Andy Cates brought Red Rooster home from a 15-day trip with 22 anglers, a Catchy Tackle/Pelagic Gear sponsored adventure. Cates said afternoons were best for the tuna.

"We fished six days at the bank," he said, "and the first four were good. We got a lot of wahoo on the last day. There were no sharks and we had beautiful weather all the way home. We also had lots of new anglers, and they pretty much all got their best fish."

Nine of the tuna aboard were cows, over 200 pounds.

Peter Jang, owner of Peter J's Gallery in Newport, won first place for a 243.6-pound tuna he got with a sardine on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook tied to 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Tiagra 30 W reel and a six-foot Calstar rod.

Dylan Malmberg of Encinitas won second place for a 229-pound tuna. He bagged it with a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu on 100-pound Momoi fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra backing on an Avet 30 W reel and a Calstar 7455 XXH rod. The fish put a three and a quarter-hour hurt on Dylan, he said.

Chartermaster Fred Knilans of Catchy Tackle (Sonny Jones was the Pelagic chartermaster) won third place for a 225-pounder. Fred's six-year-old son Justin posed with him at the scales and in the lineup. Knilans baited a flying fish under the kite on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook on 130-pound Momoi and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Penn 70 CVSW reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Art Caballero of Temple City caught a 219.7 and a 213.6-pound tuna. He said he fished sardines on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook, on 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing. He used an Accurate 50 W reel and a Calstar 760 XH rod.

Rich Rose of Manhattan Beach had a 214-pounder.

Bob Michener of Oxnard got a 207 and a 211.9-pound yellowfin.

Woody Woodruff of Torrance found a 206.4-pound tuna with a sardine on a 5/0 Super Mutu ringed hook. He said he fished with 100-pound Blackwater leader and 100-pound Izorline tied to 130-pound Izor Spectra, along with an Accurate 30 reel and a Calstar 655 H rod. He got his fish in 45 minutes.