The five-day West Coast Marketing charter led by chartermaster Dave Rocchi aboard the Independence arrived July 19 with skipper Kyle "Rooster" Karcher at the helm. He was assisted by owner-skipper Paul Strasser, and the trip, with 29 anglers, was a great success, after Rooster took a chance and went looking.

"We had decent bluefin fishing," said Rooster at Point Loma Sportfishing. "We also got some yellowfin and we had excellent yellowtail fishing at Cedros Island. The fish there were jugged with small mackerel.

"Cedros was biting. There seems to be a bunch of new fish in there. They ate the yoyo jig, the surface jig, and bait. All colors worked with the iron."

Rooster and Strasser posed with the winners to celebrate their success. The winner was Jeremy Doty of Tustin, who got his 44.2-pound bluefin on a sardine and a 2/0 Super Mutu hook. He fished with 40-pound Ande line on a Daiwa 250 reel and a Calstar 665 rod.

Stephen Earner of San Diego won second place for a 44-pound bluefin, and Steve Buch of Novata bagged a 43-pound white seabass that qualified for third place. Phil Spiller of Huntington Beach caught a 32-pound halibut and stood in with the winners.