"We saw lots of fish over 80 pounds on this trip," said skipper Cates, at the dock Dec 12. "There wasn't so much of the 50 to 60-pound stuff. Fishing was fair to good on the wahoo, and we had truly excellent weather. You'd wake up thinking we were tied at the dock, it was so calm."

Kita's first-place, 311-pound tuna is the first 300-pounder of the new 2000-2001 big tuna season. Steve Brooks of Acadia was second on the 18-day trip, for a 237-pound tuna he got on a "tube" mackerel, a 6/0 Super Mutu hook, 100-pound Jin Kai line, 80-pound Spectra, a Cal Sheets-modified Penn 30 reel and a Calstar 6460XH rod, after an hour and 45-minute struggle. Jerry Miller of Los Alamitos was third, for a 167-pound yellowfin.

Three other anglers are believed to have taken three tuna over 300 pounds. They include Ralph "The Long Ranger" Mikklesen of Northridge, world-record holder Curt Wiesenhutter of LA, and "Tuna Joe" of Texas. By taking four giant yellowfin, Ben Kita has elevated his accomplishments to a new plateau.

Star Ends Big
Randy Toussaint brought Royal Star home Dec 4 with a good catch of tuna from Alijos Rocks and The Ridge. "A new batch of fish has moved in here," he wrote at Alijos Rocks, "so it wouldn't surprise me to see this place continue to produce impressive catches for a long time to come."

Toussaint noted the water temp at 68.5 degrees. "It was really good at the Rocks," he said. "All our fish came on the flyline. We tried kelps for a day for dorado, and we missed a 150-pounder at the Morgan Bank on the kite. Then we went to the Spud (Potato Bank), for some good fishing on 30 to 60-pounders, and a guy got a 120-pounder on 40-pound line. We found marlin and dorado below Tosca, and got about 60 yellowtail at Uncle Sam Bank."

Clyde Smith of Scottdale, AZ won first place for his 121-pound yellowfin. "I got it on a sardine," he said, and a 118 Mag 4/0 hook, 40-pound fluorocarbon and 50-pound Spectra on a Trinidad 20 and a Calstar 765LH rod."

Bernie Pirih of Monrovia was second, for a 79.5-pound yellowfin. Jim Wright of Arcadia got a 50-pound wahoo (the trip's largest) on a sardine, with a wired 4/0 Gorilla hook on 40-pound blue Izorline, a Pro Gear 454 reel and a Calstar 700H rod. Royal Star will be in port until Christmas, and then will begin the winter series of fly-down, fly-back trips to the Revillagigedos.

Four Cows Come Home
Cal Sheets was a happy guy when the Excel came home with skipper Pat Cavanaugh Dec 10. He had two big tuna, both taken on a new and relatively small Penn 15KG reel. Sheets profiles and beefs up Penn reels in Pasadena with his son Eric, providing a family living, and customized, strong reels for long range anglers.

"I didn't really do anything to the reel," he said, "I just put a bigger spring in it. But you know, the real story here is Al Scow. He's been coming down here for about twenty years, trying to get a 200-pounder, and he finally did.

"It was on the last day of the 16-day trip," continued Sheets, "when Al's number came up on the kite. He'd already put his rods away, so a buddy lent him a rig, and wham, he was on!"

"It was in the last hour," confirmed Scow, "and I've been 20 years after it."

First place went to Tom Howe of Las Vegas, another regular. Tom baited a sardine on 80-pound Momoi line, and fished a Penn 50SW reel altered by Cofe, on a Calstar 6455XXH rod. The 213.3-pound fish fought for an hour and a half.

Al Scow of Rancho Palos Verdes was second, for a 211-pounder. He used a flying fish under the kite to bait his tuna on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, with Soft Steel Ultra 100-pound line, an Accurate 50SW reel and a Calstar 6460XH rod.

Cal Sheets was third. He had tuna of 209 and 190 pounds, both taken on sardines, an Eagle Claw 7/0 circle hook, 60-pound blue Izorline, a Penn 15KG reel and a Calstar 760M rod. "I kept five tuna and two wahoo," he said. "I don't have to kill my limit to catch it any more."

Edged out of third by only a pound, Arnold Seherpenborg of Agoura Hills bagged a 208-pound yellowfin tuna on a chunk, with a 9/0 Mustad circle hook, with 100-pound Soft Steel Ultra and 130-pound Spectra on a Penn 70 reel and a Calstar 6455XXH rod, after an hour-long tussle.

Women's record-holder Joyce Corrigan of Cerritos and her hubby Don were aboard. Joyce lost a very large fish when it headed for the skiff, some 75 yards away from the boat. Another angler in the skiff was playing a huge tuna, and was straight up and down on it when Joyce's fish roared past and burned off both tuna.

"We had lots of chances at big fish," said skipper Cavanaugh. "Fishing was pretty good."