Cal Stinnett of Pleasant Hill was third, for a 237.4-pounder. Cal employed a sardine on a 5/0 Super Mutu hook to fool his fish, and 80-pound blue Izorline and 80-pound Spectra on a Penn 50SW reel and a Grafighter rod rated at 50-80 pounds, he said. He also took a skiff ride of an hour and a half to boat his cow, and he caught a 212-pounder with the same outfit. "The big one was my first, after eight years of trying," he said. "It got wrapped around the anchor line 57 times."

Richard Jenkins of Glendale had a 235.6-pound tuna, on a squid under the kite. He used a 9/0 circle hook, with 135-pound Spectra on a Penn 50SW reel and a Calstar 6465XXH rod, and was in the skiff for two hours, on the fish.

Brian Alvarez of Vista took a 234.6-pound yellowfin on a chunk bait with a Super Mutu 8/0 hook, 80-pound blue Izorline, a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 6460XH rod, after a fight of an hour and a half. Kathy Rounds, Izorline pro-staffer from San Diego, realized her dream of taking a 200-pounder. "This is my first big one, and my third trip," she said. "It almost spooled me, because we had four big ones going at the same time." Kathy's fish weighed 231 pounds, and she took it on a sardine, with a 4/0 Super Mutu hook, 80-pound blue Izorline, a TLD 50LRS reel and a Calstar 760M rod, after a two-hour scrap.

David Harney of Garden Grove had a pair weighing 227 and 211 pounds. He said he caught them both on salamis, with an 8/0 Super Mutu hook, 100-pound blue Izorline, 80-pound Spectra on a Cal Sheets-modified Penn 30 reel, and a Calstar 765H rod.

Jim Brady of San Luis Rey got a 225-pounder. He fished a salami on a 9/0 Mustad hook, with a100-pound blue Izorline, 135-pound Spectra, a Penn 50SW reel and a Calstar 6460XH rod, and beat the fish in 45 minutes.

Tommie Sharp of Oakland found a 221-pounder with a mackerel bait on a 9/0 Mustad hook, 135-pound Spectra, a Penn 50SW reel and a Calstar 6465XH rod. "It took an hour and a half," he said. "It's my biggest tuna ever, and it was hell."

Dave Manella of Toluca Lake got a 201.8-pounder. Dave, who nearly set the world record several years ago, fished a flying fish under the kite, on a Mustad 10/0 hook, 135-pound Spectra, a 50W reel and a Calstar 760M rod. "I got the fish in 40 minutes," he remarked. "It was a pretty tough fight, he took over 400 yards of line."

Paul "Scooter" Silverman of Santa Barbara, an Izorline rep, found a 201-pound yellowfin tuna with a salami on an Eagle Claw 10/0 hook, 80-pound blue Izorline 135-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 50SW reel and a Calstar Boomer Jr. rod. He decked the tuna in 45 minutes.

Royal Star angler and chartermaster Chris Yamada of Fountain Valley pulled off the hat trick at the weigh-in May 20 when he hung three yellowfin tuna over 200 pounds. The largest, at 218 pounds won him third place. Chris got the big one on the kite with squid, and the others, which went 207 and 209 pounds, on chunks. He said he fished with 9/0 Super Mutu hooks, 100-pound clear Izorline, a Penn 50SW reel and a Calstar 760M rod. Yamada posed with sons Austin, four years old, and Tanner, one and a half.

Tim Ekstrom skippered the last trip of the Royal Star's long range season, and spent the whole time at Clarion Island, where his anglers caught seven fish over 200 pounds. Fishing was so good, said one angler, that all fish of 100 pounds or less were released during the last couple of fishing days.

Walter Ford of San Diego, who works for Let's Talk Hookup, won first place for a 251-pound tuna. He bagged it with a squid under the kite, on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 100-pound clear Izorline, 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50SW reel and a Calstar 6455XXH rod. "It was a mean fish," said Walter. "It took about an hour." Last season, Ford took a 299-pounder.

Second place went to Bob Knapp of Santa Rosa, for a 232-pound tuna. Bob chunked the fish on a 9/0 Super Mutu hook, 100-pound clear Izorline, a Penn 50SW reel and a Calstar 760M rod.

Bob Krigbaum of Long Beach took a 209-pounder with a flying fish baited under the kite, on an 11/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on an 80W reel and a 760XXH prototype boat rod. He whipped the tuna in 20 minutes.

"I hung a sardine out there on a long soak," said Ed Janoski of Fountain Valley, who also took a 204-pound yellowfin, "and a big sailfish, maybe 125 pounds, ate it. He jumped about a dozen times and showed some spectacular moves, then he just laid there while we unhooked him and he swam away happy as heck."

Cow On 60-Pound

"I never saw the Spectra," said jackpot winner Pete Howell of Sacramento at Lee Palm Sportfishers May 21, "because he just went down. He swallowed it, too, but he never chewed me off on the sixty."

Howell's fish was champ on the Red Rooster II 16-day trip to Clarion Island. He earned it during an hour and a half fight on the big boat's deck, anchored over a high spot outside of the usual NE corner of the island. Pete fished a mackerel bait on a 9/0 Mustad hook, Big Game line at the unlikely weight of 60-pound, backed with 80-pound Spectra on a TLD 50LRS reel and a Seeker Black Steel five and a half-foot rod.

Andy Cates skippered the trip. Gary Grimaud of Ocean Beach took second place for a 198-pound tuna. and Don Rolstad of Bonita was third, for a185-pound yellowfin tuna.

"We had 33 wahoo," said Cates, "and 25 tuna from 150 to 180 pounds, and 30 fish from 125 pounds up to 150, and maybe 50 tuna from 80 to 100 pounds. We caught and released four marlin, a sailfish and a big amberjack. It was a decent trip."