Seji Iwamura of Modesto bested his wahoo record when skipper Billy Santiago Jr. hoisted his skinny on the Fisherman's Landing scales October 21, and the big biter totaled 78.8 pounds. It arrived on the deck of the Royal Polaris with a red and black Marauder in its jaws. "The next fish got my jig," complained Seji, who had to admit the one he got was worth the price of the jig. "This is my best one." The huge wahoo wasn't eligible because it was troll-caught.

The trip was ten days, with a limited load of 19 anglers, who fished down The Ridge and into the area of the southern banks, where Billy reported finding 81.5-degree water, with some indication of cooling, though still a bit too warm for good tuna fishing Skipper Steve Loomis said there was warmer water on the far side of the break between the Potato and Morgan Banks, where it was shown as 84 degrees on sat maps. The trend is encouraging for anglers, who would like to fish for big tuna without killing a valuable load of sardine baits.

Joe Horejis of Seal Beach won first place for his 54.8-pound wahoo, caught on a Burns Bomb in orange and black. He said he tied his bomb's steel leader to 40-pound Izorline and 80-pound Line One spectra on a Trinidad 40 N reel and a GRUSA seven-foot rod.

Roger Bill of San Diego won second place for a 42-pound skinny, and also won the Rollo jackpot for a 19-pound snowy grouper. Ron Lewis of San Francisco won third place for a 23-pound bluefin tuna.