Coming in December 23, the Royal Polaris finished up a 15-day Izorline trip with skipper Roy Rose in grand style, as 15 tuna over 200 pounds were weighed. It was the last long trip of 2007.

One tuna went 301 pounds, caught by Dane S. Shota of Huntington Beach, who was on his second long range trip. Dane, whose best tuna before was 88 pounds, also had two other big fish on this trip, at 288.8 and 285 pounds. He won first and third places in the jackpot.

"He was unconscious," said one of the anglers aboard. "He just dropped in a bait and the big one was on!"

"He bit off the stern," said Dane. "He ran out with half my Spectra, and then he fought me mostly from the stern, but he took me around the boat three times. Two and a half hours later, he came up on the stern. I'll keep these big fish and cut and can them for my family and friends."

Dane fished with sardines and 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Izorline on a Penn 30 W reel modified by Cal Sheets, and a Calstar 7455 XH rod. The monster whipped up on him for two hours and 25 minutes.

"That big fish hurt me so much on that rod that I went to an XXH for the next one," said Dane." That worked better; a lot better."

Howard Hada was the chartermaster, and produced the second-best fish for his effort. He got a 297-pounder, a 234.5 and a 205-pound tuna.

"It was a great trip," said Howard. "I fished with sardine baits on 6/0 ringed Super Mutus. I tied on 130-pound Izor fluorocarbon, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra. I used a Penn 50 reel by Cal Sheets and a 7460 H rod. The big one fought for a little over an hour."

Roger Hawtree bagged a 289-pound tuna. No other information was available.

Stan Bonillas of Newport Beach got a 272.8-pounder on a mackerel sunk with six ounces of lead. He baited a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu on 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Baker/Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 765 H rod. The fish fought for two hours.

Neil Campbell of Fallbrook took 30 minutes to subdue a 261.4-pounder. It bit a sardine on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu on 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader tied to 130-pound Line One Spectra o n a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod.

George Outhwaite of Santa Ana was skin-tight to Campbell with a 261.3-pounder. He said it came on a sardine on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu. He used 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Izorline tied to 130-pound Line One Spectra, with a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod to do the job in 40 minutes. He also got a 222.4-pound tuna.

Keith Patterson of Santa Fe Springs got a 238.3-pound tuna after an hour-long fight. The fish ate a sardine on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound izor Spectra on a Penn 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXH rod.

Mike Stout of Huntington Beach took a 234-pounder, a good feat, but he was much more proud of the 182-pounder he bagged with a nine and a half-foot Seeker Ulua rod.

"It was incredible," he said. "I used a sardine for bait. It took an hour and 15 minutes. The long rod works a lot better than you'd think."

Dick Freeman of Seal Beach caught a 210-pound yellowfin on a sardine and a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, with 130-pound Line One Spectra and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod.

Maury Newton of Orange found a 202.4-pound tuna with a sarine on a 3/0 Gorilla hook tied to 80-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 80-pound Line One Spectra. He used an Avet 4/0 reel and a Calstar 6460 H rod.

Skipper Steve Loomis watched the weigh-in scene. "You notice most of these fish now are coming on sardines," he pointed out. "If it's scratchy tuna fishing, you can't beat a sardine for bait. Mackerel and squid are just fine sometimes, but when there's a lot of small bait in the water the sardines are usually best."

The fleet is in port for Christmas, wishing happy holidays for all.