Andy Cates brought Red Rooster III home to H&M Landing September 16 after the best trip so far this season for larger bluefin tuna. Most anglers had a couple of the tubby tuna that ranged from 60 to 100 pounds. The initial encounter was in the afternoon, remarked Cates.

"It started slow, with tuna blowing out all around us. Some of the guys were frustrated, but that's bluefin fishing." The next morning he headed east, the direction in which the good water was moving, and located a different school, with fish just a shade smaller, about 7:30 a.m. This bunch bit even better than the afternoon school, he said.

Anthony LoGrande of San Pedro won first place for the one tuna that broke the 100-pound mark, a 107-pound bluefin that bit on his Spanish mackerel. He said he pinned it on a 2/0 ringed Owner Gorilla hook tied to 40-pound Izorline flourocarbon, 40-pound pink Ande line and 65-pound Izorline spectra. He fished with a Newell 533 reel with a Tiburon narrow conversion kit and a Calstar 610 rod. "It took about 45 minutes," said Anthony. "It's my best fish ever."

Mark Wallace of Winter Springs, FL won second place for a 91.4-pounder, and Frank Brown Jr. of San Diego won third place for a 90-pound bluefin tuna.