# Describe Your Local -- Dana Point CA, USA



## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I'm Zed; Troy to only my dad, mom and Trev. My friends have called me Zed forever. I've lived in SoCal for coming up on 35yrs and I have fished these salt waters for all that time. I moved w/ my parents from Minnesota, The Land of 10,000 Lakes. Coming to California left me confused as nearly all "lakes" were reservoirs and you had to PAY to fish them and stream and creek fishing was up in the mountains, far to far for a 10year old to travel. So I went to salt and never looked back but for a handfull of times catching trout while camping.

Dana Point is a harbor/marina named after Richard Henry Dana who sailed these waters in the 1830s in the hide and tallow trade. There are 3 launch spots around the harbor, only one having any sort of waves to deal with, but it is protected from all but swells from 240 down to 160deg. Basically "New Zealand" swells and hurricanes off Baja.
The beach launch is marked by the X. Heading NW (left, on the other side of the short breakwall, inside the harbor is the boat launch, and way in the back, farther NW is Baby Beach. There is limited free parking at Baby Beach, but an extra fruitless 0.80mi of paddle that can be head-up to the prevailing afternoon winds. Al launches will take you up to the NWward to reach the fishing grounds off the point itself. There is a halibut fishery to the SE that is in tight around a rivermouth. This can be dicey with swells popping up. I prefer to go outside.









My local yak grounds prior to 2009 was Laguna Beach, CA, about 5 miles N of Dana Point. But the whole thing was slammed shut by an MPA.









Water and weather is predictable and moderate for the most part. In the Summer (July Aug Sep for our purposes) the water is in the low 70F range, and coastal temps may reach 90F. It is generally calm winds in the mornings and a N to NW wind to 15kts by afternoon, with often a glass off at dusk. Waters begin to cool by Oct, and by Feb the temps can be as low as 55F, with frost possible to the coast. Slow warming occurs from Feb to May, depending on the winter storms that may still roll through, stirring up the water w strong W-NW winds. May and June weather there is an eddy in the bight, leaving cloudy weather at the coast and ~10mi inland, with winds SE to about 15kts. This is referred to a Marine Layer, onshore flow, Catalina eddy, May gray, June gloom, or natures air conditioner. Surfers often refer to the conditions around this time as morning sick, as the SE wind comes right up the coast, leaving chopped, bumpy conditions. The clouds often burn off by 1100.

Fishing around Dana Point can be productive year round for calico bass, barred sand bass, halibut, and possibly a thresher shark of any size. 



























Rossman (dad) w a halibut.


















CaboJohn w a thresher by the tail.


















CaboJohn and I doubled up on a big thresher.









One at the yak.









Spring and early Summer gives the chance at white sea bass.









Rossman w a wsb held like a 2nd son.









There are other oddballs that show up now and then.
Cabezon









CA Sheephead









CA scorpionfish









Brown smoothhound shark









Ling cod









Vermillion rockfish









Occy









And (giant) Black Sea Bass of all sizes.


















Later Summer and fall, when the water is at its warmest (Sep-Oct) there is rare, fleeting chances at offshore dorado(mahi), yellowfin tuna, and striped marlin I have seen but not caught. It really is a rare chance that one has the right conditions, wind and water, to make a 5+mi paddle straight offshore for a look. Schoolie Yellowtail (KF) sometimes show up along the kelp in late Summer, but not every year.

Dana point itself is surrounded by a thick bed of giant kelp spanning the nearshore intertidal to about 60ft. Most of the fishing is adjacent to the outside edge of the kelp over hard bottom conglomerate reef or rubble in 30-100ft. One can venture into the kelp to fish lanes or potholes in the kelp that form in different wind and currents. With so much kelp around this really isn't a silly string fishery, IMO. Fishing near kelp w less than 10lb line doesn't give you very good odds. Personally I don't like to fishing with only a 10%chance of landing a fish before I even start. For that reason I think the ideal combo is 40lb braid that will saw kelp, w a 20lb flouro or mono leader that can withstand being physically pulled through the kelp if you get hung.
Thick kelp









Stringers









Generally 4in-6in soft plastics w swimmy tails, either twisty or paddle, on 3/4oz to 1 1/2oz triangle heads is most useful. Guys are now using more weedless style plastics adopted from largemouth bass fishing. I haven't gone that way yet. Bait can be found nearly year round with the big 3 being green mackerel, jack mackerel and sardines. All take a sabiki. Our presentation is a single 1/0-3/0 hook, through the nose, for the most natural swimming of the bait. It can be "flylined" which is no weight, Carolina rigged, with a 1/2-2oz sliding egg sinker above a swivel w a 2ft-4ft leader of flouro or mono, or a dropper loop style with the weight on the bottom (3oz-12oz depending on current) w a 1/2ft drop with a 1ft-4ft leader of flouro or mono perpendicular to the line. This can be tied w a knot or by using a 3-way swivel.

Greenback









Sardine









Pacific Jack Mackerel









That's a pretty thorough overview of the local. If anyone is in South Orange County, CA, I'd be happy to show you around. I could even scrounge up a kayak to paddle. If you search Zed in trip reports, most of the reports labeled CA USA are from Dana Point, if you would like some more context.

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Thanks,

Z


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## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Thanks Zed, good to see the yakkas, pillies and slimies work well for you too.


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Awesome stuff Zed, it looks a beautiful place. I'd love to get over there some time and fish it. Same goes if you're ever over here of course. With the Marlin, mahi mahi and tuna showing up, I'm surprised there aren't mackerel too. Do you have some pics of the different rigs for the livies?


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

scater said:


> With the Marlin, mahi mahi and tuna showing up, I'm surprised there aren't mackerel too. Do you have some pics of the different rigs for the livies?


King mackerel as they're called in the states are only found in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. There's been a spearfish, wahoo, and blue marlin landed w/in 50miles of San Diego very infrequently. Spearfish are very rare, but wahoo and blue marlin get more common about halfway down Baja and beyond on the PAC side. Bluefin tuna, albacore, and bigeye tuna also show up w/in range of power boats. The seasons have been bluefin and yellowfin in the last few years but before that the albacore dominated the catches by boats. Every few years the catch numbers switch up on tuna. Still it's a long trip, 50miles or so off shore. Yak range is really a rare window. With the impending El Nino, who knows what may come.

I don't have pix of the rigs, but they're pretty self explanatory.

Here's a diagram of a dropper w a 3-way swivel.









This is a Carolina. Bead may or may not be used.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

It's enormous.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I'd say the shelf is about 5 miles plus or minus. The CA current comes down the coast and in from Alaska, leaving generally cold water along the coast until mid Baja, normally. It just doesn't make for optimal pelagic conditions near shore. It happens, but I can't count on a shot every year from my yak.

I eat a halibut every chance I get a legal. Same goes for White sea bass. I've killed or been part of killing 2 threshers. Too much hassle for me on those. Tough to dress, chill, clean, and store all that, and keep it in top shape. I've never tried smoothhound. Just today I learned gummys and smoothhounds are similar, and I know they are sought after in AUS. Ling cod are tasty as fish n chips; most fish are. I like yellowtail sashimi, and I love cooking w tuna. Sesame tetaki albacore is so f'n good.

I like fishing a lot and I've become pretty good at it. I just don't feel I need to kill everything I catch, but I certainly could eat them all for flavor's sake. I have some halibut in the freezer right now. Once the larders are empty, I can feel better about killing the next. Watch, I'll catch something tomorrow I want to keep, now I've said that. Ha.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Enjoyable reading about your local scene and its fishy inhabitants, thanks Zed.


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## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

Zed said:


> I eat a halibut every chance I get a legal. Same goes for White sea bass. I've killed or been part of killing 2 threshers. Too much hassle for me on those. Tough to dress, chill, clean, and store all that, and keep it in top shape. I've never tried smoothhound. Just today I learned gummys and smoothhounds are similar, and I know they are sought after in AUS.


it would be worth giving the Smothies a go on the table

sus out 
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=65430

there are some cleaning tips and care for them there

also do you eat the Scorpion fish if they are anything like our red rock scorps they are also pretty good eating


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks cheater, I'll read up.

Yes I have eaten a few scorps. Very tasty flesh. They are the only fish that get the alternate use of the side-cutters, and get a haircut (fin clip) before getting bagged.


liam8227 said:


> Is it usual that you guys catch such large fish? I saw more than one massive whopper in there!
> 
> I'm in in southern Queensland and there are quite a few species that grow to that size but it is unusual to see them caught. The size of that upside down Black Bass is massive. It reminds me a bit of the groper/cod species.


Well I'll say not UNususal. That was my biggest fin-fish of my life I think, and to have the opportunity on the yak was extra cool. We'll get a handful a year as bycatch but that one was big.

It is our only "grouperish" fish on the west coast, although it's in its own family (Polyprionidae (wreckfish)). You've got 2 of them, Hapuku and Bass groper.


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## Simoau (Apr 30, 2014)

Thanks so much for sharing. Those fish are indeed massive.  as a new starter in the game it's great to see how y'all do it over there. My wife is from SC and I head over to the USA each year. I might have to hunt you down on a layover in between if time permits. Great write up and thanks for sharing Zed.


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

Zed said:


> I'm Zed; Troy to only my dad, mom and Trev. My friends have called me Zed forever.


And Salti
Does that mean Salti is not your friend?


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I know his type. I say "don't call me that", it immediately sticks.


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