Big tuna fishing rolled toward a peak near the end of the season, as late April catches rose in both quantity and quality. Local and short-range anglers are interested in sightings of bluefin and albacore. The first albacore was caught at eight a.m. Wednesday morning, May 3.... "That same school of big fish showed up again," said Randy Toussaint after mooring Royal Star May 2, "and it was the same deal; you get a bunch, bing, bing, bing, or you don't get any. You've got to be ready when they come through, because they don't stay very long."

Toussaint's anglers may not have been prepared for the midafternoon appearance of whopper tuna at Clarion Island, but they managed to deck ten yellowfin over the 200-pound mark. The largest went to Izorline president Steve Ichinokuchi, who realized a 20-year quest of bagging a cow tuna.