"I can hardly wait to go back," Skipper Jeff DeBuys said after he returned Independence to Point Loma Landing November 21 after a Farallon Boats charter, a 10-day trip. "There is some good fishing down there, we had beautiful weather and noon to dark drifts.

"We had 26 anglers, ages 16 to 82," Jeff continued, "and they all got their personal best. We're extremely happy."

Bill Asbell, 68, took first place with a 356-pound super cow. "I used a friends rod and reel," Bill said. "I wasn't prepared for this stuff. The reel was toast when I got finished. I caught a 400-pound thresher shark in Cabo San Lucas 34 years ago, but this was a lot better fight."

Bill fished a 5/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 100-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon liter, 100-pound P-Line Top Shot with 125-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 50 S reel, and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.

Dan Shubin of Bloomington took second for a 294-pound yellowfin that was a "great fighter." Dan fished a 4/0 GYMAKASU hook, 100-pound Blue Izorline fluorocarbon, a Penn 50 VSW reel and a Calstar 655 XXH rod.

Steve Nowak of Lodi, CA took third with a 293-pound tuna. "This was the first time I've ever went in and knew I was gonna get my butt kicked," remarked Steve at Point Loma's certified scales. "This trip was well beyond my expectations. The Independence has a first class operation."

Steve fished a sardine on a 4/0 Hyabusa hook, 100-pound Izorline, an Avet reel, and a Calstar rod.

"We had plunker bites," said Philip Havlicek of San Francisco, who landed a 264-pound tuna. "I've been doing these trips for 25 years, and this one was what it's all about. We only had two burn-offs!

"The kite was good. All these cows were stuffed with giant Humboldt squid. We finally found something that'll eat them, because up north where I live, the squid clean us up.

"We had a lot of new guys, but when a Captain like Jeff Debuys comes down to the galley and says,