San Diego Fleet Logs Broad Tuna Bite, Tribute Lands 28 Bluefin to 140 Pounds

The Tribute set the hook for San Diego tuna hunters with 28 bluefin on its 1.5-day trip, fish that ran all the way up to the 120-140 pound range and came with 11 bonito and one albacore. That kind of haul does more than fill a deck; it signals that the bluefin are not hiding on a single lucky boat.

The broader fleet numbers backed up that read. 976-TUNA’s Friday counts for San Diego logged 30 trips and 679 anglers, with 180 bluefin tuna among the day’s catches. The same totals page also showed 74 bonito, 40 yellowtail, 3,785 rockfish, 813 whitefish, 230 sculpin, one albacore and one dorado, a mixed bag that points to active offshore and nearshore water rather than a one-species flash in the pan.

Seaforth Sportfishing’s dock totals sharpened the picture even more. Its May 1 counts page said four boats on five trips carried 109 anglers and landed 150 bluefin tuna overall. The Polaris Supreme’s 3-day return added another heavy marker, with 122 bluefin tuna and one yellowtail on the boat. That is the kind of fleet-wide spread anglers watch for when they are trying to decide whether the bite is broadening across multiple runs or still living in a few hot spots.

The Tribute’s own recent checks show the run holding together. On April 30, the boat came in with one albacore and 18 bluefin up to 60 pounds. By May 1, that count had jumped to 28 bluefin and bigger fish, and on May 2 Seaforth reported the Tribute back again with 14 bluefin tuna and 11 bonito. Mike Pritchard captains the Tribute out of Seaforth Sportfishing at 1717 Quivira Road in San Diego, and the repeated checks suggest the boat stayed in the game through the weekend rather than catching one isolated score.

That matters because Seaforth’s own 1.5-day trip description says these runs are usually for summer fishing that cannot be reached on a one-day trip. The Tribute’s recent results suggest San Diego bluefin are already accessible on shorter overnights, not just long-range-style trips, and the fleet totals show the bite reaching beyond one standout boat.