Tribute lands limits of bluefin, then 15 yellowfin offshore near San Diego

The Tribute gave San Diego tuna anglers exactly the kind of offshore day that changes the whole decision tree: fill bluefin limits early, make a move south, then find yellowfin that were willing to bite. On May 13, the boat wrapped up bluefin first and later landed 15 yellowfin, a clean mixed-bag day that also produced 30 bonito for a 20-angler load.

The yellowfin were the kind that get attention fast on a dock. They ran mostly 20 to 40 pounds, with a few pushing as heavy as 45 pounds, and they came off dolphin schools and bird schools rather than as a random pick or a lone stray. That matters for anglers eyeing Southern California offshore waters right now because it suggests structure, feed, and a fishery that can be worked, not just stumbled into. When yellowfin show with birds and dolphins, the bite starts to look targetable.

Mike Pritchard said the boat was seeing very, very good fishing and liked the move south for yellowfin, calling it a sign he hoped would continue. The numbers on the Tribute back up that optimism. The boat had finished a May 12 1.5-day trip with 15 bluefin tuna to around 70 pounds and 31 bonito. Two days earlier, on May 10, it posted 15 bluefin from 150 to 200 pounds, though more fish were lost than landed. In late April, the Tribute also stacked limits of bluefin with 24 bonito and 3 dorado on April 19, then followed that with limits of bluefin and one dorado by lunchtime on April 20.

Put together, the run looks less like a one-off and more like a layered offshore bite building across species. The Tribute has been finding bluefin at both ends of the size range, along with bonito and a few dorado, and now the May 13 yellowfin move adds another piece to the puzzle. San Diego Fish Reports was already showing bluefin, yellowfin and dorado within a one-day range, and the Tribute’s latest day fit that picture cleanly. For now, the message offshore is simple: get your bluefin early, then keep watch for bird piles and dolphin schools if you want a shot at yellowfin before the day is done.