George Davis made his eighth (his estimate) annual charter with Tommy Rothery aboard the Polaris Supreme, and met the boat when it returned to Fisherman???s Landing January 13 after an 18-day excursion. It was Friday, but definitely not a bad luck day or trip, as chartermaster George bagged a 257-pound tuna for himself as the boat fished off southern Baja.

???Everybody got a cow,??? said Tommy, ???and we released over 100 tuna. We ended up with 27 tuna over 200 pounds.???

The day???s big winner was Tom Hilton of San Clemente who scored a 293-pound whopper yellowfin with a sardine on a 7/0 Super Mutu hook, 130-pound red line, 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50T reel blueprinted by Cal Sheets, and a 760H Calstar rod tied by Sheridan Stanton (also on the trip). Hilton said he got the big tuna ????Ķin 25 minutes; my best fish ever. My biggest before was 178 pounds.

Independence arrived at Pt. Loma Sportfishing January 3 under Jeff DuBuys??? hand, after an eight-day trip with 30 anglers to the southern banks. ???We had some weather,??? said Jeff, ???a little chop on the banks. We found some 40-pound school tuna down there but they didn???t bite very well. The water was 69 to 71 degrees. The other boats located the big ones the day after we left, when the weather turned nice.??? Dave Smith of Alta Loma won first place for a 47.3-pound tuna, ???The biggest one I ever got.??? Dave said he caught it with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, with 60-pound Big Game line on a Penn 15 KG reel and a Seeker 6465 XH rod. Thomas Horanyi of Northridge was second, for a 45.4-pounder, and his dad Gabor Horanyi, also of Northridge, was third, for a 45-pound tuna. Ed Coleman of Bakersfield tied Gabor with another 45-pounder in a tie for third.

High score went to Scott Brown of Costa Mesa, with six over 200 pounds, at 279, 269, 246, 240, and a pair of 225-pounders. Scott said he fished with sardines on 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks, on 100-pound Ande line, 130-pound Spectra backing, a Tiagra 50W reel and a Calstar 655 TSS rod.

Al Tokunaga had five, at 225, 222, 213, 208 and 201 pounds.

The 27 cows was no boat record, but 27 for eight anglers may make for some kind of mark.

A put-together trip with 30 anglers to Baja???s southern banks returned with 20 tuna over 200 pounds.

The super cow, a 320.2-pound yellowfin caught by Rick Newton of San Diego, won first place. Rick said he fished a sardine on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, with 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXH rod.

Paul Marquez of Lakeside bagged a 292.6-pound tuna that was ineligible because it was kite-hooked. He said he fished a sardine on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook, with 130-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

Tammy Holden of Long Beach got a 229.4-pounder in only 20 minutes after the tuna took a mackerel on an unknown hook. She said she fished with 130-pound Maxima line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50 SW reel and a Penn five and a half-foot rod.

Nanette Smith of Huntington Beach took a 213-pound tuna with a sardine on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. She fished 130-pound Maxima line and 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 50W reel and a Seeker 6364 XXH rod.

Frank LoPreste brought the Taka Tanaka (Taka???s Bait & Tackle) 16-day Royal Polaris charter home to Fisherman???s Landing January 18 with a new boat record of 72 tuna over 200 pounds. That record is the third in three trips to the southern banks this winter, with the prior mark being 69 cows brought home by Roy Rose December 23.

At the dock, Gary Ah Sing of Gardena won first place for the largest tuna, a 283-pounder.

???He came up tail-wrapped,??? said Gary. ???He bit on the slide when we metered some fish.???

Gary said he baited a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra. He used a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

Bill Gilpin of Camano Island, WA was second, for a 278-pound tuna. He also had a 269-pounder. He said he fished sardines on a ringed 6/0 Super Mutu hook, and used 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Avet 50 SDS reel and a 6460 XXH rod. Gilpin???s best previous fish was about 70 pounds.

Calvin Fujimoto of Burbank was third, for a 276-pound yellowfin that bit a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu. He fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra backing on a Penn 50 SW reel and a Truline C6H rod.

???It was a gentle bite,??? remembered Calvin, ???but then he took off like a rocket. The last 20 feet was the hardest. The fish bit about mid-morning.???

Jack Nilsen of Accurate, who put a couple of long aluminum gaffs aboard the rig. Gaff bamboo is very scarce, said Jack.

The best tuna was a 292-pound yellowfin caught be Emerald Argonza of Montclair, after a two-hour battle.

???My best tuna before this was a 60-pounder,??? said Emerald. ???M rod was bent over like crazy. He bit deep on my mackerel with a 2-ounce slider weight. He took me around the boat four times, and nearly spooled me twice. He came up in the starboard corner on four gaffs.???

Argonza said he used an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook on straight 130-pound Izorline mono, and an Accurate 50W reel on a 6460 XH rod. He also had tuna of 230 and 204 pounds.

Bob Michener of Oxnard, a Rooster regular, brought his daughter Susan on the trip and both got big tuna. Bob???s weighed 270, and he also had fish of 248, 245, 234, 200.9, 200.8 and 203 pounds. He said he fished sardines on 12/0 Mustad hooks, with 130-pound Izorline, 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 50W reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod. Susan Michener of Oxnard got a 258 and a 223-pounder. She fished sardines on 12/0 Mustad circle hooks, with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra on an Accurate 50W reel (an old one, factory number 84, her father noted), and a Seeker 6364 XXXH rod.

Shawn Steward docked Excel at Fisherman???s landing January 21 after a 15-day trip with 25 anglers, who offloaded 40 cows, or tuna over 200 pounds.

Carl Dorton

Independence arrived at Pt. Loma Sportfishing dock after an 18-day trip with skippers Jeff DuBuys and Mark Pisano, who brought in a new all-time tuna record of 82 cows, or tuna over 200 pounds, for 23 anglers. That topped Shawn Steward???s mark on the Excel of 79, set December 12.

???All methods were working out there,??? continued DuBuys, ???with the Hurricane fish biting on chunks, the kite, surface fishing with sardines, skipjack or mackerel, and on jigs.???