Two trips for two successive record fish; not bad for a guy who just spent 46 straight days on the water. The guy would be Excel skipper Justin Fleck, who found himself in position to spare his anglers a night of heavy winds by slipping into port early. "We got in at dinnertime last night," he told dock reporter Bill Roecker December 19 about six a.m. "Did you see any of that windy weather that's delaying the boats?" I asked. "Just outside Point Loma," he replied. "They got a taste of it."

Fleck returned his 32 anglers to Fisherman's Landing early next morning after spending the night at rest in the harbor. The trip was a Melton's Tackle trip with Brandon Giovanetti as chartermaster. "We had a wonderful trip for yellowfin tuna," he continued, "yellowtail, dorado and other species. We tried The Ridge, which had the best fishing, and the Lower Banks, where we got some excellent dorado fishing. And we have this big goldspotted sand bass. The guys said it weighed 11 pounds on a hand scales." Fleck hung the bass, and the certified scales read 11 pounds even. It was the third or fourth world record (only the all-tackle version is recorded) goldspotted sand bass I've seen weighed. The current record is 10 pounds, four ounces, as listed in the 2012 IGFA record book, caught by Dan Cash at Thetis Bank in 2006.

This one was caught by Jerry Pederson of Riverside, fishing for something a lot bigger. The 11-pounder came on a sardine and a Department of Fish & Game Regulations6/0 Owner Gorilla hook, tied to 100-pound Izorline, 130-pound Line One spectra a Penn 30 W reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod. I asked Jerry if he would apply for the IGFA record. He said he didn't think so. Whether he does apply or not, it's the biggest goldspotted sand bass ever.

Neil Peters of Long Beach was entertained for an hour and a half by a 78.8-pound yellowfin tuna, after he hooked it on a sardine and a 4/0 Eagle Claw hook on 50-pound Ande line and 65-pound Power Pro spectra. He fished with a Penn 10 KG reel and a Calstar 700 H rod, and won first place for his effort.

Kathy McCassrey of Medford NJ won second place for her 75.8-pound yellowfin. Mike Williams of Northridge won third place for a 68.8-pound tuna. There was one more remarkable catch made on the Excel's trip. Mike Hubbard of Corona hooked a 77-pound wahoo at three a.m., after squid-making was finished and everyone else went to bed. "I went upstairs and looked at the meter and saw some marks," he said, "So I went back down and dropped in with a sardine and a 16-ounce torpedo sinker rubber-banded on. I thought I'd get a tuna, maybe."

Hubbard's biter was a huge skinny that bit about 150 feet down. Excel is in for Christmas, and skipper Fleck will get some good time off with his family. The boat's next trip is a sold-out, 10-day venture sponsored by Fisherman's Warehouse, leaving December 26.