Joe Crisci brought Qualifier 105 home to Pt. Loma Sportfishing October 24 after the first trip of the new big fish season to the Hurricane Bank. His 23 anglers on the Rusty Hook Charter (owner Alex Masumoto was chartermaster) bagged 21 cows, or tuna over 200 pounds. They caught so many tuna the boat left the bank two days early (the trip was scheduled for 15 days) with the fish holds filled. A stop at Cedros Island on the way up provided just enough yellowtail to fill the spaces between the cows.

"Awesome," said Crisci at the dock. "It was everything we dreamt it could be, and more. Sometimes every fish hanging was big. The weather was good the whole trip. The water on the bank was 79.5 degrees.

"There was some bait there, but we only fished the three days during the daylight. Everybody recovered at night. We had plenty of bait. We stopped fishing with the kite because we ran out of manpower.

"The best current for us was running southwest. There were times," remembered the skipper, "when you'd look back behind the boat and it looked like we were in gear, from all the swirls behind us."

Dan Sunderland of San Marcos won first place for a 255.9-pound yellowfin.

"I had to yell for the backup rod," said Dan, "after he got me down to 25 wraps or so. He beat me up for three and a half hours. He went around the boat seven times."

Sunderland said he fished a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing. He fished with a Qualia 30 reel that he won on the trip, and a Fenwick six-foot rod.

Jim Bailey of Lemon Grove won second place for a 247-pounder that fought him for an hour and a half. He plopped a chunk in the tuna-infested water on a 16/0 Eagle Claw hook, and used 130-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Berkley Spectra on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6463 XXXH rod.

Terry Hite of Solvang got a 218 and a 224.1-pounder, and the bigger fish won third place. He said he fished a sardine on a 9/0 Super Mutu ringed hook. He fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Hot on Hite's heels came Phil Lisi of Costa Mesa, with a 224.1-pound tuna, and a 216. He said he fished a chunk on a 9/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 130-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing, on an Accurate 50 W reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

John Comerford had a 217 and a 223-pounder. He baited sardines on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Big Game line with 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 50 W reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6463 XXXH rod.

Robert Rubalcaba of Pt. Loma caught a 218-pounder with a chunk on a 12/0 Mustad hook tied to 130-pound Soft Steel Ultra line, a Penn 50 VSX reel modified by Ken's Custom Reels in Oceanside, and a Calstar 760 XH rod.

Mike Spagnola of Staten Island had a 201 and a 215-pounder. He used a sardine on an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook, with 130-pound Big Game line on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Gerald Yoshida of San Pedro bagged a 214 and a 211-pound tuna on sardines. He fished with 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks on 130-pound Yo-Zuri line and 130-pound Izorline Spectrra backing on a Penn 50 W reel and a Calstar 655 XXH rod.

Wes Cerny of Fallbrook whipped a pair at 211 and 214 pounds. Sardines did the trick, on 8/0 Eagle Claw hooks. He said he fished with 130-pound Yo-Zuri line and 130-pound Berkley Spectra on a Penn 50 VSX reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

Bill Hale of Thousand Oaks found a 209 and a 213-pound tuna. Sardines were his preferred bait, on 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks. He fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 50 W reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

Bruce Sogioka of Fullerton found a 206-pound yellowfin with a chunk on an 8/0 Hayabusa hook he tied to 130-pound Soft Steel line on a Penn 70 reel and a Calstar 655 XH rod, and finished the job in a half-hour.

Chartermaster Alex Masumoto hauled in a 205.9-pounder on a 12/0 Mustad 39965 hook baited with a sardine. He used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader, 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing on a Shimano TTS 50 reel and a Calstar 7460 XH rod.

Steven Smith of Sierra Vista brought in a 201 and a 205-pounder. He fished with sardines and 8/0 Eagle Claw hooks. He used 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Tuff Line Spectra on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.