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Record 942-lb marlin in SFA Derby
Emmanuel reeled in mammoth 942-lb marlin to set a new record catch (bill fish) during the opening day of the Saipan Fishermen Association’s 17th Annual International Fishing Derby last Saturday.
Captain Michael James and crewmembers George Arriola, Frank James, and John Hattig caught the huge bill fish just six hours after the competition started at the Smiling Cove Marina to break the record (624.34-lb marlin) of Saipan’s Danny Agulto set in 1997.
Besides his 15-year record catch, Agulto was said to have reeled in a bill fish weighing more than 800-lbs, but did not get it in a competitive setting. Nevertheless, Emmanuel’s monster surpassed both feats and reset the bar for the future generation.
The group from Guam has had a number of successful appearances in the annual event, including the first place finish in the mahi category and third place in a tight Wahoo race last year, but last Saturday’s giant catch topped them all.
Two hours before the deadline, the board recording the participating boats’catch was almost bare, and at first glance the outrageous number penciled on Emmanuel’s spot looked like a fallacy, but it was no joke.
The record bill fish measured in at 11 and 1/2 feet long and was so big that officials had to weigh it on a boom truck because it was too bulky for the weigh station’s parameters.
After the weigh-in and when it was time to award the biggest winner of the tournament, a teary-eyed Arriola posed with the whopping $10,000 prize.
The tournament drew 49 boats and offered additional prize packages to the Top 5 finishers in the billfish, wahoo, mahi, skipjack, and total weight categories. Emmanuel’s grand prize is excluded from the other categories.
The complete details of the two-day tournament will be released this week.
By Walter J. Sutherland
Reporter
