Jack Nilsen and Gary Gillingham of Accurate met the Excel at Fisherman's Landing April 12 after a good 16-day trip with a fly home option, which most anglers used. Justin Fleck skippered the trip, and owner Al Gross got his first cow on his first long trip. The 265-pounder was the biggest of the trip, but Al wasn't in the jackpot. Skipper Justin told dock reporter Bill Roecker that nine cows were caught, and Fleck also remarked that tuna and wahoo were both thick on the Hurricane Bank and in The Buffer Zone. Water temps were about 75 degrees.

Big Al Gross' 265-pounder came during the last two hours of fishing, after the monster bit on a sardine under a balloon, and required a skiff chase for Al with second skipper Mike Ramirez. "He bit around 9:30 AM," said Al, who lives in Laguna Niguel, "and fought for an hour and 45 minutes. He went out and then down. My best tuna before this trip was about a 110-pounder." Gross pinned his 'dine on an 8/0 Gamakatsu hook tied to 13-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Izorline spectra on an Accurate 50 W reel and Calstar 7460 XH rod.

Eric Maulhardt of Carpinteria won first place for his 239-pound yellowfin, another first long trip and first cow. The fish bit at lunchtime and was gaffed aboard 45 minutes later. It took a sardine on a 7/0 Mustad Demon ringed circle hook. Eric said he used 100-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and wasn't sure about the spectra or the rod. His reel was an Accurate ATD 50 and the fish arrived aboard via the starboard stern corner.

Justin Medeiros dropped a PL 68 glow jig over the side around two AM one morning and hung a 214-pounder. He also got a 232-pound tuna on the kite and won second place. Both fish came on the same rig: 130-pound Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon and 130-pound Big Game line with 130-pound Izorline spectra on a Penn 50 VSW reel and a Super Seeker 66463 XXXXH rod.

Pete Corselli of La Habra Heights won third place for a 25-pound tuna. He said he bagged it after a two-hour tussle that started when the fish ate a sardine on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook on 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Line One spectra. Pete fished with a Tiagra 50 LRS reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Sam Raiter of San Francisco had a brace of cows at 216 and 218 pounds. He fished sardines on 6/0 Owner Super Mutu ringed hooks tied to 100-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra, on an Accurate ATD 30 reel and a Calstar 770 H rod.

Colin Sarfeh of Laguna Hills was on his first long trip, too. He works for Pelagic as marketing manager. He snagged his first cow, a 202-pounder, with a salami mackerel on an 8/0 Gamakatsu hook. That company and Seaguar provided products for the anglers aboard the Excel. Colin got his tuna with a 130-pound Seaguar wind-on leader and 130-pound Line One spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a Super Seeker 2 X 4 rod. "I soaked that salami for about 15 minutes," he said. "I took about two cranks on it and then the fish bit. It ran out and came back before it went down. When I got it to the boat an hour and 15 minutes later it came up on the starboard bow."

"I fed a couple of big fish to the sharks," said Gary Gillingham who posed with some of his catch, "but I had real good luck on the wahoo, fishing jigs with no wire. I used some gold Sea Strike 33s and Salas Tar Babies. Four of the wahoo were big ones. We had some new Accurate rods for loaners and the 7030 model was very good for skins. I used a 7040. We also had a 7040 spinning rod and one of the guys did well with that."