Dana Point Report

[daperrin]

Have not been out in a while so thought I would take advantage of a Monday off/good weather situation Launched out of Baby Beach and picked up some live bait on the way out. Cost me $25 flat. Last time it was $20 and I gave my customary $5 tip. This time he said $25, so not sure if he was padding for his tip ahead of time or what Anyway it was a nice day, no crowds and I was happy.

Went out to Doheny and started fishing in around 12 ft of water. Worked my way to the river mouth with no bites. Talked to another kayaker that had just pulled in a short Hali. He said fishing has been terrible for a while. That was the first fish he's caught in 2 months. Continued working my way down the beach towards San Clemente Beach in around 10 ft of water, no bites.

The morning had been cool with 4-6 mph offshore wind but now it started to turn on shore under 5. Still a great morning around 9:30. Swell was 1-2, water was a bit dirty. Tide seemed great for that day as well. Water started dropping around 8am and low tide not scheduled until 1pm. I had started the day with high hopes.

Started working my way back the way I came and when I got back to Doheny I ate my granola, NO BITES.

The wind was starting to pick up around 11 so I headed back in to the harbor to hit the bait barge and jetty for any last chances at a fish. No bites! Definite theme developing here

On the way back feed the Pelicans my remaining sardines and said 'hey' to the group of seals weighing down the docks near the Sheriff boats. Loaded up and went home happy but anxious for 2023's first legit fish.

[dorado123]

Thanks for the report
Around this time of year bait barge guy wasn't there or sleeping, hate to wake him up or wait till he come back

[Southwest Kayak Fishing]

Hi Dave
Thanks for posting up! It’s been tough finding a day that would work out with the crappy weather or unreasonable sea conditions.

The bait barge increased the cost of a kayak scoop to $25 around the beginning of the new year.

Now we’re going to have to wait for the storms to pass and the inshore conditions to settle down a little bit😕

[Salty]

Thanks for the report! I've fished DP about 5 times so far in 2023 and that has been the general experience. Long, cold trips with not a lot of fish to show for it! Sandies were biting at a few holes around the 100' mark past the pipe, but other than that, no takers... All bites were on the jig too.
Also, Everingham Bros Bait Co. has raised the price to $25 for a kayak scoop, so he was definitely not padding the tip. Those guys have had a rough winter, so don't forget the tip going forward! (I forgot the first time already...)

[JohnMckroidJr]

Kudo's Dave -- for making it out and reporting! Fish or no fish, let's keep the sport alive by sharing our participation

[govomit]

... fried sardines are delicious !

[vincentek9]

thanks for the report. it seems all of these storms rolling through have constantly messed up the bite in both fresh and salt water. And have you considered taking sardines home and freezing them to use as bait later on? I know dead dines don't work so well for the halibut here, but it makes good chum and i think it works on misc bass and bigger rockfish.

[PapaDave]

I hit up DP yesterday, for the first time ever, at least for me, there wasn't anyone manning the bait receiver. I waited around for about 45 minutes thinking he was getting something to eat, but no show, and I didn't see the boat they use either. Oh well, I brought a sabiki I keep in the box so I figured I'd head out and see if I could catch a mackerel or two. No go there, but in that attempt I did get a sculpin and a short sand bass. The wind picked up a lot and it got rough so in I went.

On a side note, the water was cold and real dirty. And the water was acting weird, there where areas where the chop was bad and a few yards away it was a better, kind of like there was something intercepting the chop to some degree. There was also a green streak in the water running pretty much on top of the pipeline. Strange things going on out there...

[jruiz]

Originally Posted by PapaDave

I hit up DP yesterday, for the first time ever, at least for me, there wasn't anyone manning the bait receiver. I waited around for about 45 minutes thinking he was getting something to eat, but no show, and I didn't see the boat they use either. Oh well, I brought a sabiki I keep in the box so I figured I'd head out and see if I could catch a mackerel or two. No go there, but in that attempt I did get a sculpin and a short sand bass. The wind picked up a lot and it got rough so in I went.

On a side note, the water was cold and real dirty. And the water was acting weird, there where areas where the chop was bad and a few yards away it was a better, kind of like there was something intercepting the chop to some degree. There was also a green streak in the water running pretty much on top of the pipeline. Strange things going on out there...

I camped at Doheny over the weekend and birds were diving the whole time in the vicinity of the pipe and just beyond casting distance from the surf. I would've thought that bait would have been easy to make.

[jorluivil]

I was out there a few weeks ago, it took some time and effort to make bait but I did end up with enough bait to fish the entire morning, I believe I ended my day with 1 bass and a few octopus. I will probably head back this weekend and give it another try.

[PapaDave]

Originally Posted by jruiz

I camped at Doheny over the weekend and birds were diving the whole time in the vicinity of the pipe and just beyond casting distance from the surf. I would've thought that bait would have been easy to make.

I saw that as well, it looked like sardines whenever the pelicans came up, by then I was not trying to catch bait and was heading in.