"We fished offshore for a day," said Red Rooster III skipper Joe D'Acquisto July 2 at H&M Landing. "Then we spent four and a half days at Alijos Rocks. We got some real nice tuna and had a good scratch on yellowtail, for near-limits."

Tuna were fewer in number than the yellowtail, but they were of excellent quality, with more than a dozen over 90 pounds and four yellowfin were over 100 pounds. Two dorado were also caught. The eight-day trip with 25 anglers and chartermaster Michael McVey produced most of the big tuna on squid under the kite.

Cam Taylor of Brooks, Alberta won first place for a 106.2-pound tuna. The fish took a kite-fished squid on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook on one of the boat's Super Seeker kite rigs. Cam said the fish fought him for 45 minutes.

"It's my best tuna," he told dock reporter Bill Roecker. "The action was heavy on the kite."

Dean Kopchok of Huntington Beach, 15, goes to Marina High. He's a surfer, and Dean won second place for his 105-pound tuna. He took it on a flylined squid and 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, after an hour-long fight.

Archie Irion of Escondido was third for a 101-pounder he got with a Yummee Flyer under a balloon, in just 10 minutes on an eight-foot rod and an Accurate 12 reel.

Long-time Rooster regular Tom Reynolds of Torrance won a Red Rooster III jacket (ordinarily the trolling prize) for his fourth-place 100.4-pound yellowfin. Tom has fished long range since the 60's, and he wanted to praise his Accurate BX-2 600 reel. He stood in with the lineup shot, as did Mark Payne of Poway, who got a 49.6-pound yellowtail with a 'dine on 40-pound gear.

The Rooster left again the same day, on "Coach" Cliff Clark's Beefer 12 eight-day trip in remembrance of much-loved chef Jorge Nicifore. Coach had special sublimated design T-shirts made by Santee artist Trevor Dawson, and the original art will go to Jorge's daughter Dr. Christina Nicifore.