"We had a great group of mixed anglers," said chartermaster Steve Carson after his seven-day Penn trip aboard the Excel returned to Fisherman's Landing June 14. "Some were vets and some were beginners. The surface iron was good on the 23 Spot. On the bluefin, bait selection was key."

Skipper Mike Ramirez said, "We tried the bluefin on the way down in sloppy conditions. We got four albacore of 18 to 25 pounds. We spent a day and a half on The Ridge and then went back up to the bluefin area about 250 miles down. There's no edge there, but there's some bait and plenty of life. You try a few schools and the right one reacts and you're in business. We ended up with near-limits of yellowtail and 60-some bluefin for the one day."

Brad Merritt of Woodland Hills, UT won first place for a 49.8-pound tuna. Brad charters the boat twice a year, and has since 1996, but this time he was a passenger, in the right place. He said he got his winner with a sardine on a 3/0 Eagle Claw circle hook. He used 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon, 40-pound Big Game line, a Penn 555 reel and a Calstar 970 rod he wrapped himself to do the job.

Tommy Holtzman of Carmichael won second place for a 36.1-pound bluefin and John Haugland of Huntington Beach tied him with another from the same cookie cutter.