Frank McCarthy of San Diego took a 45.6-pound albacore, the largest of the season so far. "It was about a 25-minute fight," said Frank after the four-day trip. "I thought it was a bluefin. I had a half-ounce slider sinker above a fluorocarbon leader. I fished an anchovy on a size one Mutu circle hook, with 25-pound clear Izorline, a Pro Gear 2000 reel and a Seeker 670 rod."

Bobby Tate of Escondido was second. He caught a 38-pound albie. Brian VanWaay got third place, for a 35-pound albacore.

Load Of Fatsos
"We stayed offshore from Colnett the whole trip," said Shogun owner-captain Norm Kagawa. "It was nice weather, and good on albacore below the 176 Spot."

The five-day trip returned to Fisherman's Landing July 4 with a good catch of albacore up to 35.6 pounds. That fish was caught by Bo Brewer of Oakland, on an anchovy, a size 2 Mustad hook, 30-pound clear Izorline and a Penn 500 reel on a seven-foot Ugly Stick. Ronnie Rod of Houston, TX took both second and third places, for an albacore and a bluefin of 35.2 and 32.8 pounds, respectively.

Longfin Biting Anchovies
Vagabond skipper Mike Lackey said he liked both the weather and the size of the albies he was catching down at the 176 Spot on a three-day trip that ended July 4. Eric Hurford of Glendora won the jackpot with a 39-pound albacore. He took his prize winner on an anchovy, a size one Gamakatsu hook, 20-pound Big Game Supreme line, a Penn 146 Squidder reel and a Kencor seven-foot rod.

Craig Arnold of Cardiff was second. For a 36-pound, 10-ounce albacore. Allen Funkhouser of Flagstaff, AZ got third place for a 36-pound albie.

World Record Yellowtail
"We fished Alijos Rocks for three days," recollected Excel skipper Bill Cavanaugh. "The last two days we went only for the bigger fish, using green mackerel we made there for bait. We fished those on the dropper loop to take a whole bunch of big yellowtail. Up at Natividad, there were big schools of 15 to 18-pound yellows roaming the flats. They went for the iron, for surface jigs too, and for the mackerel. Then we spent a day and a morning fishing albacore at 220 miles. I think this was my best trip for variety and intensity."

Kenny Masuda is ten, and he'll be going to sixth grade at Pioneer Middle School in Tustin this fall. He went fishing with his dad Adam aboard the Excel, and the eight-day trip was one of the best skipper Bill Cavanaugh could remember. Kenny won't have trouble remembering it. He caught the biggest yellowtail ever taken by a child qualifying for the IGFA Small Fry division; a whopper Alijos Banks mossback of 49.8 pounds.

"I was on a five-day trip before," said Kenny at the dock July 5, "so this is my second long range trip. I was fishing a dropper loop, about midnight, I think. I put a mackerel down there and it got bit. I reeled fast in low gear because Mo (deckhand) said to keep him out of the rocks.

"He tried to run, but after a minute I got him coming up. Fifteen minutes later he was on the deck. I knew he was a good one but not that big. Next time, I'm going to try to win the jackpot."

Masuda plans on playing football this autumn, and asking him to say that word brings a broad smile to his ten-year-old face. Kenny used a mackerel on an 8/0 Mustad hook, 80-pound Tuna Tuff mono line, a Penn 30SW reel and a Calstar 760M rod to take his trophy yellowtail. "You should have seen him with that rod," said his father Adam. "He railed it."

Kenny's fish was the highlight of what skipper Cavanaugh called "...a spectacular trip." His 32 anglers brought home limits of yellowfin tuna and near-limits of albacore. They also had a good catch of yellowtail, with the big ones coming from Alijos Rocks and others from Isla Natividad. Most of the anglers posed with yellows in the 40 to 50-pound class.

David Rock of Bullhead City won first place, for a 65-pound yellowfin. He nabbed it with a sardine, he said, on a 5/0 Super Mutu hook tied to 30-pound Ande line. He used a Penn 555 reel and a Calstar 870 rod, and beat the fish in about 25 minutes. Second place went to a 62-pound wahoo caught by Mike Hansen of Anaheim Hills, who snookered his skinny on a sardine and 30-pound line. Don Sutherlin of Simi Valley was third, for a 57-pound yellowfin tuna.

Big Bluefin Reported
It appears the question about big bluefin has been answered. On July 3, the Royal Star posted this report: "Our quest for the big Bluefin was finally rewarded in that we found several small schools and one pretty decent spot mid morning. Average size was in the 100 - 150# class. The unfortunate part of the story is that despite our efforts, the big fish did not want to bite. One stop produced a fantastic showing with 100 - 150 pounders jumping and crashing on the chum but only one bite was to be had. Fortunately for us and our lucky angler, we landed the only big Bluefin hooked providing us with a small taste of what we were fishing for.

"Photo credit of the day goes to Royal Star and long time southland angling veteran Jim Wright who we believe gets credit for the first Bluefin over 100 pounds of the summer 2001 season. Congratulations to Jim pictured here with his estimated 110-pound Bluefin and Royal Star crewman Joey Conrad."

On July 5, Andy Cates of the Red Rooster III called owner Linda Palm-Halpain by satellite telephone and said his anglers had taken 17 bluefin that day, estimated from 80 to 140 pounds.

Limits Old Hat
Limits of albacore are becoming old hat, but contacts with 100-pound bluefin are providing intense excitement at the San Diego docks. When Dan Sansome brought American Angler home July 8, his anglers those longfin limits, and a few husky bluefin up to Russ Jensen's winning 64-pounder.

Jensen, a former Charger backup quarterback (vintage 1987) who also spent a couple of years with the Raiders, is a yearly regular who lists La Mirada as his home, though he also spends time in Douglas, AZ. He said he also ran a sportfishing and dive shop in Cabo San Lucas for several years. Russ used a sardine on a 67/0 Mustad hook, with 30-pound Ande line, a Penn 965 reel and a Bass Pro Signature Series seven-foot graphite rod, and beat his quarry in 15 minutes.

Arthur Groneman of LA came second with a 61-pound tuna, and Jeff Kertes of Santa Monica was third, for a 59-pound bluefin tuna.

Yellowfin Clog Qualifier
"We had limits of yellowfin tuna to 70 pounds at Alijos," said Qualifier 105 skipper Rodney Okimoto July 8 after an eight-day trip. "We had 15 wahoo, and later we got 47 bluefin, most at one stop, with nine over 100 pounds. It was a two and a half-hour stop at 220 miles." Over 400 smaller fish, mostly yellowtail, were released, and anglers also had a good catch of albacore. Robert Peck was the release winner.

Yutaka Suganuma of Mission Viego had the best fish, a 120-pound bluefin. He said he got it on a sardine, an 8/0 Super Mutu hook, 80-pound Big Game line with 100-pound Spectra backing on a Tiagra 30WLRS reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6455XXH rod.

Best Jig Fish
Tim Ekstrom and Randy Toussaint brought Royal Star home after an eight-day trip July 8 with limits of yellowfin, and combined limits of other species, including a 55-pound bigeye tuna that came from a school of Alijos Banks yellowfin.

Steve Peters of Morongo Valley took the best bluefin on a jig so far this season, a 92-pounder. He did it the hard way, with a Salas 6X Jr. iron in blue and white, on 50-pound clear Izorline, with a Newell 447 reel and a Calstar seven and a half-foot rod, cut down from a 6480. Jim Wright of Arcadia had an 87-pounder, and Geoff Elliott of Newport Beach got an 83-pounder, for second and third places.

"Here We Go!"
An eight-day trip provided the time needed for Andy Cates to locate the big boys. "We started out on the albacore grounds, fished Alijos and came back for albacore limits," said Cates at the dock July 8. He then generously called in the fleet to share in the bounty.

"They wanted the sardines," said second-place angler Allen Lemberg. "The best bite was about one in the afternoon, and it lasted for three hours, and we got 11 tuna over 100 pounds at that stop."

The trip was Coach's Beefer II Charter. "Coach" Cliff Clark of Union City won first place with a 156.5-pound bluefin. He said he fished a sardine on a 4/0 Mutu hook, 60-pound clear Izorline, an Accurate 30 reel and a Calstar 760M rod. Marty Mayer of San Diego was second, for a 149-pounder, and Jeff Johnson of Canyon Lake was third, for a 145.5-pound bluefin Bill Kuehl of Poway and Bernie Thomas of Temecula got honorable mention for ineligible bluefin of 159 and 157 pounds.

There were 20 bluefin over 100 pounds in the Rooster's catch, and anglers posed with their prize catches in front of H&M Landing. "We had all the albacore we wanted," said Cates. "There's about a 20-mile line of fish down there about 220 miles. Here we go!"

"Nice Three-Day"
Richard Jones caught the best tuna of his life on a three-day trip aboard the Vagabond with skipper Mike Lackey. His bluefin weighed 138.8 pounds at the Point Loma Sportfishing scales July 8. "We had a nice three-day trip," remarked Lackey.

Jones used a sardine on a 5/0 Mustad hook, with 60-pound Big Game line, on a TLD 30 reel, with a Calstar 6465 rod. Neil Takeuchi of Lomita was second, for a 132-pounder, and Robert Salse of Walnut was third, for a 120-pound bluefin. Posing with the winners were other anglers who got 100-pounders: Matthew Sharp of Glendale, 118.5 pounds, Shigeo Misuda of Placentia, 107 pounds, Frank Rowe of Buena Park, 108 pounds, Hiro Kawamura of Gardena, 106 pounds, and Judy Robertson of Upland, 115-pound bluefin tuna.

Three-Day Flyer
Another fast trip to the 220-mile area was made by Excel captain Pat Cavanaugh. It paid off with a good catch of albacore and some nicer bluefin for his 35 anglers. The best bluefin of the new season came to Don del Rosario of San Diego. The whopper came in at 161.2 pounds on the Fisherman's Landing scales.

Luc Oldfield, owner of Angler's Choice tackle supply in San Diego, was second, for a 154.4-pound bluefin. Gil Venegas of Sacramento was third, for a 142.2-pounder. William Spreen of Palm Desert posed with his fourth-place 135-pound bluefin. Holly Cavanaugh, ten and on her first multi-day trip, took a 30.8-pound albacore.

Yellowtail Bully Boys
Vic Moore moored (no pun intended) Polaris Supreme July 8 after a four-day trip to the 220-mile area. He said he found so much traffic there he had to move off a ways, but ended up with albacore limits and a new yellowtail story.

"We were fishing on albacore, nice ones of 20 to 30 pounds," said Moore, "when a bunch of yellowtail the same size came in and pushed the albacore out of the way. Later, some bluefin moved in and they bit until 9:30 p.m."

Randy Williams of Napa won first place, for a 102.7-pound bluefin. He nabbed it with a sardine on a 4/0 Mustad hook, 60-pound Big Game line, a TLD-30 reel and a five and a half-foot Seeker rod, he said. It took about 30 minutes.

Steve Kline of Yountville was second, for a 101-pound tuna, and Sam Kernell of Solana Beach was third, for a 79.8-pound bluefin tuna.