Fishing Paradise North

 

 

By

Antonio M. Siddayao

Feature Writer, Daily Express

Sportfisherman's note: This article was written in June, 1980. Some information in this article is already inaccurate.

   The Philippine highway system northeast of Manila ends 655 kms. away in the tiny, peaceful barrio of San Vicente, in Santa Ana, Cagayan, off Cape Engano at the edge of the Philippine Sea.

    The fact that the Philippine Navy keeps a refueling station there is no more significant than that thereabouts are the finest game fishing waters in the country, with terrestrial surroundings of great natural beauty offering innumerable possibilities for outdoor recreation.

    Nowhere else in the nation's waters does the sailfish, the princely cousin of the prized marlin, abound. This was underscored once more by the renewed presence two weeks ago in San Vicente of the Philippine Game Fishing Association's most avid members for their national championship. This month the place comes alive on a bigger scale as the PGFA hosts the Asian Game Fishing Championships.

    Such is the abundance of marine life in the area that it isn't rare to see sailfish playfully leaping out of the sea, singly or in pairs. Or a school of another variety springing into the air in a lovely arch. The deep waters in the Pacific side are as much a paradise for trolling as the shallow coves and rocky shorelines are for bottom fishing and line casting.

    A rank novice among the recent visitors had the overwhelming experience of getting a bite within seconds and another in similarly good time after dropping anchor in a sequestered cove in the jungled island of Palaui.

    The explanation for this is that this tip off Luzon consists of many underwater cliffs, with many recesses and caves that make for ideal breeding ground for marine life. On these smaller fishes feed the bigger ones like the sailfish and the beautiful multi-colored dorado

    Strips of white beaches, accentuating the blue of the sea and the green of the forests, are most plentiful on the Pacific side, although beach swimming can be enjoyed right in the unpolluted waters of San Vicente, in the shadow of Palaui, which teem with deer and boar and other wildlife. In the surrounding marshes, wild ducks are said to be so friendly, that some of the don't flee from the intruders.  

    A water tour by outrigger can take the first timer to San Vicente out into the open sea, round the west side of Palaui, past cliffs reaching to the sky, caves staring out at the traveler, and thickly forested mountainsides to the small bay below the brick-roofed lighthouse on Cape Engano, perched on a grassy hill guarded by twin towers of rock.

    There off the Cape in 1944, began the most decisive naval encounter of World War II - the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The Japanese Navy played its last card in this one and was left crippled by the Americans. Not only did this clear the way for the Leyte landings, but, more importantly, helped hasten the end of the war.

    Unique to the beaches of San Vicente are its pine trees, whose origin has defied explanation, according to former Santa Ana Mayor Ernesto Borja, one-time naval commander from La Union who has spent the last 40 years in San Vicente.

    There in this quiet fishing village where Borja lives with his family, the ancient art of carving out bancas and making paraos still practiced by some aging boat-makers.

    It is on this paraos, fitted with bamboo outriggers and motorized, that the anglers troll for sailfish and dorado. It is primitive, often hazardous setup that makes fighting a gamefish quite a feat, considering elsewhere trolling is enjoyed in the luxury and comfort of highly maneuverable cabin cruisers.

    Game fishing at San Vicente is a five-month season, starting in March. Squalls bring rough seas, but the dangers aren't as real as when the typhoons come, says the anglers. Among the vacationists at San Vicente on Holy Week of 1979 were Insurance executive Cesar Zalamea, British Ambassador William Bently, and their families. Another insurance man, Jose "Tetu" Santos who won the recent nationals over Toribio in a fierce duel that outdistanced the rest of the field comes almost every month to fish, sometimes for stretches of 10 days.

    Fishers and other vacationists used to pitch tent at San Vicente  whenever space ran out at the seaside residence of Borja, now a PGFA member who runs a lodging and catering service for the association. Recently a group of PGFA members put up a bunk-house for 40 people, using a splendid Hawaiian design.

Do you need more information about Sportfishing in the Philippines? 

Call 1-800-ASK-KEEN (1-800-275-5336) extension: 067559 

(For more info on calling me, visit keen.com) 

($1.50 per minute charge will apply for US residents only, Callers based from other countries will pay additional overseas telephone charges)