{"id":408349,"date":"2024-04-23T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=408349"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"47-boats-in-SFA-mahi-derby-Fisherman-s-Swap-Meet-on-June-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/47-boats-in-SFA-mahi-derby-Fisherman-s-Swap-Meet-on-June-15\/","title":{"rendered":"47 boats in SFA mahi derby; Fisherman’s Swap Meet on June 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Saipan Fishermen\u2019s Association\u2019s 20th Mahi Fishing Derby finally got underway last Saturday after a couple of postponements due to inclement weather.<\/p>\n

On the third try, they finally got going with 47 boats racing to catch the biggest mahi mahi off the islands\u2019 waters.<\/p>\n

Curtis Dancoe, SFA chairman, said they were happy that the derby finally got underway. \u201cWe got 47 boats and a couple from Tinian that came in to help out. We had some as small as 15-footers and as big as 48-footers, so that was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fishermen were waiting for this and it finally came. For the most part, everyone had a good time. It\u2019s the first derby of the year and they were able to test their gear and equipment,\u201d said Dancoe. \u201cThey must\u2019ve taken really good care of their equipment because we didn\u2019t have any distress calls.\u201d<\/p>\n

The delays, he said, \u201cwere not fun\u201d but that some boats went out on their own during the supposed first event date last March 2. \u201cNobody likes the delays but it gave some fishermen time to cut their lawn,\u201d Dancoe said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

As for the weather, for the most part, Dancoe said it was bumpy and windy with a lot of chops on the waters. \u201cThe wind kind of gave us a little break today. You\u2019re still getting wet, and you\u2019re still getting bounced around, but the wind was more forgiving\u2014but that\u2019s what the mahi likes. They like a little chop.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then thanked the event\u2019s sponsor Budweiser along with the Department of Fish & Wildlife, Department of Public Safety, Fishing Tackle & Sporting Goods, \u201cthe Speaker of the House [Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Ind-Saipan)] for supporting and providing us with some equipment\u2026 and the peskadots<\/em> (fishermen).\u201d<\/p>\n

Dancoe also announced that for the first time, they are hosting a \u201cFisherman’s Swap Meet\u201d at the south end of the Garapan Public Market at the Garapan Fishing Base from 6am to 12pm on Saturday, June 15.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cAll anglers, fishermen, and captains can clear out their storage and tackle. Some boats will be up for sale. Basically, come out if you\u2019re a mariner or a fisherman and you got a couple of reels you want to trade up, sell, or swap.\u201d<\/p>\n

With this event just before Father\u2019s Day, Dancoe said it\u2019s a great chance for anglers to swap out their gear. \u201cWe try to keep our ear close to the community on what they\u2019re asking for and what they want. It costs nothing to be a part of and admission is free. If they need more information, they can contact any SFA member,\u201d said Dancoe.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Saipan Fishermen’s Association chair Curtis Dancoe announces the winners of the SFA 20th Mahi Fishing Derby last Saturday at the Smiling Cove Marina.<\/p>\n

-LEIGH GASES
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The Saipan Fishermen\u2019s Association\u2019s 20th Mahi Fishing Derby finally got underway last Saturday after a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-408349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}