Team Savai'i, led by Magele Arthur Penn, leads with 26.2 points on the second day of the 23rd Samoa International Game Fishing Tournament.

Magele’s catch of a masimasi (mahi-mahi) fish weighing 16.8 kgs, saw him ranked first in this category and also first in the barracuda category with his fish weighing 9.4 kgs.

The 64-year-old from Vaoala dedicated the catch to his five-year-old grandson, Seuifanua Penn.

“We woke up at 4:30am and had breakfast at 5:00 and left the harbor at 5:30am. The sea was very calm for fishing and I caught my masimasi around midday," he said.

“There were quite a lot of seaweed around the area and some of our lures were tied up in the weeds so we tried to clear them when all of a sudden one of our rods took off - there were only three of us.

“The masimasi is renowned for being difficult to bring in because they tend to bend their body so you’re dragging a whole lot of water with it. I have been fishing for 15 years; it is more of a hobby that relaxes your mind and give you the chance to enjoy the sea breeze,” he added.

Magele also said he did a bit of fishing in New Zealand, mostly snapper, but not like Samoa where he goes after the big ones.

“It was just luck that we got the masimasi and plus teamwork, the funniest thing is that our boat is called Seemu (dragonfly) and it is the smallest boat and yet caught the biggest masimasi.”

Other catches on the second day included Fatu Iese from team Double Trouble in American Samoa, who came first in the wahoo category with his fish weighed at 17.8 kgs; Tim Cao from team Chiwi of New Zealand came first in the Spanish mackerel category with his fish weighing at 11.8 kgs.