Half-day, full-day or overnight: which San Diego fishing trip actually catches tuna?
Not the half-day. Half-day boats fish the kelp for bass, yellowtail and barracuda for about $80. Tuna usually means a full-day or overnight trip, and bluefin mostly 1.5 days or more. Bluefin season runs roughly May to October.
- Half day
- ~$80
- Bluefin season
- May–Oct
- Bluefin limit
- 2 a day
- One-day license
- $21.09
Bass, yellowtail, barracuda; rarely tuna
Most catches, per NOAA
Within the 20-fish bag
Sold at the landings
The short version
- NOAA says most Pacific bluefin off the West Coast are caught between May and October; on October 4, 2026, San Diego boats were still bringing in bluefin up to about 170 pounds.
- Half-day boats (about $80) fish the kelp beds for calico and sand bass, yellowtail, bonito and barracuda, not tuna.
- Full-day trips ($155–$260) can reach yellowfin and yellowtail; bluefin trips are mostly overnight to 2-day runs ($315–$950).
- Anglers 16 and older need a California license; trips into Mexican waters also need a passport and a Mexican fishing permit for everyone aboard.
- From October 1 through December 31, nearshore rockfish are closed in Southern California and other groundfish are open only offshore of 50 fathoms.
San Diego has one of the biggest sportfishing fleets in the country, and from late spring into fall the docks fill with tuna. But the cheap half-day trip most visitors book almost never sees one. Here's how trip length matches up with what you can actually catch.
Point Loma (Shelter Island)
Mission Bay
Pins from OpenStreetMap address lookups. Prices checked October 6, 2026.
What each trip targets, and what it costs
| Trip | Typical catch | Price (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Half day (~5 hrs) | Calico and sand bass, yellowtail, bonito, barracuda, sheephead | $75–$83 |
| 3/4 day | Yellowtail, bass; sometimes offshore species | $155 |
| Full day | Yellowfin, yellowtail; Coronado Islands or offshore | $250–$259 |
| Overnight | Yellowfin, bluefin when they're close | $315–$340 |
| 1.5 to 2 days | Bluefin, often 100+ lb | $555–$950 |
Seaforth, Point Loma Sportfishing, Fisherman's Landing and H&M Landing schedules, checked October 6, 2026. Prices vary by boat and payment type; card prices run about 3.5% higher at some landings.
88
Yellowfin on one full-day boat
Seaforth's San Diego, October 4, 2026
~170 lb
Biggest bluefin that day
Pacifica, 2-day trip
May–Oct
Main bluefin season
NOAA Fisheries
Licenses and paperwork
- California license for anyone 16+: one-day $21.09, two-day $32.40, resident annual $64.54, nonresident annual $174.14. The landings sell them.
- Bluefin limit: 2 per day, counted within the 20-fish general bag.
- Mexican waters: most full-day and longer trips fish near the Coronado Islands or farther south. Bring a passport; everyone aboard needs a Mexican fishing permit, and an FMM is also required. Landings often arrange both; confirm when you book.
- Rockfish: from October 1 through December 31, nearshore rockfish, cabezon and greenlings are closed in Southern California; shelf rockfish and lingcod are open only offshore of 50 fathoms.
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
- PrimaryPacific bluefin tuna
NOAA Fisheries · Checked October 6, 2026
May–October catch season
- DataFish counts
Seaforth Sportfishing · October 4, 2026
Yellowfin and bluefin counts
Seaforth Sportfishing · Checked October 6, 2026
Half-day to 2-day prices
Point Loma Sportfishing · Checked October 6, 2026
Prices
Fisherman's Landing · Checked October 6, 2026
Prices and target species
- DataHalf day fishing
H&M Landing · Checked October 6, 2026
Half-day species and prices
- PrimarySport fishing licenses
California Department of Fish and Wildlife · Checked October 6, 2026
2026 license prices
- PrimaryGroundfish summary
California Department of Fish and Wildlife · June 23, 2026
Southern Management Area seasons
California Department of Fish and Wildlife · Checked October 6, 2026
2 per day
- BackgroundMexican fishing permits
BajaBound · Checked October 6, 2026
Permit requirement