This vacation started with the Boats Unlimited Stratos/Javelin owners two-day tournament at Clear Lake.

Tom Bossard and I fished together. We managed a 17th-place finish even after I bounced a 5-pounder into the boat that came unhooked and flopped out the other side!

Then on to Fort Bragg.

We had a great first day fishing two hours or so (by boat) up the coast in seldom-fished waters near Shelter Cove.

The second day, fishing in local waters on the Sea Hawk, was a nasty one. There was 20 mph wind, drifts so fast you couldn't keep an 8-ounce sinker on the bottom in shallow water and the fish caught were about the same size we catch off the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Area coasts.

A fellow angler who was on the trip complained about how I compared the first two days. He said it's like comparing a Rolls Royce on Day 1 to a school bus on Day 2. He said the rest of the local anglers fishing aboard the Sea Hawk were quite happy with the fish and service they received.

NEXT STOP was Monterey, fishing with Rock Hauser and Chucker-T Tigett.

Rock had just hooked, fought, and gaffed a 40-pound tuna all by himself and put it in the barrel when Chucker-T told him to grab the fish that had hooked itself on his bait rod. During this time Chuck and I both were busy fighting tuna. Things were hectic as we had the school up behind the boat and the fish were snapping.

Chuck and I was throwing Fishing Musician swim baits and we both landed fish in the 30-pound plus class.

Rock was having a hard time with the bait rod fish. It was tiring him out. We figured it was another fish in the 40-pound class. Rock couldn't budge him on the 20-pound test line.

Rock kept asking me if I would take the rod as he was getting tired.

Knowing how it is to hook up two big fish back-to-back and how hard it is to whip a big albacore on light line, I finally took over.

Rock had the fish whipped so all I had to do was put a little extra pressure on the fish and coach him up to be gaffed.

The fish was in the 50-pound class. No wonder Rock had such a hard time with this bruiser!

ON SUNDAY, the last day of my vacation, Chucker-T Tigett, George Shaft, Royce Bonds and I left Monterey Harbor in the dark.

After a 30-mile, 25-knot ride, we were in the area and started trolling. No large schools were found, but lots of what looked like single-and double-jumpers were spotted.

When Chucker-T put down some zucchini Brush tail zukkers with a chrome weight in front, the action started.

Royce had caught salmon in the 30-pound class and was confident he could handle a little 25-pound albie, especially on the heavy rods we were using to troll with.

Royce was up first and the fish just plain whipped him all around the boat until we started shouting directions.

"Keep the pole up. Short pump and reel. Don't let that tuna get his head down, otherwise he will run and you will have to fight him all the way back up again."

A 25-to 30-pound tuna is nothing like fighting a 25-to 30-pound salmon. Royce said these tuna are awesome fighters.