
On Saturday all pelagics were off their feed. Some boats fished hard for a single tuna or a few yellows. Yellowtail bit for many on Sunday, but the tuna remained impervious to hook baits and finding.
Bovines In The Zone

“We are down here in the lower zone. We are having very good fishing for Tuna from 60 to 200-plus pounds. We are now up to nine or 10 cows in very good weather. We have a few more days left!”
Whopper Bluefin
We departed on our first trip of the season on the night of the 27th,” reported Intrepid skipper Bill Cavanaugh. “After putting on a good load of sardine, we boarded our customers and departed shortly after eight P.M. We located our first school of fish right at first light and we hooked a fish almost immediately after stopping. Karen Warner hooked up fishing a Shimano flatfall jig and after 30 minutes of the fight, it was clear that she hooked a bigger fish. Another hour and the fish was at gaff. On the deck it taped out at 180 pounds. Impressive.

“Happy Memorial Day,” he wrote May 29. “We just arrived back at port this morning. The fish we taped out at 180 pounds weighed in at the dock at 198 pounds. Congratulations to Karen Warner.”
Trophy Tuna At Guadalupe
“Yesterday we had 10 Yellowfin Tuna up to 100 pounds,” posted Shogun May 25, “and six quality Yellowtail. As of this morning, we have two 80-pound Yellowfin aboard and nine fish hooked. The weather is flat and calm. Wish us luck and more biting fish.”
The next day the report said, “Yesterday we ended up with 17 Tuna, 70 to 100 pounds, and eight Beautiful grade Yellowtail. The weather was calm and gorgeous. We are headed to Ensenada to check into customs this evening and will be back at the San Diego dock at 6 A.M.”
Las Arenas Runs Large

“We also got some huge roosterfish. The average rooster ran about 60 pounds this week with a number of fish in the 80-pound class. These were beasts and you had to catch the big foot-long ladyfish to use for bait. There’s a reason we’re called the roosterfish capital of the world.
“We also hooked some striped marlin and rounded things out with bonito, triggerfish and some jack crevalle, reef fish and dorado. One of our guys had on a 50-pound tuna lost at color after about a 30-minute battle as well!
“This was the best fishing we’ve seen in the area all year. Nothing spectacular by our standards, but any improvement was welcome. It can only get better. We did have one day where the winds blew our folks all over the place but they still caught fish. But, mostly this is bigger fish we’re seeing. So, you either get big fish and hit home runs, or you don’t do so well. There’s not a lot of in-between action right now. If you chase roosterfish or wahoo or marlin, and you get one, you’re a hero. But you could also be one of the boats that gets goose-egged.
“The biggest issue is bait. For all intents and purposes, there’s no live bait to be had so we’re using dead bait. We are selling bags of fresh frozen mackerel in the mornings and some of the guys are bringing fresh dead squid as well.”