Whale of an Encounter At SoCal Harbor

AO: SoCal Harbor
Session:  I launched at 0550 hrs and fished until 12:00 PM.
Sun Rise: 0623 hrs,   Start of Grey Light: 0550 hrs.
Tackle Used: 3" BH Spotty Special on a 3/16oz chartreuse Hammerhead w/ 2/0 hook, and the Drop-Shot rig w/ a Gamakatsu size 2/0 Offset Shank Worm EWG hook and a 5" Zoom Salty Super Fluke White Ice with a 1/2 oz weight,
and some tube bait. I also use Hot Sauce scent "thanx to Jeff from our gathering at HH".
Tidal Conditions: incoming tide 0600 5.5', 0730 HT 6.4', outgoing tide 0830 6.2', 0930 5.1', 1030 3.6', 1130 1.9', 1230 0.4'.
Water Temp: 65 deg.
Air Temps: 60 - 81 deg. Clear sky's.
iSolunar Prediction: 4-fish were predicted, the Major Period: 0924 to 1224 hrs.

I launched at 0550 hrs and by 0605 I had 3 bodies on board and CPR'd.
At about 0620 I heard an air blow from what I thought was a seal but ended up being two dolphins that were cruising next to the jetty about 150 feet away from me .... so I continue to fish along the jetty and at about 0640; and just before I get to the end of the jetty, I hear another air blow back behind me along the jetty where I had already been fishing; I suspected it to be the dolphins again from earlier, so I watched for them to come up and breach for air and this time it wasn't a dolphin    .... it was much longer and massive!! It was a 25' to 30' whale <">< (what type, I don't know, I can't even ID my Rockfish ...    Ha ha ha).... I was in approx 15' of water and I could see that it was heading straight towards me.
I was approx 50-ft away from the jetty and I could see the 8' dia water disturbances rings every 25'; caused by it's tail movement,
coming right at me!!!   Oh Crap!! The last disturbance ring stopped approx 20' from me and I was in it's collision course ... I raise my fins (like that really would help and the way I figure it for 15' of water, the whale was maybe 2' to 3' beneath my fins) and I could see and could have almost touched it's massive body as it slide directly beneath me and then I saw another 8' dia water disturbance ring approx 20' to my other side! Phewwwwww!!! Once it reached the main channel (approx 150' from me) it came up and breached for air one more time in the main channel and that was it. What a whale of an encounter!!
The moral of the story .... never get between a whale and it's channel!!
The end.

SP Dan's Fish Count: (25-fish, 7-species and no legals, 8-species if you count the Lobster) And 2 New Species.

(1) 12" Sculpin
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(2) Copper Rockfish If this ID is incorrect ... please share the knowledge. New Species
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(1) Olive Rockfish
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(5) Calico Bass
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(12) Sand Bass
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(3) Greenback Mackerel
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(1) of these ... I'm not certain on what type of Rockfish this is .... help please I think it's a Widow Rockfish. New Species
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(1) Lobster New Species
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Well .... that's all folk's!  

Thanx for checking out my session report.  

I'll see y'all at New Port Harbor next week for the "FTFF Christmas Toy Drive"!! It's going to be a blast!!

SP Dan     <"))><

What the hell you have had some amazing encounters but that one takes the cake bro. I wish I could have seen that for myself, so cool. I am sure I would have needed to change my waders after that encounter but what a story to tell. Nice work as always and the other story here was a Lobster what the heck How

Wow! The whale must have been an adrenaline rush.
Great day on the water with all the fish. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome outing and encounter.

Awesome, oh man...Whale, crazy!!!! ive only had seals next time..id would of S**t my waders hahahah

good job on all them fishies!

jeffcpr wrote:What the hell you have had some amazing encounters but that one takes the cake bro.  I wish I could have seen that for myself, so cool.  I am sure I would have needed to change my waders after that encounter but what a story to tell.  Nice work as always and the other story here was a Lobster what the heck How

Hey Jeff,

I believe that I owe it all to being at the right place ... at the right time! : That's it.

I still can not believe it .... a true "Once in a life time" experience ... to say the least. I'll never forget this encounter.

As far as the Lobster goes ... I always allow my lure to rest on the bottom for a few seconds before starting my retrieval and I think that the bug was on my bait and I snagged it.
It was probably attracted to the "Hot Sauce" scent, that I got from you while we were all at the HH gathering a few months back.

Thanx again for your generosity and friendship.

SP Dan <"))><

Jerdon wrote:Wow! The whale must have been an adrenaline rush.
Great day on the water with all the fish. Thanks for sharing.

Hi ya Jerdon,

It all happened so quickly that I was in unbelieving shock.
It was like being snake bit before my brain could realize that I'd already been bitten.
It was indeed a true rush and a true blessing that I'll never forget.

Thanx for checking out this grasshopper's fish report.

SP Dan     <"))><

I have had seal encounters that scared the heck out of me; I can only imagine what a surprise whale encounter must be like! Thanks for the report!

Think you might need a bigger boat for that, it must have been a brown trouser moment at the time but a once in a lifetime encounter that you'll never forget, shame you didn't have a go pro to film it

kobra wrote:Awesome outing and encounter.

I appreciate your response to my report kobra.

SP Dan <"))><

Fishingdachronarch201E7 wrote:Awesome, oh man...Whale, crazy!!!! ive only had seals next time..id would of S**t my waders hahahah

good job on all them fishies!

Hi ya Fishingdachronarch201E7,

The encounter totally caused my jaw to drop!!
The good thing ... I don't wear waders any more ...
so after a quick reposturing and a few good splashes of salt water ...  Ha ha ha!!!

Thanx for taking the time to check out my fish report.

SP Dan     <"))><

Good going on the fish and the close encounter! Luckily, you didn't get sprayed by its breath...that'll stick with you for a bit lol. I believe that mystery rockfish is another copper variant or quite possibly a bolina. The marks on its gill plates is what I'm basing it off of. Hard to really differentiate when they are small though. That olive is something I've haven't seen since fishing the farallones. Good diversity!

Lucky Man Dan can't get any closer than that it would have been a spooky ride congratulations on your Fish hope I get to see you Saturday

Ornery Bob wrote:I have had seal encounters that scared the heck out of me; I can only imagine what a surprise whale encounter must be like! Thanks for the report!

Hi Ya "Ornery Bob",

Encountering the whale within 2' - 3' beneath me has definitely put a different perspective in my mind as to how I interact with the pelagic fish and mammals of our oceans, as I float tube fish in their domain.
I definitely have a greater respect!

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my fishing report.

SP Dan <"))><

Mscustomflies wrote:Think you might need a bigger boat for that, it must have been a brown trouser moment at the time but a once in a lifetime encounter that you'll never forget, shame you didn't have a go pro to film it

Hi ya "Mscustomflies",

The float tube worked just fine ... I never plan to hook anything that sized!!  Ha ha ha!!
I'm happy to report ... that no bodily liquid releases occurred at the time .... and that no contaminating our oceans occurred neither. lol
The encounter was definitely life changing and it has added a new positive perspective to how I view our pelagic fisheries and the mammals that reside in it.

FYI ... I did get photos of the whale ... but there were too many identifying landmarks in the background to post them up.
I'll leave the destruction of our SoCal fishing locations to others and their Go-Pro's. lol

Thanx for taking the time to respond to my fishing report Sir!  

SP Dan     <"))><

kin wrote:Good going on the fish and the close encounter! Luckily, you didn't get sprayed by its breath...that'll stick with you for a bit lol. I believe that mystery rockfish is another copper variant or quite possibly a bolina. The marks on its gill plates is what I'm basing it off of. Hard to really differentiate when they are small though. That olive is something I've haven't seen since fishing the farallones. Good diversity!

Hi ya Kin,
I know exactly what you mean Sir .... my lady is a certified whale docent for over 15 years on the whale watching boats and I've gone out with her and have had the unpleasant pleasure to smell not only the blow breath but also their bowel movement in the water when they surfaced ... yuk!!! The worst smell ever!!!!!

Thanx for your input on the fish ID.

"Happy Holidays" to you and yours!

SP Dan     <"))><

Litefoot wrote:Lucky Man Dan can't get any closer than that it would have been a spooky ride congratulations on your Fish hope I get to see you Saturday

Hi ya Rick,

Well .... it looks as though we are finally going to get to hook up once again Sir!
I'm really looking forward to the FTFF "Toy Drive" at NPH CGS this weekend and to also hooking up with everyone else as well!

That's one "E" ticket ride that I think that I'd be happy to pass on!! Ha ha ha!

"Happy Holidays" to you and all of your loved one's as well!

SP Dan <"))><

Be careful under there. Fish a 1ounce drop shot/gulp. Haaa No Butts in the channel?

Pdawg wrote:Be careful under there. Fish a 1ounce drop shot/gulp. Haaa No Butts in the channel?

No Hali's caught in the channel yet but were landed just about every where else. lol

Are you still in SP?

Nope Im in Alhambra till September. Need to fix waders. Anybody got some Auqaseal?

Nice job!! I believe the first rockfish that you called a copper rockfish is actually a brown rockfish (they have the dark spot on the gill cover). As for the second rockfish I'm not sure, but it does sort of look like a widow rockfish. You could try emailing [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. I did that once and they helped. Nice fish

Getbent.sportfishing wrote:Nice job!! I believe the first rockfish that you called a copper rockfish is actually a brown rockfish (they have the dark spot on the gill cover). As for the second rockfish I'm not sure, but it does sort of look like a widow rockfish. You could try emailing [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. I did that once and they helped. Nice fish

Thank you Getbent.sportfishing,
I'll check it out.

SP Dan <"))><

that is an impressive amount of different types of fish! good thing you caught some bait. did you throw the mac out and try for some inshore tuna!! lol

Pavo21 wrote:that is an impressive amount of different types of fish! good thing you caught some bait. did you throw the mac out and try for some inshore tuna!! lol

Hi ya Pavo21,

Thanx for checking out one of my ol' post ... I'd almost forgotten about this earlier session posting. lol

No, I didn't use the green back Mac as bait. It was released like all the rest of my catches.
I only practice CPR and I have only used artificial baits to land my fish for the past 9 years ... by choice.

For me it's all about the experience of being out there and the pull on my line ... it keeps me coming back for more!

Best of luck to you Pavo21 ... on all of your fishing sessions!

Tight lines

SP Dan <"))><

im all for the catch and release man, unless its tuna! haha. but no tuna for me anytime soon. living in washington now and all. This was a great session!