Sam Patella and Brian Kiyohara took their 27 fishermen on the American Angler to Guadalupe on the James Hardware charter, unusual in itself in that four gentlemen named David Samarin were aboard. That's right, four of ???em, pictured together at Pt. Loma Sportfishing on August 27.

It was the David Samarin of La Habra Heights who won first place for a 109.5-pound yellowfin he caught on an Accurate spinning reel, a 30, and a Calstar 700 XH spinning rod. To the best of this reporter's knowledge, it was the first such tuna ever brought in to San Diego caught on a sport boat with spinning gear.

"The pickup was slow," said Samarin, "but he spun off a lot of line against 25 or 30 pounds of drag. The reel was super smooth; it didn't stick at all.

"I got five yellowfin on the outfit, and my dad got three," he continued. "One advantage it has is casting a little farther than a conventional rig. I get another 20 feet with the Accurate 30. I got a 67-pounder in 15 minutes."

The big tuna took 40 minutes, said Samarin, who said it bit on a sardine and an Eagle Claw 2/0 hook. He used 45-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound P-Line and 80-pound Spectra backing on the reel.

Gary Samarin won second place, for a 104.5-pound tuna, and Gabe Berekoff of Silverton was third, for an 80-pounder.

"The average weight of out tuna was 63 pounds," remarked skipper Patella, "and the white sharks weren't too bad."