If Independence angler Cathy Needleman's 355-pound (by tape measurement, see yesterday's posting) tuna makes that mark when the boat arrives, Cathy will displace Judith Montague at the top of the list of ladies with 300-pounders. Montague won the jackpot for her 353.7-pounder taken aboard Red Rooster III in November 2008.

I know of four other women claiming yellowfin tuna of over 300 pounds. Joyce Corrigan had the best tuna of the Royal Polaris trip that returned January 20, 2004: a 310-pound yellowfin made ineligible by handling. The fish beat her previous best, a 304-pounder. During the early 1990s, June Pierce, fishing with her husband Larry aboard the Red Rooster III on an 18-day, 18-passenger limited load trip, caught a tuna of 305 pounds.

Gail Wade-Adams of Pleasant Hill fished with skipper Justin Fleck on a 2012 trip that visited Clarion Island and produced her 340.8-pound whopper. Her tuna slipped past a 315-pounder taken by Liz Franzino of Hemet. Liz won first place for her sardine-biter, caught on 80-pound line when she fished with Randy Toussaint on Royal Star one year earlier. I have a suspicion I may have missed a deserving woman angler here, but I can't find her in my records. If I've forgotten a lady with a 300-pounder, please let me know.