The latest addition to the season's collection of supercows arrived aboard Royal Polaris April 21 when Frank LoPreste's sportboat carrying the fish and the gear for 21 anglers on the Bill Nakaki 18-day trip docked at Fisherman's Landing. The boat tied up as a few small blustery showers rolled through, not enough to get anyone soaked. A good crowd was there to meet the boat and see John Yamate's fish come off.

We had good weather," said Frank to dock reporter Bill Roecker. "We had very good fishing; outstanding wahoo fishing. The Shimano 40 was working very well on the wahoo.

"The cows bit on sardines better than the kite this trip. There were sharks everywhere but they weren't a huge problem.

"I'd say the Blackwater fluorocarbon was well-tested this trip. Yamate got his big fish on a little five-foot piece of topshot he had left after catching several other fish with it. We had 10 tuna over 200 pounds, and the one over 300."

John Yamate is the manager at Seaforth Sportfishing, and while he's made some ni9ne or 10-day trips in the past, he hasn't fished much long range in recent years because of family and work obligations.

"This is my first long trip," he said. "I probably did everything wrong. I had caught some fish of 100 to 140 pounds or so earlier that day and all I had left of the topshot was about five feet.

"I hooked the big fish about six PM right under the bow, after about a two-second soak with the sardine. He took off straight out, and they went for the backup rig, but he stopped his run and went down and I didn't need it.

"Then he got up and down, and I walked back to the stern. Most of the fight was back there, between the corners. He came up to gaff right at sunset, after about an hour and a half.

"When I saw him at the end I thought, that's pretty big! I had no idea he was that big until then. I credit the crew for getting the fish. It proved the need to use good equipment, too."

LoPreste weighed the big tuna on the certified scales at Fisherman's Landing, along with the other top contenders for the jackpot. Yamate's fish came in a 311.8 pounds.

John Yamate said he baited his sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 100-pound Blackwater Spectra. He used an Accurate ATD 30 reel and a Calstar 770 H rod.

"A great rod," he said. "I also used the 770 XH.

Ron Zachary of San Diego caught a 238.2-pound tuna that won second place. He said he pinned a sardine on 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Penn 50 TW reel modified by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 760 H rod to bag his tuna in 45 minutes.

Richard Losey of Carlsbad won third place for a 220.2-pound tuna. He got his with a sardine on a new Mustad 7/0 Demon hook in 4X strength. He said he fished with 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 770 XXXH rod.

Bill Golden of chula Vista got a 205.4-pound with a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook and 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon tied to 130-pound Blackwater Spectra. He used a Penn 30 VSX reel and a Calstar 770 H rod.

Leon Travis of Littleton, CO caught a 211.1-pound tuna. More information on the other cows caught on this trip may be available later. Royal Polaris will be leaving on her next trip Friday, April 23.