"We got some good quality fish," Skipper Andy Cates said after he docked Red Rooster III and it's 21 passengers December 20 after a ten-day trip. "We were fishing 60 to 100-pound fish. We had our chances on the big ones and we did a great job."

Norm Fugimoto of Izorline chartered the trip, which garnered four cows.

"We had a great group of guys," said Norm at the H&M Landing Certified Scales. "And the fishing was good. We got a couple toads."

Greg Brooks of Yucaipa landed a 308.8-pound supercow off the kite. The big yellowfin qualified for first place in the jackpot. The kite rig used "Double Trouble" sardines for bait.

"I saw him make a pass on it," remarked Greg. "And then he hit it hard. I winded as hard as I could and as fast as I could. I was lucky to hook him. He probably pulled 300 yards on his first run."

Greg used 7/0 Owner ringed circle hooks, 130-pound Izorline, an Accurate 80 reel and a Calstar XXXH rod.

Butch Frazier of Long Beach has been fishing with Second Skipper Julio Ochoa since Julio was 16. On this trip, Julio hooked up a single sardine on the balloon for his friend; the set-up turned into an hour long fight with a 297.6-pound tuna. The big yellowfin placed second in the jackpot.

"It was the most exciting thing I've ever done in my life," exclaimed Butch. "I also caught a 176-pounder on 80-pound Izorline; I'm proud of that one too."

"An unknown angler caught this fish," said Cates weighing the 252.7-pound third place fish. "He is very unknown and very lucky, and he was playing ???hooky' with his job on this trip. I'll stand in for him in the jackpot."

The Skipper added some long range tips for future anglers. "If you're so anxious to get a bite, and you switch to lighter gear, you're not going to catch a big one. That's the reality of it. If you want to catch big fish, you need to use 130-pound line."