Frank LoPreste docked his Royal Polaris at Fisherman's Landing July 7 after a seven-day trip with 36 anglers to The Ridge, The Rocks and the albacore grounds. The trip was sponsored in part by Ringedhooks.com, with owner Guy MacDonald aboard, as was George Swarburg of Rodknobie.com.

"We got limits of yellowtail," said Frank, "and a lot of yellowfin tuna to over 100 pounds. We released about 20 black sea bass; at one time we had five going that were hooked on the flyline. We also got 132 albacore, six bluefin, and one marlin, released."

"I got a 180-pound black," said Swarburg, " and released it. It swam away good."

Manfred Schiruska of West Hills won the jackpot for a 109-pound tuna, the first yellowfin to beat the century mark of the summer surface fishing season. Like most of the other anglers to take larger tuna from Alijos Rocks on this trip, Manfred's tusker too a sardine on relatively light line; in this case 40-pound.

Schiruska said he baited his sardine on a 3/0 ringed Mutu hook tied to 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound blue Izorline and 80-pound Izor Spectra backing, on an Avet JJX reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.

The fight only went 20 minutes, noted Manfred. "I put my first bait in the water when we got to Alijos," he said, "and got an immediate hookup."

Angel Cruz of San Diego used a half-hour to beat his 58-pound tuna on 25-pound line.

Scott Shilling of Temecula won second place for an 88-pound tuna he got on 40-pound line, and Susan Bergstrom of Sun River, OR won third place for her 64.6-pounder, which gave her a 35-minute tussle.