Carl Schmidt's May 7 weekly update from Fisherman's Landing in San Diego is the kind of weekly report Southern California long-range fans wait for - bluefin tuna limits across most of the fleet, jackpot fish climbing over 130lb, and weather that has the docks treating early May like peak season.
Schmidt opened the report by addressing the conventional wisdom that fish do not chew on a full moon - and dismissing it.
"The full moon, the old saying the fish don't bite at the full moon, well we could throw that right out the window this past weekend here," Schmidt said. "Most of the boats reported limits of bluefin tuna fishing this past weekend."
Schmidt's boat-by-boat breakdown stacks up like one of the strongest weekends Fisherman's Landing has logged in early May. The Pacific Queen returned from a two-day trip with limits of bluefin for 30 anglers - 120 fish in total - with 30 of them in the 50 to 60lb class. The Tomahawk's two-and-a-half-day trip ran a deliberately light 16-angler load and still scored 64 bluefin to 80lb, with the bulk in the 25 to 40lb range. The Pegasus ran two overnights, one each side of the weekend, and had limits of bluefin for both crews by mid-morning. The Constitution's two-day trip returned with 55 bluefin to 60lb on a 21-angler load.
On the back of those numbers, the next round of trips was already loading.
"I know the Queen left Sunday and he's already got limits for his first day of a two-day trip of bluefin tuna," Schmidt said. "I know the Shogun's out there on a two-day trip. Connor just text me, he just got out of a really good stop. He didn't give me any numbers, but he said it was a good one there - 25 to 40 pound fish."
Schmidt's tackle prescription for anglers booking onto the day-and-a-half and two-day trips reads as a useful checklist. He recommended bringing a 25 or 30lb live bait outfit, a 40 or 50lb daytime outfit and an 80 or 100lb nighttime stick for the bigger fish that climb on top after dark. Hooks ran from a number two to a one out, with sinkers staged from two ounces up to eight for daytime work. On jigs he was deliberately non-prescriptive.
"There's not like one hot jig at night," Schmidt said. "There's been a handful of fish caught at night here and there. Some of the boats occasionally find a school that wants to bite at night, but bring a little of everything to be prepared for everything."
Beyond the bluefin run, Schmidt flagged a quiet yellowfin and dorado push showing up in long-range catches, weather that 'looks really good' through the coming weekend, and an excellent yellowtail bite at the islands worth booking the Mission Belle, the San Diego or the Grande for. Half-day fans on the Dolphin had been getting steady action on rockfish, sand bass, calico bass and sheephead. The landing's Kids Fish Free promotion also runs on Dolphin half-days through May 22 with a paid adult, the only exception being Wednesdays for the boat's halibut derby.
Schmidt closed with a thank you to Calstar Rods for sponsoring the broadcast and a reminder that reservations are now needed across most of the fleet to get the boats off the dock - day-and-a-half and two-day trips are running through the next two months.
The takeaway from San Diego is that early May has produced one of the strongest weekends of the season so far, with most of the long-range fleet limiting on bluefin in the 25 to 50lb bracket, the half-day boats grinding inshore, and the islands holding good yellowtail.