Those big tuna are off Mag Bay these days, noted Shogun second skipper Bruce Smith while weighing tuna on the certified scales at Fisherman's Landing February 8. He was just back from a 16-day trip with owner-skipper Norm Kagawa.

"There's very good sign of 300-pounders there," he said to dock reporter Bill Roecker.

There were nine cows, or tuna over 200 pounds, in the catch, along with a sprinkling of wahoo. One of the skinnies caught by Dave Shoemaker of Riverside was so small the anglers called it a "WeeHoo," and Shoemaker posed with the barracuda-sized nipper, which mistook a black and purple Marauder for something good to eat.

Dr. Bob Thayer, a veterinarian from Nuevo, got a rare first and third sweep of the jackpots for his brace of big yellowfin weighing 261.2 and 249.8 pounds. "I got the big one on the slide," he said. "He went straight down for 50 yards, so I went to the rail and used tight drags to get him up in 15 minutes.

"The other fish was mean," continued Thayer. He took off 400 yards twice, and fought for about 40 minutes."

Thayer fished sardines on 9/0 Gamakatsu hooks, with a 130-pound Basil topshot and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 50 reel modified by Cal Sheets and a Versado rod he wrapped himself.

Mike Grant of Temecula was second, for a 256-pound tuna he bagged with a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on an Avet 30 W reel and a six and a half-foot Versado rod. The fight went 45 minutes.

Dennis Groat of Redondo Beach caught a 233-pounder on a salami mackerel pinned to a 10/0 ringed Super Mutu. He said he fished with a topshot of Blackwater 100-pound fluorocarbon and 100-pound P-Line on and Accurate ATD 50 reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6463 XXH rod.

Howard Hamilton of Temecula caught a 224-pounder on a sardine and a 7/0 Gamakatu hook tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra. He fished with an Avet 50 reel and a six and a half-foot Versado rod, and beat the fish in 30 minutes.

Dave Stewart of Anaheim took a 222-pound tuna with a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu. He said he fished with 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 130-pound Line One Spectra, an Accurate 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod. He got his best fish ever in 45 minutes.

Brian Hawkins of Canyon Lake got his best fish, a 214-pounder, on a mackerel and a 7/0 Gamakatsu hook. He used 100-pound Izorline and 80-poundSpectra with an Avett 50 reel and a Versado six-foot rod.

Long-time long ranger Bruce Chisholm of Temecula used a mackerel on a 7/0 Gamakatsu hook tied to 130-pound fluorocarbon and 130-pound Spectra on a Penn 50 W reel and a Sabre 655 XXH rod to catch a 211-pound tuna.

"I ran out of gas," said Bruce. "They taught me how to use the rail, and I got him in a half-hour."

Paul Corbett of Alamo got a huge jig fish, a 202-pounder, on a Tady 16 jig in blue and chrome. He said he used Soft Steel Ultra 130-pound line and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Avet 50 SDS reel and a Black Steel Seeker 6463 XXXH rod with an acid wrap by Minrods.

"He bit real deep," said Corbett, "around 300 or 400 feet. They said to wind ???em up, and I tried, but the line came tight and real heavy."

Shogun is in port, doing boat work for the next few weeks.