San Diego Bluefin Bite Stays Strong on Shorter Trips

San Diego’s shorter tuna runs are still paying off, and the Liberty’s latest 1.5-day trip gave anglers another clean piece of proof. With 13 anglers aboard, the boat came home with 26 bluefin tuna and one yellowtail, a solid average of 2.0 bluefin per person that keeps the shorter offshore format in the conversation for anyone trying to get out without committing to a full three-day run.

That kind of number matters because it reads like repeatable fleet work, not a one-off hero stop. The Liberty’s spring pace has already included 43 bluefin on a 1.5-day trip on April 26 and 38 bluefin plus 29 yellowfin on a 1-day overnight trip on April 20. Put together, those results show a boat that has been finding steady offshore action across multiple trips, with yellowfin and yellowtail mixing in alongside the bluefin instead of a single-species score.

The boat itself has become a familiar San Diego name since Fisherman’s Landing and Captain Taro Takeuchi bought the 85-footer in January 2016, moved it down from Long Beach, and spent six months on refurbishment and renovation. Liberty primarily runs daily open-party 3/4-day trips to the Coronado Islands and other coastal or offshore zones within 50 miles of San Diego, while also offering 1/2-day, 3/4-day, full-day overnight, and 1 1/2-day private charters. That range gives anglers a few ways to chase tuna when the bite is on.

The Liberty’s numbers also fit a broader regional run. A San Diego bluefin leaderboard has shown Polaris Supreme at 1,455 bluefin, Pacific Voyager at 685, and New Lo-An at 239, underscoring how active the fleet has been this season. California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife classifies Pacific bluefin and yellowfin as highly migratory species and tracks them through its pelagic fisheries program under joint state and federal management, which is one reason every strong count from a San Diego boat gets watched so closely. Right now, the message from the Liberty is straightforward: the bluefin are still there, and the shorter trips are still producing.