Seven is lucky. That's how many 200-pound tuna came home with skipper Mike Keating November 19, and they all had stories to go with them. One was more exciting than most, though. Keating told dock reporter Bill Roecker that rough conditions on the Hurricane Bank had the current running straight into the wind, putting most anglers on the bow. That's where Pete Fallini, pictured above of Santa Paula was, fighting a big tuna, when he slipped and fell on his back, still holding his rod by the handle, with 25 pounds of drag on the reel. Keating grabbed the rig before it could be ripped over the side, and a moment later Fallini was back on his feet, winning the battle. Pete got two cows and a huge wahoo on the trip.

Keating docked his Spirit of Adventure at H&M Landing and weighed his catch after the 13-day Big Jim Boyle charter with 21 anglers. Jig maker Matt Salas was among them, and he commented that not many of the wahoo in the catch came on jigs, excepting the trolled lures. "We went to the Hurricane Bank," said Big Jim, "and the current was mixed up. We got about 58 bigger tuna. I got a big wahoo on a purple and black Braid Bomb."

Tony O'Connell of Santa Monica won first place for a toady 253-pound yellowfin that sucked up his sardine on a 5/0 Mustad Demon hook tied to 100-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon. He said he fished with 100-pound Line One spectra on a Makira 20 reel and a self-wrapped Super Seeker 2 X 4 rod. "He went under the boat and got 400 yards off me," said Tony. "He's my best fish ever. It took about an hour and 15 minutes."

Dale Prichard of Redondo Beach won second place for a 244-pounder. He said it took a chunk on a 10/0 Owner ringed Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Soft Steel fluorocarbon. He fished with 130-pound Line One spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 2 X 4 rod.

The storied Pete Fallini of Santa Paula won third place for his larger cow, a 239-pounder that gave him an hour and 15-minute tussle. He also had one at 217 pounds. He baited chunks on a pre-rigged Basil topshot of 130-pound fluorocarbon, and used 130-pound Line One spectra on a Penn 50 SW reel modified by Cal Sheets on a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

Jim Yokota of Gardena produced a 215-pounder with a sardine on a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook on 100-pound Soft Steel fluorocarbon. He used 100-pound Soft Steel ultra on an Avet HX reel and a Phenix HX seven-foot rod.

Noe E. Lopez of LA only needed 20 minutes to deck his 205.8-pound tuna. It ate a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon. He employed 130-pound Linen One spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Seeker 2 X 4 custom rod by J-Lo.

Stan Kosinski of Bettendord, IA found a 202-pounder with a chunk on a 6/0 Mustad Demon hook tied to 90-pound Seaguar Premier and 130-pound Line One spectra. He fished with an Avet 30 reel and a Calstar 765 H rod.

The trip was the last one of this season for the Spirit, said Keating.