There were 32 anglers aboard the Excel for the Kashiki charter, and they all fared well, but one ten-year regular on the trip had a lifetime catch: a 72.2-pound yellowtail, on the iron.

"We had good fall fishing," said Excel skipper Shawn Steward after docking the rig at Fisherman's Landing October 22. "We took our time going down, and the ocean flattened out and we had good weather.

"We got full limits of yellowfin and dorado, and had good fishing on pargo, wahoo and miscellaneous fish."

On October 19 he wrote, "Beautiful weather and conditions all day today with a few wahoo, yellowfin, yellowtail, and dorado. We caught a couple of yellowfin in the 70 to 80-pound category but Josh Rytz topped everything for the trip with an impressive yellowtail that looks to be around 70 to 75 pounds, which he caught on a jig and 50-pound line at the end of the day. The fish was very well-proportioned and we are all curious about the final weight at the dock.

The scales told the tale of a mighty big jack. The 72.2-pound tally moves the fish into second place this year for the species. The best yellow came on the Red Rooster III with skipper Andy Cates August 27, by Don Lyon of Pinon Hills, and it weighed 84.4 pounds on the certified scales at H&M Landing.

Don said he fished a scad mackerel on a big Mustad 9/0 hook. "I've had a box of ???em for about five years," he remarked. "I got ???em to fish big tuna. This was the first time I needed one."

Lyon used 80-pound blue Izorline in his dropper loop rig with a 10-ounce sinker, and a 6/0 Penn reel and a Daiwa five and a half-foot rod. He posed for numerous photos, including the jackpot lineup, where he was fourth, by four ounces.

The yellowtail Rytz caught would have weighed well over 80 pounds had it been full-bellied. It wasn't scrawny, but it looked to be in a slender mode.

"I got it on a gold Raider," said Josh Rytz of Encinitas. "I was casting for wahoo. It fought on top, so for a while I thought it was a wahoo, then I thought maybe it was a tuna. It took about 200 yards of line on me, well into the Spectra. I thought I'd get spooled.

""In the end, we got him. Jordan Richards helped me a lot during the 20-minute fight, and he gaffed it for me.

"You know," added Rytz, "I'm been coming on this trip every year since 1996, when my wife bought me a ticket. But this trip was the best one yet."

Rytz said he fished the 125 gold Raider on 40-pound P-Line, a Torium 20 reel and a Seeker 6465 H Black Steel rod. He posed for pictures at the dock, and stood in with the jackpot winners, who all had yellowfin tuna. They were rooting for the big yellowtail, too.

Butch Peters of Fresno won first place for a 92.4-pound yellowfin he fooled at Alijos Rocks with a sardine on an Eagle Claw 5/0 hook. He said he used 60-pound P-Line and 80-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 16 S reel and a Calstar seven-foot Grafighter rod.

"He took off like a ball of fire," said Peters. "I fought him for about 40 minutes.

Randy Isogawa of Fresno was second, for an 85.4-pound tuna, and Ron Walker of Poway won third place, for a 75.4-pound Alijos yellowfin.