Gone Fishing

FISHING is one of the most popular water activities on Saipan all year round and there are lots of ways to do it. You can go deep sea fishing, sports fishing and trolling and go home with your catch of tuna, wahoo, barracuda and more.

You can also fish the traditional way by throwing nets but the most common fishing that is free for anyone and which both adults and kids engage and enjoy is fishing with a pole along the shorelines where you don’t have to own a boat to paddle to the middle of the ocean or spend dollars to buy fuel. You can do it anywhere along the shores.
Seeing an individual, groups or even kids at the shorelines with a pole dangling on the water is a very common sight. Fathers and mothers do it, kids do it, and teenagers do it. It’s one pastime that breaks through the barriers of culture and generation.

It’s fun and relaxing to watch these individuals with fishing poles. Some of them fish in groups and ride on bikes. Some fish with one or two companions and some do it alone. The most popular sites for pole fishing are the Fishing Base, Susupe Beach, Beach Road and the Smiling Cove. You can rarely see a day without somebody with a fishing pole in these areas, and whenever I can, I always pause to watch and sneak a photo, although I can count with my fingers the times I saw any of them hauling in fish.

I’ve tried casting a fishing pole several times at the Smiling Cove Marina and at the Fishing Base sometime before but the fish were too clever. They either wait for my sandwich bait to melt and get separated from the hook, or they have a way of pecking their way around the bait without getting hooked. I bought several sets of hooks and plastic baits and other accessories to lure the fish to no avail. But try I did, several times until someone who must have thought I have no future in pole fishing my fishing pole from my car.
It’s fascinating to watch how patient these people are, waiting for any movement from their rods and yanking it out of the water only to find no fish at the end. Even the little kids who don’t have fishing poles found ways to tie the fishing strings around mineral water bottles.
I haven’t given up on pole fishing yet. Give me a call if ever one of you finds a fishing rod that comes with built-in patience. That may be the time I can catch my first fish.