Intrepid brought home a load of wahoo and tuna for St. Patrick's Day when skipper Kevin Osborne docked the boat at Pt. Loma Sportfishing March 17. The boat returned from the annual 16-day Catchy Tackle trip with Catchy owner John Grindley and co-chartermaster Wayne Martin and 24 anglers.

"We had near-limits of wahoo," said Osborne. "We ate some of 'em. Tuna fishing for 60 to 100-pound fish was good. We only had one good shot at the big ones, when they all came through in a bunch at the same time.

"The weather was pretty good," he added, "and the bigger fish were at Clarion where they were feeding on some kind of a hatch of small bait. Our best fishing there was outside, on the drift.

"At Hurricane Bank we found those 60 to 100-pounders, and lots of wahoo, but no big fish."

There was a good crowd on this Sunday morning. Among those on the scene was Peter Jang, owner of a Newport Art Gallery, who goes by the moniker Peter J. Peter was making Gyotaku prints of tuna and a large grouper for anglers on the trip.

Kendall Matthews of Oceanside won first place for his 244.8-pound yellowfin tuna, and he also had one at 204 pounds. He said the big one came on a sardine and a ringed 6/0 Owner Super Mutu hook tied to 130-pound Soft Steel Ultra and 130-pound Line One spectra. He fished with a Makira 30 reel and a Calstar 770 XXXH rod.

"He shook his head and took off when I hooked him," said Matthews, "and then he went down. He took me around the boat six times, and two hours after I hooked up he came up on the starboard stern, my best fish ever."

Pete Wight of Torrance had the second-biggest tuna, a 238.4-pounder. He said it came on a sardine and a 9/0 Eagle Claw circle hook. He fished with 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Maxima mono and 130-pound Izorline spectra on an Avet 50 W reel and a Calstar 770 XXXH rod.

"It was a 35-minute fight," he told dock reporter Bill Roecker. "He bit close to the boat, then he went down for about 20 minutes. He came up for ten minutes, took me around the boat twice and then came to gaff on the port side."

Carl Diubaldo of Santa Barbara bagged a 209-pounder with a double sardine rig under the kite. He said his fish fought for 30 minutes on one of the boat's kite rigs: 6/0 Eagle Claw circle hooks, 130-poundSoft Steel Ultra and 130-pound Line One spectra on an Avet 50 W reel and a Super Seeker 6364 XXXXH rod.

Chartermaster and wahoo expert John Grindley brought home a limit of skins.

"I got six on a green spinnerhead bomb," he said, "but bait was also good to catch skins with on this trip. Regular jigs weren't so hot. Many of the wahoo we got trolling came on the Mag 26 Spinnerhead jet, particular in the zucchini color."