Norm Kagawa brought his Shogun home from Alijos Rocks and the Baja coast April 3. The 23 anglers aboard had been on an eight-day open-party trip that found some big yellowtail and grouper, along with other bottom fish like rockfish. One of the grouper was a possible all-tackle IGFA record.Norm Kagawa brought his Shogun home from Alijos Rocks and the Baja coast April 3. The 23 anglers aboard had been on an eight-day open-party trip that found some big yellowtail and grouper, along with other bottom fish like rockfish. One of the grouper was a possible all-tackle IGFA record.

"It was all bottom fishing," said skipper Norm, "with nothing on the flyline. We didn't see any tuna at The Rocks, not even a boil. The water there was 63 degrees, pretty cool. There was bird life around, though. We got two big yellows there, and the grouper on the bottom."

Yellowtail fishing was good on the 13 Spot, said Kagawa, but Cedros Island was tough, with a couple more premium yellows there and three large halibut.

Jeff Hauser of Corona got the big olive grouper on a sardine and a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to100-pound Izorline and 130-pound spectra. He used a TLD 50 reel on a five and a half-foot Seeker rod to reel it in after a 15-minute scrap. The fish weighed 53.4 pound on the certified scales at Fisherman's Landing, and Hauser said he would submit it for a record. The current record is listed as a 52-pound, nine-ounce olive grouper caught by Anthony Crawford at Alijos Rocks in June of 2002.

Bruce Takasaki of Hanford won first place for a 44.4-pound yellowtail. He said it bit on a sardine and a dropper loop. He used a 4/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook, 40-pound Izorline and a 16-ounce sinker. He fished with an Avet reel and a seven-foot Seeker rod to whip his prize in 10 minutes.

Mike Brusch of Oakdale won second place for a 38.4-pound yellowtail. His brother Erick of Waterford won third place for a 36.8-pound yellow.

Rounding out the lineup shot, Nate Evans posed with his 32-pound halibut. He got it with a sardine on a reverse dropper. He used a 4/0 ringed Owner Gorilla hook tied to 40-pound C2XX blue P-Line and 65-pound Power Pro spectra on an Avet SX Raptor reel and a Calstar 870 C rod.

Jerry Talbot of El Sobrante had a halibut nearly as large as Evans.