Tim Ekstrom docked his Royal Star at Fisherman's Landing December 22 with a wonderful catch of 33 cows, including four supercows. The trip was a 13-day Accurate-Bart Ryder expedition with a flyback option for those who wanted to come home after ten days of fishing. There were 13 anglers aboard, and each of them got at least one cow.

The trip's whopper was a 364-pounder caught by Rob McAdam of San Francisco, after a fight of an hour and a half. It bit on a chunk hiding a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook. He used 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a 6465 XXH rod. Rob wasn't at the landing, having flown home from Cabo. He won first place.

John Santaella of Santa Maria bagged the fish he's been looking for after many years, a 312-pound yellowfin that sucked up his sardine on a 9/0 Eagle Claw and then spooled him, requiring a backup. He got all that line, too, and then expired and sank after about an hour.

Some four hours later Ekstrom was able to move the boat from its anchorage, and Santaella's tuna, still on the line out there on the bottom, was slowly and carefully raised to the surface. John also had a tuna of 204 pounds.

Stas Velonakis of Torrance bagged the final 300-pounder after a tussle of an hour. He fished a sardine on a 5/0 Gorilla ringed hook, tied to 100-pound Izorline and 100-pound Izor Spectra on a small Accurate 12 reel and a Calstar 670 XH rod. Stas also had tuna of 221 and 208 pounds.

Jeff Burroughs of Long Beach, a former major league baseball all-star, also got a whopper of 295 pounds.

"He fought me on the bow for an hour and 20 minutes," said Jeff, "around the anchor line. He was a big bulldog."

Jeff said he fished a sardine on a 6/0 Gorilla ringed hook tied to 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 12 reel and a Calstar 7465 H rod.

Gary Nishi of Glendale popped four cows, at 277, 254, 248 and 246 pounds. He flylined sardines on 6/0 Gorilla hooks. He said he fished with 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One Spectra, an Accurate 30 reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.