"We held our own out there and we found some good quality fish," Red Rooster III Skipper Julio Ochoa said after returning 15 anglers to H&M Landing January 4. The New Year Special nine-day charter returned two cows; yellowfin tuna over 200 pounds.

The top fish, a 274-pound tuna, went to Robert Dreessen of Buena Park, CA. Robert fished a sardine on a 6/0 Owner Super Mutu hook with a 130-pound Izorline wind-on leader, a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 755 XXH rod.

"He's my biggest fish ever," said Robert. "This was my first trip longer than five days, and I loved it. There was no stress and very few tangles. I'm already signed up and ready for my 15-day next year."

Ray Maestro of Wilmington, CA took second for a 190-pound yellowfin that fought him for an hour and a half. "Everyday got better and better," he said.

Third place went to Jeff Steinhardt, of La Jolla with a 157.2-pound tuna. "The trip started off slow," said Jeff. "But it picked up to the point where there were cows boiling and jumping off the stern. We had a great crew with great food. We were treated very well."

Honorable mention went to Chris Stavaridis of Venice for a 240-pound kite fish. Chris's kite rig fished a sardine on a 8/0 Owner hook, 130-pound Izorline with 130-pound Jerry Brown Spectra, a Cal-Baker Penn 80 narrow custom reel and a Calstar 7465 rod.

"The ride down had some high seas," said Chris who posed at the scales with his girlfriend Allison Shuman. "But then it was like sheets of glass the rest of the way. I'm disappointed the trip ended!"