A five-day trip aboard the Excel with skipper Justin Fleck ended August 13 when Fleck docked at Fisherman's Landing and let his 20 charter anglers off. Tom Thompson was chartermaster.

"We had another great morning of yellowtail fishing," wrote Justin August 11, "but just like yesterday it fell apart midmorning. With plenty of school-sized yellows in the hatch, we spent the afternoon looking for trophies. Though we could see good fish around, they just wouldn't bite. Tomorrow we will be offshore looking for tuna and dorado."

At the scales, Brad Skoglund of Chandler, AZ proved to be the winner, for a 23.2-pound white seabass. He said he caught it with a Salas 6X Jr. jig in scrambled eggs color, tied to 40-pound Big Game line. He fished with a Penn 30 reel and a Seeker six and a half-foot rod.

Steve Gammer of Long Beach won second place for a 23-pound dorado, and Dave Woody of Long Beach won third for a 22.6-pound yellowtail.