"We never knew what it was," said Red Rooster III jackpot winner Steve Morse at H&M Landing February 4, "until we could see it, swimming with its dorsal fin out of the water, back and forth across the stern. Thanks to the crew, I got my first big fish, at the Hurricane Bank."

Fishing with the kite, Morse used a squid on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 80 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.

The trip was sponsored by Accurate and Seeker. Morse fished with skipper John Grabowski and 17 other anglers, and Grabowski used most of his 15-day trip to test the waters on the outside.

Regular long ranger Wayne Prescott of Alta Loma won second place for a 240.9-pounder that crashed on another squid under the kite. Wayne said he used a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 80 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.

"It only took about 35 minutes," he remarked. "With these big reels, the cows don't last long. They kill ???em dead."

Bill Brandstetter of Mission Viejo won third place for a 210-pounder. He fished a sardine on a 3/0 Gorilla hook, with 90-pound Seagura fluorocarbon leader tied to 100-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Tiagra 30 reel and a Calstar Boomer Jr. rod.

"It was a lot easier than the 174-pounder I got on 60-pound line," said Bill. That one took three hours. This one was a 45-minute fish."