Pacific Queen lands 78 bluefin, yellowfin within three-day range

Pacific Queen Sportfishing put 78 bluefin tuna on the boat on its first trip of 2026, and the most important detail for West Coast anglers was where the fish showed up: closer to home. Drew Card’s April 12 report said the crew found the bluefin hungry, with reports of yellowfin tuna in 3-day range and enough action from the previous day to keep the next departure moving Wednesday morning with open spots.

For anglers planning early-season trips out of Southern California, that shift in range matters as much as the count. Bluefin closer to home usually changes the math on fuel, run time, bait, and how long a skipper can spend searching before settling into a stop. Add yellowfin in 3-day range, and the picture broadens beyond a single pocket of tuna, giving charter crews and private boaters a better shot at building a trip around multiple species instead of chasing one isolated school.

Pacific Queen’s own Instagram post reinforced that read, saying the boat was getting reports of “excellent yellowfin tuna fishing” in 3-day range and that “2026 is off to the races.” The same post said the boat was currently sold out until November, a sign that interest was already building around the opening run.

The boat itself is built for that kind of offshore schedule. Fisherman’s Landing lists Captain Drew Card at the helm and describes Pacific Queen as 85 feet long, 22 feet wide, and able to sleep 40 people, with refrigerated fish-holds and full galley service. Pacific Queen’s website also lists a San Diego contact number, (619) 221-8500, along with dedicated pages for fish reports, fish counts, photos, schedule, charter rates, about, and contact.

That setup helps explain why one strong opener carries weight beyond a single scorecard. A 78-bluefin trip with yellowfin in the mix points to a start that is not just productive, but flexible, and that is the kind of early signal anglers watch when they are deciding whether the range is tightening, the bite is building, or the opener is just a hot one-off.