Some gigantic yellowtail arrived on the American Angler June 12 when skipper Brian Kiyohara docked the boat at Pt. Loma Sportfishing after an eight-day Catchy Tackle charter with 20 fishermen aboard. There was also a 100-pound tuna in the catch from Alijos Rocks.

"It was really nice to find 49 albacore on the way home," said co-chartermaster John Grindley to dock reporter Bill Roecker.

"We all need to see those guys come up this way. We could see Guadalupe Island in the distance where we caught ???em, about 200 miles down. The skipper saw two schools that looked good, the rest of the fish were scattered.

"The highlight was those monster yellowtail at Alijos Rocks," continued Grindley. We had a really good yellowfin bite, and the yellowtail were so thick that I released about 30 of them.

"It was a mixed bite on the flyline, with a few fish coming on the surface iron. When we got to the South End at Cedros Island the yellowtail were loaded up there, too, but we didn't need those 15 top 18-pounders."

Mondo Castro of Valencia won the jackpot for his 104.4-pound yellowfin tuna, a fish he said, "?Ķkicked my butt, during the best action ever at Alijos."

He said he baited a sardine on a 4/0 Mustad hook. He fished with 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound Izorline and 65-pound Power Pro Spectra on an Avet JX reel and a Calstar 765 XL rod. He fought the beast for 30 minutes.

Bob Brozovic of Canton, OH won second place for the 2008-09 season's best yellowtail yet, a 79.2-pound slug that sucked in a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad J hook. He fished with 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 40-pound Izorline and 65-pound Izor Spectra on an Avet HX-2 reel and a Super Seeker 70 XH rod.

Bob posed for a nice shot of his huge Alijos mossback, with a little help from his wife Lora.

Paul Yarnold of San Diego took another slug yellowtail on a sardine. Yarnold's tackle on his 77.6-pound yellowtail: 2/0 Flyliner hook, 35-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound P-Line and 50-pound Line One Spectra, Accurate 270 two-speed reel and a Calstar 700 H rod. Time of the fight was 25 minutes.

All three of the biggest yellowtail came on 40-pound line. Rick Sikes of Highland got a 65.8-pounder.

This year has seen one of the best starts ever for fishing on trips of four days or more, with good bites at Alijos Rocks, Cedros and the San Benitos islands. Halibut fishing has also been very good, and also has been excellent locally for anglers fishing aboard the Pt. Loma on ?? day trips, with Captain Ron Baker targeting the species.

"Get off the dock," advised skipper Kiyohara to all the anglers holding back on trips. "The fish are there; let's go catch ???em."