Justin Fleck brought Excel home from a 15-day trip with 22anglers on February 6. "We spent six days at the Hurricane Bank and a day at Clarion," he told dock reporter Bill Roecker. "We had outstanding fishing and outstanding weather, except for a couple of days on the way home." There were four cows aboard, including a 322-pound supercow. Allen Krahenbuhl of Oxnard won first place for a 257-pound tuna. He bagged that one with a salami mackerel on an 8/0 Owner Gorilla hook on 130-pound Big Game mono and 130-pound Line One spectra. "It fought for about an hour," he said. "I got spooled and had to go to the backup rig. He bit in late afternoon, and it was a quick bite. We went up the port side, he went out on the starboard side and we ended up in the port corner. My best fish before this one was a 60-pounder. This is my first long trip." Brad Felger won second place, fishing with his late father's (Dan Felger) gear. Brad fish weighed 240 pounds and bit on a mackerel on an 8/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook. He fished with 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon in a Basil topshot and 130-pound Line One spectra, an Accurate 50 W reel and a Calstar 7460 H rod. "He fought me for about 25 minutes," said Brad. "He stayed up. My best fish before was a 227-pounder." Regular Norm Sogioka won third place for a 202-pound tuna. He said he got it with a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu tied to 130-pound Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon and 130-pound Salt Striker line tied to 130-pound Izorline spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 770 XXXH rod. Honorable mention went to Bob "Bubbles" Maugh of Apple Valley, 75, who didn't enter the jackpot. He caught a 322-pound tuna with a Yummee Flyer under a balloon, on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook with a treble trailer. Bubbles said he used 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 7455 XH rod. "The reason I got this fish was the crew, the crew, the crew," he said. "Jason and Mike and Justin--I couldn't have done it without 'em." Angler Bob Buckland of Simi Valley said wahoo fishing was very good, and that most of the fish came on bait or bombs. "We did get a few wahoo on the new pink Salas 6X Jr. jigs," he added, "but iron didn't work that well this time, for the most part. I did well with purple bombs."