Ker Chin and his winning fish.
The 45-year-old reeled in the winning fish on the third day of the tournament, earning him the RM25,000 cash prize, trophy and certificate.
Ker, who started to actively participate in fishing tournaments just two years ago, said he joined SIFT never expecting to win any major prizes, let alone emerging as the first place winner.
But luck was on his side as the giant grabbed his bait and did not even put up much of a fight.
Ker said it took him just 30 minutes to subdue the fish, but pulling it into the boat was no easy feat as it required the help from 11 other boatmates to get the job done.
“The fish is so heavy that 11 men have to help me pull it out of the water and into the boat,” he said to reporters after receiving his prizes yesterday.
Ker, who works as a mechanical chief supervisor with Petronas Methanol Labuan, said he would definitely come back to try his luck again next year.
The tournament saw nine boats flagged off from Sutera Harbour Marina & Country Club last Wednesday, with some 100 avid anglers from Macau, Brunei, Australia, Dubai, Kuwait, Singapore, Labuan and Sabah on board.
For the first time, Layang Layang Reef, about 20 hours from Kota Kinabalu, was chosen as the battleground for the tournament, which entered its 18th edition.
The five-day-four-night event governed by the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) rules, promoted sustainable game fishing and aimed to position Sabah as a preferred angling destination in the region.
Themed “Save Our Seas”, the event required participants to immediately release any bill fish caught, after taking their measurement, weight and photograph.
The catch of giant wrasse, rays and sharks were completely banned.
This year’s format was based on individual category only, where angler with the heaviest fish landed would take the tournament’s title.
Chairman of Sabah Tourism Board (STB), Datuk Johniston Bangkuai, graced the prize presentation ceremony, accompanied by Sabah Angler’s Association president Datuk Wilfred Lingham.
The second place went to Lim Seon Keng from Tawau who landed a 78kg giant grouper while Fong Ka Meng of Macau won the third place with 34.2kg Dog Tooth Tuna.
They walked away with RM10,000 and RM5,000 cash prize respectively, along with a trophy and certicate.
Three consolation prizes of RM500, medals and certificates were given to Leung Kam Yeung (Macau), Wu Kuong Meng (Macau) and Eric Ling Yee Kiat (Tawau).
A total of 18 fishes with a combined weight of more than 280kg were submitted for the main prizes.
The top six of the prize-winning fishes were auctioned before the prize presentation, reeling in almost RM4,000 in total.
The tournament was sponsored by STB, Sutera Harbour Resorts, Summer Cruise Holiday, TCE Tackles, Parexgroup Sdn Bhd and Sabah Fishing Tackles Supplies, and assisted by the Royal Malaysian Navy.
