SoCalKayakAnglin'

Hey everybody - long time no see.

Long story short - I moved to TV's own Orange County for work reasons about a year ago.  Depending on your specific constitution - So Cal can take the desire to fish right out of you.  I haven't been fishing much but I've made a few trips to Huntington Harbor and today hit up Dana Point.

Dana Point, for those of you who haven't heard, is a premier kayak fishing destination in So Cal . .second only, perhaps, to La Jolla shores in terms of it's reputation as a great fishery.

If you want to go to Dana Point you must get up early.  If you get there after about 8am you will not be able to park.  I got there at 6:30 and had no problem.

On the water at about 7, I launched into the harbor and started paddling for the sea.  It's about a 2 mile paddle from the launch to the fishing grounds and the part inside the harbor is pretty gross with motor oil and seagull crap.  Good motivation to keep moving.

I got to the actual point or what some ppl call "the headlands" in about 45 minutes - holy cow I have never seen so many boats in 1 spot!  At least 50 and probably more.  Several kayakers, too.  My first thought was "these poor fish must have jigs bouncing off thier heads 24/7".  Close in to shore is a nasty little area filled with boiler rocks and no boats and just a few yaks. .so that's where I headed. 

Other than bait, which was super-easy to make, the fishing was slow.  I put out a live bait (little mackerels or something . .not sure) and also jigged a 4inch fishtrap.  I got 2 calicos on the fishtrap and nothing on the bait.  I also caught some shiner perch on the sabiki while jigging for bait (some days you have to take what you can get!).

On the paddle back it was much more crowded then when I left.  The boat traffic inside the harbor was pretty nutty  - but manageable.  The worst part was loading the car - I started a mini traffic jam with people stopped waiting to get my parking spot as soon as I moved (and asking me every minute or so if I was ready to leave yet  ).    A trick I figured out just a little too late is to tell them you are just loading up but are going to stay all day.

Ever since I moved I was planning on posting my first So Cal yak outing here . .just didn't think it would take so long.  I totally miss all the great kayak fishing up North and plan to visit as much as possible and get my kayak fishing in that way.  Even so - Dana Point is OK for when I have to stay local. 

If any of you guys find yourselves down this way hit me up by pm and I'll show the launches I've figured out so far.

Looks like a nice warm day on the water. Too bad the fishing was slow. We have those days here, minus the crowds. I fished Coral st in Monterey today, slow fishing and a little bumpy, but I was the only kayaker fishing there. Later, Kimo

Looks like a nice warm day on the water. Too bad the fishing was slow. We have those days here, minus the crowds. I fished Coral st in Monterey today, slow fishing and a little bumpy, but I was the only kayaker fishing there. Later, Kimo

I used to live off Coral St in Pacific Grove and fished there almost everyday . . . . .

That is the whole reason why I am spoiled for this So Cal stuff.  Enojoy it while you can!

Thanks for the report and pics.  I grew up down there and first got into kayak fishing down there in the late 90's.  I know of a lot of good places to go in So Cal, and Dana Point is just one option.  If you live in the OC, the Newport area has a lot to offer as well as Long Beach and Palos Verdes not far to the North.  I head down at least a few times a year to visit Mom, I'll PM you when i head down and see if we can hook up and maybe try to see if any of my old hot spots still have fish.

You will always have to deal with crowds to some extent down there and the yuck in the water is unavoidable with the huge human biomass down there, but don't get too discouraged......lots of halibut, big calicos, white seabass and yellowtail will make it bearable as time goes by.  I'll PM you some more specifics on spots to give a try later on when I have some time. 

Good fishing,

Norm