Cavanaugh reported to his webmaster, "Our last night was by far our best. We had perfect conditions all night. It started very much the same as the rest of the nights. We picked up a couple of fish just after dinner, and then one every once in while after that, until 0230. Grant Christianson landed the first fish of the night. Grant's fish was hooked on a chunk, and should be about 150 pounds. I sent some nice shots of Grant, pulling on his fish, which ended up being one of the tougher fish of the night. ( Ryan, your dad says Hi, and eat your heart out.)

"The best fishing started at about 0230, just like every other night. We had good action all the way until daylight. And the fish were much better grade on the average. Most were from 120 to 160 pounds. We ended up with 30 tuna for the night. Most of the fish were on the mackerel. Two were on small rainbow runners, one on a chunk and a few on the big jig."

"Coming down the water was green out to 58 miles the whole way," said chartermaster Dennis Braid. "The fish weren't coming up at the atoll. We found little squid and other deepwater feed in the stomachs. That's why the jigs were working so well."

Ger Steinberg, an Excel regular, didn't enter the jackpot. Naturally, he got the most and the biggest. The big one was a 172-pounder that ate a chunk on 130-pound Soft Steel Ultra and 130-pound Spectra backing, wound on a new Penn 70 reel tuned by Cal Sheets and one of a set of custom 760H Calstar rods Steinberg used for different purposes. He got a 150-pounder on a PL-68 jig painted to glow in the dark.

"I hooked him on the first drop, at two a.m. I dropped down 300 feet, the length of my topshot," said Steinberg, "and that's where he bit. I decked him in 20 minutes. I used the rail."

Mike Simmons of San Diego won first place, for a 163-pounder that ate his mackerel bait bearing a 7/0 Super Mutu hook. He said he fought the fish and hour and a half on 100-pound Soft Steel Ultra, 100-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 50SW reel and a Baby Boomer rod.

Mark Conway of North Hollywood was second, for a 162.4-pound tuna. Excel owner Bill Poole, who was on the trip, and second skipper Shawn Steward posed with him. Grant Christianson of San Diego won third place for a 157.7-pound yellowfin tuna.

4-30-02

A savvy winner
When you beat the boss on a fishing trip, it's good if you remember to wear the company shirt for your jackpot picture. It's even better if the boss comes in second; in effect making a chartermaster-company sweep.

"Just don't forget to mention I'm a pro-staffer for Catchy Tackle," said first place winner Fred Knilans April 30, after Shogun arrived from an 18-day trip to Clipperton Atoll. Fred's 253-pound yellowfin nosed out Catchy co-owner Drew Grindley's 241-pound cow.

"All of our big fish came on the last day," said skipper Bruce Smith. "This shows the importance of timing. No one had been to the Hurricane Bank for a month, so we made the decision to check it out. We had a fantastic bite, starting with 35 wahoo on the very first stop, and more of the same for the next four hours."

"At Clipperton, the tuna averaged pretty much the same as they were on the bank; 70 to 130 pounds."

Second skipper Rik Treamer wrote about the last day on April 24: "We left Clipperton at 4:30 this morning after a solid night of good tuna fishing. After returning to the boat from the skiff Drew Grindley hooked a nice fish on the chunk. An hour later his fish came over the rail. We caught several other fish on the chunk in the 80 to 120-pound range.

"Next was Jeff Shapiro, determined to get his fish, Jeff was fishing one of his heavy outfits and got a 180-pound tuna to show for it. We caught several fish on the heavy jigs through the course of the night. Every passenger was at the rail from eight p.m. Tuesday night until we pulled the anchor on Wednesday morning. It was unanimous that Clipperton was the most extreme and unique place that every one aboard had ever been to.

As for myself being in the skiff at night, on the reef, with a nice tuna on, surf breaking and the offshore wind pushing the spray at you was without a doubt an experience that John Loftus and I will never forget. We both agreed that bringing that fish back would have been the ultimate, but being there in that situation was remarkable."

Fred Knilans got his first-place 253-pounder on a chunk, he said, with a 14/0 Mustad circle hook, 130-pound clear Izorline, 130-pound Spectra, a Penn 50SW reel tuned by Cal Sheets, and a Calstar 760H rod he wrapped himself. The fight went an hour and a half.

Drew Grindley's 242-pounder came on a chunk, the same 14/0 Mustad circle hook, 130-pound blue Izorline, 130-pound Spectra, a 50SW by Sheets, and a Calstar 760XH rod. It fought for an hour. Third place went to Jeff Shapiro of Rancho Santa Margarita, for a 174.6-pound yellowfin tuna.