Coming home a day early and three days sooner than he did last year, Intrepid skipper Kevin Osborne matched last year's feat of bringing the first five cows (tuna over 200 pounds) home from the Buffer Zone and Hurricane Bank. The Catchy Tackle 14-day trip arrived at Pt. Loma Sportfishing October 19, with 23 anglers and chartermaster Wayne Martin aboard, along with six cow yellowfin and a very good catch of smaller tuna, considering all the fish were caught on two mornings and two afternoons.

"A couple more days and we would have filled the boat," said Osborne to dock reporter Bill Roecker. "It was the best fishing you'd ever see. We had to drive away at noon (because Hurricane Paul was forming nearby). We left 'em biting hard. Everybody was hooked up and all five kites were bit at once.

"The tuna were from 80 to 230 pounds. We had mackerel and sardines for bait. They bit both so well we didn't need to chunk. It killed me to drive away from it."

Chuck Lox of Lubbock, TX, a rookie, got two cows and the biggest fish, a 238-pounder, which came on the kite with a mackerel on one of the boat's kite rigs. The other tuna weighed 211 pounds and came on a sardine and a 6/0 Owner Gorilla hook. He said he used 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One spectra on a Makira reel and a Calstsar 770 H rod. Lox wasn't entered in the jackpot, so he stood to the right of the winners in the lineup shot, assisted by skipper Osborne.

Ken Buzzell of San Pedro won first place for his 213-pounder, caught on a sardine and an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook tied to 100-pound Momoi line. He fished with 130-pound Line One spectra on an Avet HXW Raptor reel and a Super Seeker 1 X 3 rod and got the tuna to gaff in a half-hour. "He was a tough fish," commented Buzzell. "They all were, down there."

Bill Stallman of San Pedro won second place for a 211.2-pounder. He got his with a sardine on a 5/0 Gorilla hook on 100-pound Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon and 100-pound Izorline XXX tied to 135-pound Izorline spectra on an Avet 30 reel and a Calstar six-foot rod.

Phil Lisi of Costa Mesa won third place for a 203.4-pound yellowfin. He fished a sardine on a Owner Super Mutu hook and 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon. He used 130-pound Line One spectra on an Accurate 50 W reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXX rod.

Joining the lineup shot as anchorman on the right, Steve Smith of Sierra Vista, AZ posed with his non-jackpot 223-pounder. Steve said he got that one with a mackerel on a 9/0 Mustad hook and 130-pound Big Game line. He used 130-pound Tuff Line spectra, a Tiagra 50 W reel and a Calstar six and a half-foot rod.