MD-80 CONTINUES CLB WHILE TCASII INDICATES DSND. NMAC.

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ON A VECTOR HDG 040 DEGS CLBING OUT OF FRESNO; DEP ADVISED VFR TFC AT ABOUT 1:30 OR 2 O'CLOCK POS AT 8500 FT. WE WERE TOLD TO LEVEL OFF AT 8000 FT. CLBING THROUGH ABOUT 6500 FT WE MADE VISUAL CONTACT WITH TFC AND ADVISED DEP CTL; AT WHICH TIME THEY TOLD US TO CONTINUE TO 10000 FT AND MAINTAIN VISUAL SEPARATION. TCASII HAD BY THEN GIVEN US A TA. I JUDGED BY OUR RELATIVE MOTION THAT THE TFC WOULD PASS BEHIND US BY A SAFE MARGIN AND CONTINUED THE CLB. AS WE GOT CLOSER IT APPEARED WE WERE ON CONVERGING COURSES. JUDGING OUR RATE OF CLB AND THE DISTANCE BTWN US I ELECTED TO CONTINUE THE CLB EVEN THOUGH THE TCASII WAS NOW TELLING US TO DSND. I FIGURED OUR RATE OF CLB MADE IT UNWISE TO DSND. WE HAD ENOUGH ENERGY TO MAKE AN EVASIVE MANEUVER BUT I DIDN'T FEEL IT WAS NECESSARY. AS WE PASSED THE TFC WE REALIZED IT WAS A MUCH CLOSER ENCOUNTER THAN WE HAD PLANNED ON. ON RECEIVING DEP CTLS INITIAL ADVISORY ON THE TFC; I COMMENTED THAT IT MADE GOOD SENSE TO LEVEL OFF AT 8000 FT. WHY I CONTINUED TO CLB AFTER THEY TOLD US TO MAINTAIN OUR OWN SEPARATION; I DON'T KNOW. AT THE TIME IT DIDN'T LOOK CLOSE. IN RETROSPECT; IT WAS VERY CLOSE. THIS WHOLE EPISODE WAS STUPIDITY PERSONIFIED ON MY PART. I WAS GLAD NONE OF THE PAX ASKED US IF WE HAD SEEN THE LIGHT AIRPLANE WE PASSED; BECAUSE I COULDN'T THINK OF ANY HONEST AND SANE ANSWERS.