Baguio Summer Fishing Tourney a success
A total of 62 fishing enthusiasts from in and outside Baguio saw action in the Baguio Summer Fishing Tournament last April 1, 2023 at the Burnham Park Lake.
Tournament coordinator Rafael Serrano who organized the competition in coordination with the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) said this so far was the highest turn-out of participants, almost doubling the numbers from the other three fishing events previously staged.
Participants came from Baguio, La Trinidad, Bulacan, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, La union and Abra.
During the contest proper, the participants were divided into four batches of 15 and 16 members to make it to the championship round.
Each batch was given one hour to compete and each batch winner advanced to compete for the final round for another hour.
The batch winners were: Clemen Encarnacion from batch 1 who accumulated a total of 36.5 inches of fish; Roden Ivan Narcilla from batch 2 who accumulated a total of 33.11 inches of fish; and John Alcantara from batch 3 and Rolly Manoquit from batch 4 who both accumulated a total of 34.5 inches of fish.
The top prize was bagged by batch 3 winner, Alcantara, who accumulated a total of 34.5 inches of fish for the final round followed by Narcilla, Manoquit and Encarnacion.
Serrano said that all four winners will take home a prize and will be awarded during the flag-raising ceremony at the Baguio City Hall on May 8, 2023.
According to Serrano, the small fishes caught by the participants were returned to the lake.
“Actually, now, kung maliliit sila, and usually maliliit sila eh, I require them to release it back para lalaki pa,” he said.
“Lumabas ngayon yung mga nirelease namin last year na jred tilapia. Kasi August last year, nag-release kami ng 1,500 na red tilapia ,” he added. Some of the fishes caught in the tournament aside from red tilapia were catfish, eel and pacu.
The tournament’s champion Johnjohn Alcantara, from the Bulacan-based group Baliwag Anglers, said that he was pleasantly surprised to have taken the top spot since he and his group only joined for fun and experience. It was also his first time joining a fishing competition despite practicing fishing for almost 3 years.
Because of the increase of public interest, as well as the City’s plan to further rehabilitate the Baguio Burnham Lake, the future of fishing tournaments in the City looks bright.
Serrano plans to have another fishing tournament on June 12, 2023 and is hoping to further increase the number of participants.
He thanked the event’s sponsors from the US and Canada namely Bernadette Yeban; Victor/ Dolores Abon; Rolando Rongo. – Aileen Refuerzo/Paula Stephanie Morales
