Gary White chartermastered the 32-man Let's Talk Hookup trip to Alijos Rocks aboard Excel that returned September 24.Hoo A good portion of the anglers, 19 of them, were from the Chicago area, he said.

Justin Fleck skippered the expedition, a six-day "flyer" to The Rocks. An oddity of the trip was the taking of a deformed (from birth, apparently) yellowtail, curved like a ribbon in the breeze.

"The Rocks took care of us again," said skipper Fleck. "Once again the long run to the rocks has paid off for us," he wrote September 20. "As soon as we got the anchor down the tuna were biting. It wasn't wide open but just nice and steady with three to ten fish hanging all day. There were also a few wahoo and yellows mixed in to keep it interesting. We are going to stay the night and try to finish off our quota before working or way up the line. The weather down here is nice."

Bert Suarez of Chicago won first place for a 68-pound yellowfin he bagged with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Gorilla hook, 50-pound Jin Kai line and 65-pound Power Pro Spectra backing. He used a Newell 546 reel and a Calstar 6465 rod.

Dave Ascher of Wayne IL won second place for his 58-pounder, and Kevin Massard of Bartlett, IL won third place for a 55.2-pound yellowtail.