(left): The whopper 330-pound yellowfin tuna caught by angler John Duffy of Team Broad Vision during the Bisbee’s Los Cabos Open.
(right): Solid yellowfin tuna caught aboard the Tribute 2-day run just off Punta Colonet between Ensenada and San Quintin.

Dock Totals 10/13 – 10/19: 2241 anglers aboard 111 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 951 bluefin tuna (up to 150 pounds), 9 bocaccio, 30 calico bass, 5 halibut, 19 lingcod, 10 perch, 16 rock crab, 7935 rockfish, 70 sand bass, 350 sculpin, 24 sheephead, 66 spiny lobster (147 released), 956 whitefish, 270 yellowfin tuna (up to 80-pounds), and 126 yellowtail.

Saltwater: Go figure. After reporting last week on a lackluster year to date for yellowfin tuna within 3-day range of Point Loma, they show up in force off the northern Baja coast within 1.5-Day range. These aren’t the football-sized units we often see up north, they are catching quite a few to 80-pounds in an area centering on 20 miles off Punta Colonet and south. Last week, reports of good-sized yellowfin tuna started coming out of Bahia Asuncion along the southern edge of the Vizcaino Peninsula, but to that point, we had seen very few north of Cedros Island but for one small flurry off Ensenada a month ago. 

Normally, during season, we would see lots of them within a one-day boat ride of Point Loma in the 15 to 30-pound range with a few pushing 50-pounds, but these fish have mostly been on the beefy side of 40-pounds. This isn’t a small spot of fish, as one boat reported, they are thick offshore from just south of Ensenada and south. After a very slow start on yellowfin this year, the Tribute, Oceanside 95, and other boats running short to mid-range trips have been getting good numbers of yellowfin the past few days using all tactics from trolling to deep-drop lures and fly-lined sardines. Even so, it has been a cooler than normal year, and we have yet to see any dorado mixed in with the yellowfin off northern Baja, which we usually do see in late summer and fall. There have been no storms pushing a south swell north, which usually pushes warmer water and semi-tropical species north of Isla Cedros and the mid-peninsula area. 

An example of just how different it is this year, H&M Landing total year-to-date catch of yellowfin, including today’s (Sunday, Oct 20) count of 153 caught, is 483 fish. Last year, H&M reported 7,163 yellowfin caught. Dorado counts are 160 caught to date in 2024 for H&M boats, when last year’s total was 13,602. That is a huge difference, especially since prime season is normally winding down by mid October for the 3-day and shorter trips.

Trip to areas from Cedros south along the coast of the Vizcaino to the Ridge and other areas off Bahia Magdalena are usually 5 to 8-day runs, and those boats have been doing very well on good-sized yellowfin, wahoo, and dorado this season. To emphasize the quality of yellowfin down south, a 330-pounder just won the tuna division of the Bisbee’s Los Cabos Open this weekend. That is now the largest yellowfin tuna caught in the long Bisbee’s tournament history. Angler John Duffy of Team Broad Vision landed the brute yellowfin while fishing aboard Pisces Sportfishing’s 62-foot Viking, Chasin’ Tail. With 137 teams in the tournament, that is quite a feat. The fish netted $109,090 dollars for the team in jackpot money. 

The Captain of Chasin’ Tail during the tournament was Pepe de la Peña. Fittingly, Captain Pepe was the mate aboard El Suertudo when they landed the IGFA World Record Yellowfin weighing 427 pounds in September of 2012. Angler Guy Yocom caught the fish, and he truly was the ‘lucky one’ on the boat with the same name. Once the IGFA certified his catch, Yocom was awarded one million dollars from Mustad Hooks in their ‘Hook a Million’ competetion that year. Yocom’s prize from Mustad was $20,000 per year for fifty years, so he will still be getting paid for 38 more years for that one fortunate day of fishing back in 2012. 

San Diego Anglers Open Bay Bass tournament also took place this last weekend, and though the official results have yet to be posted, I was informed that the winner of the boat division was 90-inches total for five fish. That is impressive 18-inch average for five bass out of San Diego Bay. Species targeted were all three saltwater bass found in our waters; calico bass, spotted bay bass, and barred sand bass. Most of the fish caught and measured in the catch and release only tournament were barred sand bass. 

Anglers in the two divisions, boat and kayak, had to take a photo on an official Ketch or Hog Trough measuring device, then release the fish unharmed. Gotta give the San Diego Anglers club some props for their format, by utilizing these measuring devices, weigh-ins that can cause undue stress to fish that are to be released are no longer necessary. There was also a jackpot for largest halibut caught in the tournament, which was reported unofficially to be 32-pounds. The official results for both the boat and kayak divisions should be posted by early in the week. Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!