"Once the crew rearranged the fish last night," said the report from Royal Polaris May 9, "it appeared we could fit two more of the larger models in the remaining space before departing at noon for Cabo. We did just that adding two more 200's to the boat total of 31 tuna over 200 pounds. Mike Hieshima (me) caught his third over 200 early in the morning at 206 and Roy caught a 204-pounder. Let me tell the story of Roy's fish...

"Earlier in the morning, Bill Nakaki and a few of us devised a fishing tourney for the crew. The basic rules were simple, we would give the entire crew 30 minutes to catch the largest fish while worked the deck. At exactly 10 a.m. we called the crew (including Bill Golder and John Yamate designated anglers for Anthony and James) to the back of the boat and asked them to choose a rod and reel. Surprisingly, almost all of them chose 100-pound outfits except Roy stuck with the 130 Blackwater and 8/0 circle hook (instead of 130-pound covered in the seminar). In addition, most chose 5/0 hooks instead of the requested 6/0s. Just before the start, we added a little twist and cut off all of their hooks adding a bit of pressure and testing their knot tying skill. Once the buzzer sounded, Ron Jew and John Natsume each sent a full scoop of bait flying and the wahoo were quick to react. It took about a minute to get a hook and bait. Talk about rude, they were pushing, shoving and stealing bait from each other.

"Speaking of bait, the importance of selection (also covered in the seminar) was pretty much out the window, 3 of them hooked salami mackerel onto 6/0 hooks (another no-no). The first volley of casts were hysterical with no "low bridge", "going out" or other pleasantries. During the first round, all contestants received an accidental spray down (payback gentlemen). It was like a spider web of spectra with casts flying in every direction. There was no "following of baits" (tsk, tsk) and every bait was picked or wahoo'd immediately with a 3-way tangle in the corner.

"The result of the first few minute, 0 fish and 1 tangle. From there the crew settled in and started hooking fish with Eddie hooking a wahoo and running to the bow. The back was bedlam with fish darting every which way and half the guys getting picked again. There was no calm in this storm as they had the fever as bad as any 3/4 day boat reaching the albacore grounds. From this point, it got a bit blurry as guys were crossing lines, wahoo ripping thru the corner and scoops of baiting being crushed right on the stern. By the halfway mark, there were 6 wahoo on board with Big D in the lead.

"That's when the Tuna decided to show. John Yamate hooked one and was blocked from passing around the corner by Dharyl, Terrence and his son. He squeezed by finally as the fish was 3/4 up the starboard side of the boat. His fish came to gaff and was a 75-pounder taking the lead over Big D's nice wahoo. Just as John's came aboard, a couple nice tuna showed up and were inhaling everything that hit the water. By now, there were only a few minutes remaining to officially hook a fish. Bill Golder did just that and went screaming up the port side.

"A minute remaining and Roy hooked the big one letting everyone know in his giggling Roy voice saying 'just hooked the big one, yeah.'. A minute remaining with Bill and Roy hooked up and not following their fish. One last bait and just after the buzzer, Terrence hooks a nice one but was disqualified. Big D reached over his shoulder and flipped the reel into free-spool hoping to saw off Captain Roy's fish.

"The deck hose was used to distract Roy but as he was being hosed down, all he could say was 'It's working, it's working'. A few minutes later Roy's was gaffed by first timers Cliff & Ted from Arizona along with a third gaff as backup by Sue Beck. The gate was pulled and the gaffing team slid aboard the 204-pounder. In 30 minutes of fishing, the crew landed 6 wahoo and 3 tuna with one over 200. Pretty impressive if you ask me. The event was captured on video and Big D intends to put it on You Tube next week."