Line One Spectra sponsored an 18-day trip aboard the Royal Polaris with skipper Bill Santiago Jr. that returned to Fisherman's Landing April 4 with 17 anglers, most of whom were long-time veterans. They had 11 cows; tuna beyond the 200-pound mark.

"There was lots of bait around," said skipper Santiago; "red crab, puffers and box fish. The tuna were jugged with it, and the wahoo, too. We had beautiful weather the whole trip; even on the ride back home."

"In the mornings," said RP regular Jim Barber of Las Vegas, "the puffers were so thick at the surface you could see them finning everywhere you looked."

Chartermaster Jerry Brown remarked, "The wahoo were common and they would hit jigs. Most were caught on light rigs with bait. I got a limit, mostly on my home-made jigs. Bombs were working, too. If you wanted wahoo you could catch ???em."

Bob Wolfson of Dana Point won first place for a 259.2-pound chubby yellowfin that bit on a flying fish under the kite, as did most of the larger tuna. (The biggest one not on the kite was a 110-pounder taken by Don Burnside.) Bob got his on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, with 130-pound fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra backing on a Penn 50 T reel blueprinted and modified by Cal Sheets. He said he used a "Broomstick" rod made by his son David.

"I saw his splash," said Wolfson. "He took about an hour and a half to get to the boat. I thought the fish on the Hurricane were tougher than the ones we caught inside last fall."

Harley Martin of Westmorland got the second biggest fish, an ineligible 248-pound yellowfin that bit on a flying fish under the kite, on the boat's kite rig: a 10/0 stainless Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Jerry Brown Spectra backing on am Accurate 50 W reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

"I saw the boil; it was as big as a table top. It took me an hour and five minutes," said Harley. "They put me in the little boat (chase skiff) and we went about 500 yards before he gave any line back. He came up dead."

Kevin Tan of Singapore won second place for a 222-pounder. He baited it with a kite-borne flying fish on a 10/0 Super Mutu hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Fin Nor 7.5 reel and an Extreme five and a half-foot rod.

"It's my best tuna," said Tan. "He fought for 45 minutes."

Stan Bonillas of Newport Beach was third, for a 210-pounder. He wasn't available at the landing.

Vince Biondo of Del Mar got a 219-pounder on the kite with a flyer for bait on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He said he fished with a Penn 70 VS reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

Biondo set a mark for himself. "This is my ninth consecutive trip," he said, "that I got a cow a tuna over 200 pounds."

Jim Barber of Las Vegas had tuna of 220 and 228 pounds. He said they were also flying fish-eaters, caught on the kite with a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Beastmaster 50/80 reel and a Calstar 655 TSSL rod.

Walter Krug of Midland, TX got a 231-pounder on a flyer under the kite. It bit on a 10/0 7691 hook, 130-pound Momoi line and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Fin Nor 9/0 reel and an unknown rod.

"Hell, yeah," said Walter, "I saw him bite. It was good for my adrenaline and my complexion. He came from the top, down onto the bait. He was the first fish of the trip."

Bob Garber of Orange had a brace at 204 and 208 pounds. They bit flyers under the kite. He used a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Momoi line and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 80 W reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.