Not since Steve Loomis had a night for ten 300-pound fish in 1977 has a catch like this one arrived at the San Diego sportfishing docks. Six boats arrived and all of them had 300-pound tuna aboard. "It was a winter night," remembered Loomis at Fisherman's Landing January 5, "and the cows, 300-pounders, were swimming all around us under the lights. It was chaos! Tommy Rothery gaffed one going by that went 326. I don't know how many we got that way. We didn't have all this good gear and bait. We got some on flying fish and some on wads of anchovies."
The first boat in was the American Angler at Pt. Loma Sportfishing, with skipper Sam Patella. A remarkable fish was aboard. Sixteen-year-old Jake Abate of Charleston, SC took a handoff and then fought the 360-pound fish to gaff. He plays football and soccer at West Ashley High in Charleston, and fished with his father John.There were four tuna over 300 pounds on the Angler. Jake's was weighed at 375 on the boat, but on the dock scales it went 360. It wasn't eligible for the jackpot because of the handoff. Jake said he fished a mackerel on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 100-pound Blackwater Spectra on an Accurate 30 reel and a Calstar 7465 M rod he borrowed from Nacho Camarena. Jack Nilsen was present and remarked it was the best fish yet on an Accurate reel."He boiled on the bait," said Jake, "and two seconds later he ran forever, with all of my line. He went around the boat three times and came up on the bow. I had 42 pounds of drag. I credit Roy Lopez. I couldn't have done it without him."Rick Okuni of Walnut Grove had a tuna that weighed 368 on the boat. It wasn't weighed again on the dock, nor was the rest of the catch. He got this one with a squid on an unknown hook under the kite and the boat's rig: 130-pound Izor fluorocarbon, 130-pound Izorline, and Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.Chris Cruger of San Diego won first place for his 347-pounder. He baited a squid on a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook, and fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Fuschia Tiagra 50 by Coffeen and a Super Seeker 66463 XXXXH rod by Pounder 242."I got him in 12 minutes," said Chris. "It was in a gray bite. My best before was 245 pounds.Ted Cramer of Mission Viejo won second place for a 301-pounder. He fished a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, tied to 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound unknown brand Spectra on a Tiagra 30 modified by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 7465 M rod. "It was two hours," he said of the fight. "He ran out, he ran around the boat twice, and came up on the bow. My best before was 140 pounds."Eytan Rosenberg of LA won third place for a 266-pound tuna. He bagged it with a mackerel on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook on 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline. He used an Avet 30 reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6463 XXH rod during the two-hour fight. Bill Kuehl of Poway took an hour to deck a 290-pound yellowfin that bit his sardine on a 6/0 Eagle Claw hoo on 130-pound Jin Kai and 130-pound Tuff Line Spectra. He fished with a Tiagra 50 LRS reel and a Shimano Talus 60 H rod. Nacho Camarena of Oceanside had a 40-minute tuna that weighed 262 on the boat. He baited a mackerel on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 100-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 30 reel and a Calstar 7465 H rod."He had my nerves on edge the whole time," Nacho said of his first cow. "He got it all but 100 yards before I put the hammer down, then he took me around the boat two times."Calstar rep Gary Gillingham of Duarte took home a 256-pounder that erred by slurping his mackerel on an 8/0 Owner Offshore hook. He used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra with an Accurate 50 W reel and a Calstar (naturally) 6465 XXH rod. John Haskin of Lemon Grove got a 246-pounder. He said it took an hour, after the tuna bit a sardine on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu on 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 50 VSX reel and a Calstar 6465 XH rod. Les Stark of Anaheim had a 246-pound tuna that found his sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu. He used 100-pound Izorline and 1`30-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XH rod, and did the job in 30 minutes.335-pound Supercow for Long Range Veteran,

By Paul Sweeney