Bella strikes gold with 255-lb marlin

The boat Bella, captained by Justice Perry Inos, landed the payload of $20,900 with their 255-lb haul during the 3rd Annual Saipan Fishermen Association Elijah Craig Bourbon Billfish Jackpot Tournament on Saturday at the Smiling Cove Marina.

A close second was just a pound behind—a 254-lb marlin reeled in by Borrow Fan, which also took the side bet prize of $2,000. The boat was captained by Jerry Babauta with anglers Alfred Muna, Wayne Martin, and J-Boy Taitano.

The anglers of Bella, Dixie Inos and Carlos Rivera, had the fight of their lives off the waters of Saipan—which turned out to be just enough to edge Borrow Fan and secure the jackpot.

Inos said that they pushed through for five hours to land them the winning catch with their monster marlin—and the struggle, rain, lack of sleep, and fatigue was worth it. She said their goal was to only catch blue marlin. “We put out different kinds of lures. We started off at 6am. Our first hook was actually at 7:35am. It was quite a struggle—a challenge, but we made it through,” said Inos.

Then, she said, “We thank the association and all the sponsors that made this possible. We do thank everyone who put this event together. Of course, we thank our families who managed to give us the time that we needed to prepare for this event.”

The crew was then given the check for $20,900 and a bottle of Elijah Craig.

After, a solemn and emotional awards ceremony was held on the dock of Smiling Cove, with SFA chairman Curtis Dancoe announcing that the next tourney will be named after former Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente, an avid fisherman, who was diagnosed with acute leukemia.

Dancoe said, “This new name honors the legacy and contributions of Diego T. Benavente, while continuing the tradition of excellence and competition of billfish fishing. In the words of Yul Brynner, ‘so let it be written, so let it be done.’”

Diego then shared his own remarks, saying that he and his family decided against treatment so he could keep doing what he loves at home—spending time with family and friends, playing golf, and fishing.

He said, “The doctors have told me that without the treatment, it’s going to be anywhere from a few weeks to maybe a couple of months. So I’m just grateful. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to finish today. One of the problems of this disease is the fatigue is 24 hours a day… I’m grateful to the SFA, to friends—especially these guys from Guam who treat us well when we go to Guam and continue to come to Saipan to support our derby here.”