Our day started in first light, when restaurateur Hank Hamada of Anaheim Hills reeled in a strange critter; a pompano or rudder fish, we thought. Later I found it listed as a Paloma Pompano, (rare in these waters) in "A Field Guide To Pacific Coast Fishes." Hank may have been the hot hand on the boat with the albacore. He seemed busy at most of our stops.

The strange fish was forgotten as we began to catch albacore, two or three at most stops, and mostly on the skirted jigs trolled about a boat length back in the wake. The little tuna weighed ten to 20 pounds, and most were probably 12 to 15 pounds. We must have had 30 stops. Joe Hamasaki of Newport Beach posed after a stop with his albacore and the skipper. Frank Rubalcaba of Lemon Grove had a nice big one, also good for a photo.

The anglers who did best on these early albies were the anglers who got attractive baits into the water quickly, "on the slide," as the boat stopped. But so many people tried to drop in the same spots that they tangled the trollers, so later in the day the skipper had to put the kibosh on immediate drop-backs with bait. It looked like the second-best method was baiting on the slide.

Some fished with plastic or iron jigs on the slide. Smaller jigs worked better than big ones. I caught four albacore and two bonito on the same blue sardine-patterned dart made by the Megabait Company. During one of the better stops, I caught a fifth albie on an anchovy, with 15-pound line and number two hook.

Albacore were not the only fish caught, however. We found a number of Spanish Jacks or jack mackerel, grown-up versions of the Spanish mackerel favored locally for yellowtail or calico bass bait. They looked to be five to eight pounders. They are well thought of as food by some, and sold canned in the supermarket. We also caught numerous bonito, from maybe four to ten pounds. We saw one school of bonito leaping from the water that seemed to have thousands of fish in it. Yellowtail were also in the area, especially near floating patches of kelp, and those we caught were six to 15 pounds or so. Dana Trieschman of Alpine posed with a nice one.

There was "good life" around, as the skippers put it. We saw terns, gulls and albatrosses there, fifty miles out from Ensenada and 80 miles from San Diego. It was, as Cavanaugh said, "Pretty darned good fishing for the early season."

He and his crew were on the ball, and they worked hard for us all day and much of the night. Bill has the Pacific Queen in top shape, ready for a busy season of surface fishing. You can book a trip on the Queen through Fisherman's Landing at (619) 221-8500.

As the season progresses, the albacore will gang into larger schools and so will the bait. Right now, a 20-fish stop would be huge; later, it will be no big deal. Summer will fatten both tuna and baitfish. Later, 30-pound albies will be common. Right now, a 20-pounder is a dandy. The fish are here, though, and the fact that we had 26 anglers on the Queen means that the anglers are getting ready to catch 'em.

Until yesterday, the bite had been best in the afternoon. Morning was best for us, right up until two in the afternoon, when it slowed. We still had stops later, though, and the last one was right on the edge of dark. The beauty of day and a half trips is that you can be there for the afternoon bite, after the dayboats had to head for the barn. When you've been in a good "sunsetter," you'll remember it for a long time.