Royal Star finale lands bluefin and mixed bag at Fisherman’s Landing

Royal Star pulled into Fisherman’s Landing with a brimming full well and a finish that says plenty about late-May San Diego bluefin: the tuna are there, but they are not the only reason to book a trip. Duke Ekstrom said the boat was due in at 6:30 a.m. and came back loaded with quality fish, with photos showing bluefin, bass, yellowtail and the bottom critters anglers always look for.

The trip did not read like a straight tuna burn, and that is the takeaway for anyone watching the landing right now. Ekstrom noted that the yellowtail were not biting, but they were still “epic” to watch come completely out of the water for chum. That kind of finish tells a familiar Southern California story: one boat can still stack bluefin and finish strong even when the rest of the action spreads across calico bass, yellowtail and bottom fish.

Fisherman’s Landing’s May 23 update backed up the bigger picture. The landing said bluefin, yellowfin and dorado were being caught within a one-day range, and that most fish were coming on 25- to 30-pound flyline setups with fluorocarbon and small #4 to 1/0 hooks. It also said bluefin in the 80- to 130-pound class were starting to show up, a sign that the late-spring tuna program was still producing fish with real weight behind them.

That matters when deciding how to book. Royal Star’s finale shows bluefin can absolutely remain part of the selling point, but this was also a mixed-bag return that included bass, yellowtail and bottom fish. For anglers choosing between a bluefin-only mindset and a broader San Diego loadout, the better question is whether the boat is set up for a tuna-first run or a trip where bluefin is a bonus alongside everything else.

The dock totals reinforced the same read. Fisherman’s Landing logged 4 boats, 5 trips and 177 anglers, with 152 bluefin tuna up to 150 pounds, 73 rockfish, 46 calico bass and 18 yellowtail. Regional totals across Southern California also showed bluefin in the day’s catch, with 76 trips carrying 2,255 anglers and 152 bluefin landed. Royal Star’s finish fit right into that pattern: bluefin were still headline fish, but the mixed bag was what made the trip feel complete as the boat came home full.