Kissing The Century Mark

Brent Blair of Delhi took the best tuna aboard Intrepid on the six-day trip that arrived October 3 with 26 passengers. Blair's yellowfin weighed in at 99.6 pounds.

"My best fish so far," noted Brent at Pt. Loma Sportfishing. He added that the bite came about 250 yards out on a long soak. Blair said he fished with a sardine on a ringed Mutu hook he tied to 40-pound Izorline and 80-pound Line One Spectra backing. He fished with an Avet LX reel and a Seeker 655 XH Black Steel rod, and brought his tuna to gaff in 45 minutes. Kevin Osborne skippered the trip. "We had scratch fishing," he said. "We had a complete turnaround on the fourth day, when they bit good." On October 2, he wrote, "Persistence pays off. We stuck it out and the fish rewarded us for our efforts. After two full days of slow fishing we were able to get on a school that wanted to chew. The fish came up with a vengeance and we were able to put together a nice day of Yellowfin fishing. The fish were in 60-100 lb range and really put the guys to the rail. We were happy to have a good ending for Guadalupe season. The rest of the fall will be down south on the long runs. With the season we put together we are very grateful to be able to fish such a wonderful island." Phil Bonacher of San Diego won second place for a 96.4-pounder, and Todd Cohen of Canyon Country took third place for a 94.5-pound yellowfin.