Dana Wharf Blog

Blue Whale Palooza and Fin Whales, including a Fin Whale cow/calf Pair! Passengers aboard Dana Wharf Whale Watch have been thrilled with Blue Whale sightings off Dana Point for 19 out of the first 25 days of June. These impressive creatures have been spotted mostly 6-9 miles offshore, moving northwest at approximately 4 knots. Many…

This week, water temperatures have been varied, ranging from the coolest at 60.5° to 65° at the start of the week. It seems that mixed-up conditions and some downhill current may have contributed to this. Despite the cool water, bass fishing has been as good as expected. Those looking to catch some bass have had…

Beautiful Blue and Friendly Fin Whales! About seven miles off San Onofre in what is often a very productive area, we encountered one of several Blue Whales seen this week!  This whale stayed very close to the surface between dives.  Even under the gray skies, we could see its massive body’s “blue glow”!  During the…

A Rare Sperm Whale Spotted by Captain Steve at Dana Wharf! Sperm whales are some of the biggest toothed whales in the ocean, with males weighing up to 50 tons or more than 700 people, according to the National Wildlife Federation. They can be very elusive with hour-long dives and usually travel in deeper waters further…

Great Blue Whales, Feeding Fin Whales, and Mighty Minke Whales! Blue Whale season is here and usually lasts from May to September. This week we even saw a blue whale, the largest animal, believed to be the same animal seen years ago, affectionately called “Bubbles,” recognized because this whale consistently displays a large “bubble blast” before…

Plowed through another week here locally and over at the island. Along the coast here, 63° water was pretty much the norm.  Where is the sun?  Man a little bit of sun would really kick things up.   We’ve got some great sardine and anchovy mix for our live bait so the bass action picked up…

Good week, very similar to what we had to work with last week with the conditions on the beach with 63° water. Bass fishing for the 1/2 day anglers showed more signs of improvement with some action for the guys on the fly lined baits and the artificials.  A day or two of some dirty…

American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale “the greyhound of the sea … for its beautiful, slender body which is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship.” We have been so fortunate to see a rare Fin whale cow/calf pair as Fin whales…

Magnificent Blue and Mighty Fin Whales Still Feeding Off Our Coast! A Blue Whale was feeding for two days just outside the Dana Point Harbor early in the week before heading north!  Multiple Fin Whales are seen daily on almost every trip.  Many of these whales are VERY boat friendly, and our passengers are getting…

Status quo type of week with some good opportunities and some good fishing. 3/4 day fishing has still been on the rockfish push.  Along the coast here, the reds and bocaccio made up the bulk of the counts with some whitefish and other random mixed rockfish.  Good conditions made for easy drifts and anchor sets.   Off the beach…

Water temps on the beach making good improvements 62°-63° and the half-day bass fishing has been improving every day with it.  Good action on the live baits with the calico bass.  A 1/4 oz egg sinker and a live anchovy are super simple and just classic bass approaches are catching fish. We just started our…

Blue Whale Season Has Begun At Dana Wharf! We saw our first blue whale of the season on Sunday, May 7, 2023 with Captain Tommy White on the 95ft. Dana Pride, our largest whale watching vessel who called in the sighting from the 10am trip. Tommy said “When you think that the blue whale is the…