Please help me find the hot spots in Dana Point.

[MVC]

I would second pretty much everything Steve said. I fish Dana alot mostly for halibut. I fish mostly to the north near the kelp. I rarely mark spots in Dana because the fish tend to move around in the kelp. When I catch a short or get a raked bait, I will stay in the same area sometimes for an hour or more because halibut tend stay together in groups. I also pay attention to the depth where I may get a bite. Good luck

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by BrokeLoser

Funny how you totally disregard everything in my previous post that really matters and only pick out the things you can cast a shadow on and play devils advocate to. I hope you're not always a 'glass is half empty' kind of guy.

"So your looking for a starting point? What do you want to catch? If its halibut or bass, the headlands and salt creek are great starting points. You already know where that is right?"

Yep, I know what species that general area holds and I know the location of that general area...but just as mentioned in the original post...a good coordinates for a base point like all fishing vessels use would be nice to have.

Easy there buddy...! Don't get too excited...As you can see you don't need an exact set of numbers to catch fish out there. Just get out there and look around, pay attention, learn, but mainly put in your time. Not a knock on you just what we all have to go thru in order to be successful.

Good luck!

[yak-fishing-socal]

So much good information here thanks everyone one iv been fishing Dana with a blind fold on....can't wait for the next time I get to go paddle out tight lines and thanks for the info
👍👍🎣🍻🐟🍣🚣

[Stuck20]

Fished about 30 yards east of the red buoy at headlands last time I was out there. Caught some on the flyline and some with plastics. Was a productive day.

[Ship34]

Originally Posted by steveooo

Those numbers from Rossman are good, and one of a few that I'll always stop and look at if I make the trip up Norte. Rossman has had his butt in a kayak for more hours at Dana point than anyone I know, and caught more fish at Dana point than anyone I know, so I'd pay attention.

No need for GPS coordinates in Dana right now though- Just look around for the lobster buoys and you have all the "spots" that Dana has to offer. Mark them now, so you can have them once the lobster season is over. As with most "spots" in any location, they are a good place to start, but I think success will depend on you learning how to fish those "spots" in different conditions. Pay attention to all the details when you do catch a fish. Which way was the current running? What side of the structure were you on? What were the tides doing? Water temp? Bait situation? Catch enough fish (or get skunked) from one "spot" and you will start to see a pattern. Keep track of conditions in a journal, both when you catch fish and when you don't, and soon enough you will have a little bit of info on how to fish each "spot" ensuring your best chance of catching a fish on each outing.

I think that can probably be transferred to any body of water...

Sometimes the conditions just aren't favorable at a "spot" in Dana Point, even at the numbers above, and you need to abandon one "spot" to go see if the conditions are favorable at another.

Here's my generic tip for Dana Point that has worked for me. Look for a good south flowing current. No water movement = no fish. I've been on and off the water in 30 min if I see the water is not moving. I wish I could pin the water movement at Dana to the tide movement, but it isn't that easy. Sometimes it moves, sometimes it doesn't. If your schedule allows, fish the high tide for Halibut.

I wish I could stress it enough, but success at Dana Point is more about fishing the right conditions more than any place than I have seen.
Regardless, here are a few generic "Spots" for Dana. I don't really look for GPS numbers, just general areas that have structure, recognizable landmarks, or areas I have caught random fish at...

The Pipe- A reef structure that extends from the "rivermouth" at Doheny to the area that it dumps in about 90 ft deep. The area that it dumps in is almost directly west of the tip of the long jetty but for the most part is is just slightly south of the harbor. Right now it is easy to find. Go to the red buoy in front of Doheny, then look south west. It will be littered with lobster Buoys. Those buoys are a good place to start, but make sure you are either directly on the structure, or on the same side of the structure that the fish are on. 30-60 ft has always been the most productive for me. There is a nice section in 40 ft of water, that the reef comes up to about 25 ft that has been good to me, but it is the most snaggy bottom I've ever seen. Be prepared to lose alot of tackle in this area. It can be costly, but worth every penny.

The Headlands- The area just west of the Dana Point Bluff, near the red Buoy. There is lots of hard bottom and kelp. Fish tight to the kelp that is visible on the surface. A few reefs marked by buoys in the area as well. The headlands is a generic area that is pretty big. In regard to how people refer to it, it is the equal to La Jolla's "In front of the Condo". Nothing special needed. Fish the right structure at the right time, you might catch a fish. Conditions rule here.

Doheny- The beach just South of the harbor. Sandy bottom with sporadic kelp. I typically fish this area from 5 - 40 ft deep. Halibut move around so I don't have any GPS coodinates. Pound as much sand near structure as you can in this area and you will scratch a fish or two. There are a few reefs in the area that are visible on a negative low tide. Mark them on that low tide, and fish them on the next high tide. The area in front of the "rivermouth" can be productive if the conditions are good. Keep going south and you will fish the Capo reefs. Capo reefs are directly in front of Capistrano Beach. The wind there usually blows south, so don't get caught south when that turns on.

Salt Creek- A long substantial kelp bed directly in front of Salt Creek beach. It is a long paddle, several miles, but can be productive at times. Generally, fish in 50- 70 feet of water, on the west side of the kelp. The fish like it very tight to the structure there, so if you are getting snagged and losing lots of rigs, you are in the right spot. I'd like to give you GPS numbers, but the reality is that it is about a 1 mile stretch of beach that has kelp. Fish it near the kelp at the right time, you can catch a fish. It is a long paddle to get a skunk from though. The current can go VERY slack there. If there is no current, move to another spot south. North of Salt Creek is the Laguna MPA. I hated to lose that the most.

There are no secret areas, GPS spots, or fish dope required for Dana Point. Spend your time learning one of the areas above, and you will see your success rate increase drastically. Once you have it figured out, then Dana will throw you a curveball skunk outing that will send you back to the drawing board. When you figure out how to avoid those skunk outings, please send me a private message with the details, because those are the ones that keep me coming back to Dana, and I'd really like to spend more time fishing in La Jolla....

Good luck,
Steve

Thank you Steve and Rossman and everyone else that gave good actionable intel! I am a newbie myself and can use all the help I can get to make my kayak trips more rewarding (whether the reward is a fish or a lesson or both).

[EastLosYaker]

Props on doing your own research! Hope it puts you on some fish!

[monstahfish]

For future reference I and I'm sure many others would agree it's in poor taste to push people for gps coordinates. Almost everyone here had done their due diligence by getting out and fishing, looking at charts, going with someone else etc.. Those who do have coordinates, have spent many hours figuring them out and don't feel like giving their work away and that's why you didn't get many number's. Just get out and fish. I moved out Here two and a half years ago and I must have put in at least 50 hours before I figured out how to catch a yellowtail and I'm just getting really solid on the bay fisheries. Put in your time ask about questions that come up but don't ask for people's spots.

[PapaDave]

I agree, go and explore, it's fun. I've been fishing DP in a yak for 5 years, 3 of them every weekend. I've explored the area from salt creek all the way down past the Clemente pier. There are definitely spots out there that I prefer to go just because I've caught many fish in the area. But those are not the only spots. I used to have over 280 locations marked but recently culled that down to 67, marking areas rather than individual spots.

So go, explore, play, make it an adventure, you'll get there.

[rossman]

Since this thread is a few years old, maybe the OP can post up all of his way points.

[steveooo]

Originally Posted by rossman

Since this thread is a few years old, maybe the OP can post up all of his way points.

Maybe now that you have moved to Baja and don't need them anymore, you could send me all your old waypoints. The more specific the better...

[rossman]

I can't do that Steve but I will tell you that if you line yourself up with the Laguna Beach Hospital in 85 ft of water and work up the coast, you will have a lot of action.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[theluckypig]

fished it today... plenty of bait... but not a single bite... nada... and i was everywhere!!!