Record wahoo, monster marlin in Day 1

Day 1 of the 24th Annual Saipan International Fishing Tournament was a smash hit for anglers as the crew of MV Gloria II caught a record-breaking wahoo and defending champion Cabo Express of Rep. Heinz Hofshneider landed a 484-lb. marlin.

MV Gloria II, skippered by John Sablan and manned by Warren Villagomez and Ray Guerrero, has one arm wrapped around the championship trophy of the wahoo category after reeling in a 52.85-pounder.

Sablan said they caught the whopping wahoo 70 miles east of Tinian and that they specifically sought calm waters in search of this year’s top prize.

“We’re very happy we broke the record. I think that record has been there for so many years,” said a lost for words Sablan in an interview with the Saipan Tribune.

Saipan Fishermen Association president Gene Weaver was more ecstatic than the MV Gloria II’s captain about Saturday’s record-breaking wahoo.

“This wahoo here if it holds up after tomorrow, they got the record. It’s one of the biggest wahoos I’ve seen caught in these waters. These guys will probably end up with about $1,000 just for catching that. That’s our first place prize for that wahoo. Unfortunately, there are no incentives [for breaking the wahoo record] this year because times are kind of hard right now. We didn’t get the yellow fin special prize also this year. Normally we have these incentives for these record-breaking fish,” he said.

After MV Gloria II’s prized catch, The Marianas’ 49.1-lb. wahoo and Flame of Love’s 30.63-pounder were second and third in the division after the first day of competition.

Hofshneider and his crew in the Cabo Express, for their part, struggled for 30 minutes before landing a marlin that tipped the scales at the Smiling Cove Marine weighing station at 484 lbs.

“It was perfect. We used the same baits that we’ve been producing for a couple of years. It just happened. We took a gamble and it worked. We went far, very far,” said the lawmaker who later admitted that he and his crew set a course 70 miles off shore to catch the monster marlin.

“It gave us a little bit of problem because we were a bit underhanded today. It took us about 30 minutes. Normally it takes us 15 minutes to land a marlin,” he added.

Despite the fish’s size, Hofshneider said it was not the biggest fish he has caught and categorized the 484-pounder Saturday as medium-sized.

Hofshneider was joined in the boat by Patrick Diaz, Louie Manibusan, and his brother, Conrad.

Coming in second and third in the billfish category Saturday were Cha Cha II (277.5 lbs) and CM-345-CP (265 lbs.).

In the yellow fin division, The Marianas is in pole position with its 49.1-lb. catch, followed by the St. Jude, which netted a 48.3- and 44.4-pounder in Day 1.

Emmanuel has the mahi-mahi to beat after coming in with one that weighed 19.5 lbs., followed by Skip Jack (6.8 lbs.) and Foxy Myrna (4.25 lbs.).

The skip jack category has the 21.65-lb. fish caught by the Zeppelin in front with DJ Fish Mobile and Saina in second and third with catches of 20.4 lbs. and 20.15 lbs respectively.

Day 2 of the 24th Annual Saipan International Fishing Derby was held yesterday, but results were still not available as of press time. A total of 52 boats from Saipan, Tinian, and Guam took part in the yearly event.