Da’Net lands heaviest fish in Day 1 of fishing derby

Da’Net captain John Hattig Sr., right, and a crewmember pose with their 358-lb catch last Saturday in Day 1 of the 37th Annual Saipan International Fishing Tournament at the Smiling Cove Marina weighing station. (Contributed Photo)

The Guamanian crew of Da’Net, captained by John Hattig Sr., reeled in the biggest billfish—or any fish for that matter—in Day 1 of the 37th Annual Saipan International Fishing Tournament held in the waters off the CNMI this past weekend.

Hattig, who is the father of former Toronto Blue Jay John Jr., landed a 358-lb. specimen at a little past 1pm Saturday after an hour-and-a-half struggle. His crew is made up of Frank Benavente.

“We got it 2 miles off Coke Reef. It’s all luck. Fishing is luck no matter where you get it. I was coming back from Esmeralda Bank and I just decided to come back and it was 2 miles before Coke Reef when it hit,” he told Saipan Tribune in an interview at the Smiling Cove Marina.

Good thing for Hattig using a bat was second nature to the family.

“It fought for almost an hour and a half or so because it just stayed down when it hit and it didn’t come out of the water. It just stayed in the water and it was pulling line. So we were fighting for over an hour. Even when it came up he didn’t want to die so I kept banging it with a baseball bat like we normally do. It brought back my memories of playing [Guam] major league. He just didn’t wanna die. It took a long time before he died even after we tied it up on the boat. I had to stab him with a knife,” he said.

His medieval encounter with the stubborn billfish notwithstanding, Hattig remained even-keeled and said that them getting the heaviest catch in Day 1 is no guarantee he’ll win the tournament’s top prize.

“Everybody hopes so, but you’ll never know. We will still go out tomorrow (Sunday). There’s still a lot of categories to win,” he said, adding that he wants to thank the organizer, the Saipan Fisherman’s Association, for holding the tournament this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re happy to come back up here and fish for the weekend after a year’s respite. We didn’t come last year because COVID-19 held us back,” he said.

Incidentally, Hattig was part of the Emmanuel crew that landed the record 952-lb marlin in the 2012 edition of the Saipan International Fishing Tournament.

Other Day 1 leaders are the following: 10-61 for wahoo (24 lbs) and mahi-mahi (5 lbs), Cecilio and Kapono for yellowfin (67 lbs), and Handliner for skipjack (9.3 lbs).

A total of 90 boats—68 from Saipan, 17 from Guam, and five from Tinian—are taking part in the two-day fishing derby that is sponsored by the following: Marpac Budweiser, Mobil Oil Marianas, TSL Foundation/TanHoldings, Triple J Enterprises, Pacifica Insurance Underwriter, Inc., CIC Insurance, Docomo Pacific, Roil Soil, Pacific Rim Land Development, Paradise Dental Spa, Coca-Cola Beverage Co. (Micronesia), Inc., Atkins Kroll Saipan, Matson Inc., D&Q International Distributors, Naked Fish, Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council, Muzik Production, WSTCO, MINA, Micronesian Marine, Marianas Coffee, Johnny’s Bar & Grill, Herman’s Modern Bakery, Century Hotel, Fishing Tackle & Sporting Goods, Joeten Motors, Inas’ Kitchen, and Bank of Saipan.