On a showery morning, Roy Rose docked Frank LoPreste's Royal Polaris at Fisherman's Landing February 7, 2009. There were 18 anglers on the 17-day trip.

"We would like to thank Blackwater," Roy wrote on the boat's web site, "for the fluorocarbon, t-shirts, and hats. We would like to give special thanks to Cal Sheets for the discount coupons, Jerry Brown for the Line One Spectra t-shirts. We would like to also thank Jerry Brown for his question and answer section on Spectra.

"?Ķduring this trip we went over the century mark on 200-pound-plus Yellowfin. Since the big fish season started we have landed over 100 Yellowfin tuna above the 200-pound mark. We ended this trip with another 16 over 200 pounds, and with good signs of large Yellowfin on the beach, the crew is looking forward to next trip."

Roy noted that all anglers aboard fished with Line One Spectra. Company owner Jerry Brown was aboard, and commented the weather on this trip was the best he'd ever seen.

Frank Harbin won the jackpot's top spot for a 227.6-pound tuna. No stranger to lineup shots, Frank got his tuna with a sardine on a 7/0 Super Mutu hook. He fished with 130-pound Momoi fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 50 S reel and a Calstar 7465 H rod. He also got two more cows on sardines dangled from the kite. Those fish weighed in at 211 and 213 pounds. All weights are from the boat's scales.

"Big Daddy" Don Burnside won second place for a 223-pounder that bit his sardine on a 7/0 Super Mutu. He fished with the new 100-pound Line One hollow Spectra.

"You can put a lot more line on the reel," said Don. "It's smaller than the old 80-pound stuff. I got 250 yards more line on than I could with 130-pound."

Don fished with 130-pound Momoi leader and an Avet T-Res 50 reel on a Calstar 7465 H rod. He also had a 202-pounder.

Dan Gaudy won third place for a 208-pound fish.

"Everything came on the long soak this trip," said Don. "There were so many tangles we called them, "making sweaters."

Dan got his tuna on a sardine and a 6/0 Super Mutu. He fished with 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line one Spectra on a Baker-framed Penn 50 reel doctored by Cal Sheets.

Joe Amagrande of Monrovia got a whopper, a 261.9-pounder, on the kite with a flying fish on a 20/0 Mustad circle hook.

"He was one tough mother," remarked Joe, who's a Royal Polaris regular. He used Jin Kai 130-pound leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra, a Penn 50 W reel and a Calstar 7460 XH rod to do the job in 40 minutes.

Joe McBride of Spokane caught a 229-pounder on a squid under the kite. He said the squish was pinned on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook, and that he used 130-pound Line One Spectra and a Penn 50 reel modified by Cofe on a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod. He got his fish in 45 minutes.

Steve Oba of Brea had a triple-header of cows at 218, 211 and 208 pounds. He said he fished with sardines on 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks. He used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One Spectra and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod, and got the big one in a half-hour.

Art Yoshida bagged a 201-pounder on a ???dine and a 6/0 Super Mutu. He said he fished with 130-pound Momoi leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 50 SVW reel and a Calstar 7465 H rod.

Others who caught cows on the Royal Polaris:

Bob Garber: 206 and 209 pounds
George Stephen: 217 and 206

Seals have been becoming a problem not just at the bait receivers, but also at the docks. As Royal Polaris crewmen tried to offload a big wahoo, a seal leaped from the water, seized the fish and tore it from the hands of two men. The day before, a sea lion was seen leaping from the water to a height over the stern rail of the Excel as that boat unloaded fish. A sea lion has also been seen taking fish from the scuppers of docked long range boats.