francisco De Borja Fiesta Fishing Derby was reset to this coming Veteran’s Day weekend after bad weather forced officials to postpone the event last Oct. 7 and 8.

Tenorio earlier said that aside from the dates juxtaposed from Oct. 7 and 8 to Nov. 10 and 11, all details of the event stand the same.
The 2006 San Francisco De Borja Fiesta Fishing Derby potentially would reward participating anglers from Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Guam $13,000 in prize money.

For starters, it is dangling a $5,000 special prize for the first boat to land a monster marlin weighing over 624.34 lbs courtesy of Pacifica Insurance.

In addition, organizers will also look to award $2,700 for the Top 3 winners in the billfish category ($2,000, $1,000, and $600, respectively), $1,600 for the most impressive wahoo ($800, $500, and $300), $1,800 for biggest yellow fins ($1,000, $500, and $300), $900 for the heaviest mahi-mahis and skipjack tuna ($400, $300, and $200 for each fish category), and $250 for the crew with the heaviest total weight.

Save for the $5,000 special prize from Pacifica Insurance, all of the categories will also award trophies to the top crews.

The 2006 San Francisco De Borja Fiesta Fishing Derby will start bright and early at 6am on Friday, Nov. 10, and will have a cutoff of 6pm.

Fishing in the waters of the Marianas chain will then resume the next day, Saturday, Nov. 11, with anglers following a 6am-5pm schedule.

Entry fee for the competition is $100 per boat with one angler. Organizers will also charge $20 for every additional angler or crewmember.

The fishing derby kicks off the Thursday before the event, Nov. 9, when participants take part in Pre-Boating Safety Inspection & Registration at The West Marina on Rota. Inspections would also be conducted before ships cast away on Friday and Saturday.

The 2006 San Francisco De Borja Fiesta Fishing Derby culminates with an island-style awards banquet on the last day of the competition at Pinattang Park from 7pm onwards.

For more information about the 2006 San Francisco De Borja Fiesta Fishing Derby, contact chairman Lino S. Tenorio at 670-287-6776/898-6869, 670-664-2311 (fax).