Brad Merritt's charter on the Excvel with skipper Shawn Steward returned to Fisherman's Landing August 25 after a five-day trip to Guadalupe Island.

"We stayed at the island the whole time," said Steward. "Our biggest tuna wasn't eligible, because it came in after a very long fight with several people. We couldn't figure out what it was until we saw it coming along the surface in a strong current sideways, making a wake."

The fish was hooked by Ken Crow of Medford, OR, on a sardine on 50-pound line. It weighed 119.2 pounds on the certified scales.

"Today was better than we could have hoped for," wrote Shawn on August 22, "with good action all day long. Our best bite time was around 1300 when we kept 7 to 11 fish going at once. There were a few 25 to 40-pound yellowtail thrown into the mix as well."

Steward remarked that the sharks had taken numerous tuna the first day but then seemed to back off. "It was scorching hot," he added. "It was jock strap weather. We had a goodf shot at the fish in the mornings, and again during the afternoons until dark."

Chuck Lowe of Minden NV won first place, for a 96-pound yellowfin he took with a sardine on a 3/0 Hayabusa hook and 50-pound Maxima line. "He was a tough fish," remarked Lowe, who said he fished with a 20-30 Beastmaster reel and a Sabre 660 rod.

Robert Shaw of West Hills was second, for a 76.2-pounder, and Jeff Baloun of Melbourne Beach, FL won third place for a 76-pound tuna.

Joining the winners in the lineup shot were Jim Kasstorff of San Diego, who got a 41-pound wahoo on a mackerel bait, and Craig Herron of La Habra Heights, who caught a 42-pound yellowtail.