Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching

Everything went fine except the catching. Ticket purchase, tackle rental, on-time departure, friendly and helpful staff were all good. Only problem, too few fish. There were fewer than 25 keepers caught by over 40 fishers. To add insult, a girl on the boat next to our pier caught a bass larger than anyone on our boat and her boat never left the dock.

Crew was great, if you don't want to touch the fish you never have to, there is always a crew member around to do everything for you. Good food too!

WE HAD A GOOD TIME. WISH WE CAUGHT MORE FISH. THE DECKHANDS WERE A GREAT HELP. THE ONLY NEGATIVE THING I CAN SAY IS THE TRIP ENDED EARLY. WE LEFT THE DOCK AT 12;45 PM AND BACK AT THE DOCK AT 5;00 PM. I THOUGHT THE TRIP WAS FROM 12;30 TO 5;45 PM. OTHERWISE IT WAS A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR MY SON. WE WILL PROBABLY GO AGAIN.

Saw many whales and the cruise is well worth your time.

Enjoyable day and company did their best to find the fish. Fish just did not bite today.

Lack of seating. The captain didn't rotate positions on the rail so we were stuck at the front of the boat for the entire trip. This was burdensom since the bait was in the back of the boat. This is my chief complaint about Dana Wharf, they don't see to it that the 'meek' get a fair share of fishing near the back of the boat. I've been out of Dana Wharf about 40 times and have only fished the back of the boat 6 times. The captains cater to regulars (intimidators) and don't see to it that "we" all paid money and would like the benefit of being near the bait and expanse of the rear of the boat. Never had that problem when I go to San Diego, it is worth it to me to make the hour drive

There is no place to sit on this boat, we will fish again but never on the Reel Fun..

The twilight trip was a nice evening and well worth the trip

My daughter and I enjoyed a late afternoon on the Dana Pride (great boat, plenty of room). The captain spotted a Fin Whale even before we exited the harbor. We watched this whale as it made repeated dives after what the captaint described as a massive school of krill about 300 feet below. The water was 70 degrees and amazing green-purple color (wish I had my fishing pole). After hour and a half of admiring the whale, the captain turned the boat toward a school of 'common' dolphins. My daughter and I love the common dolphins. They are the smallest of the dolphin species but we think they are the prettiest. There were plenty of room at the front of the boat and we enjoyed watching the dolphins as they took turns 'riding' the wave in the front of the boat. In fact, one of the dolphin turned over to take a better look at us. What an amazing trip. This was the second time we took this trip and we will definitely be back again.

The whole day was amazing, a good size boat with little rocking with the waves. We spotted a Fin back whale with in the first two minutes, and group of dolphins that played very close to the close for a good amount of time and made for some great pictures.

We saw three differant species. Common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin and blue whale.

The first three years we did the 1/2 day fishing we were out on the Dana Pride and were very happy with the results. we and everyone else on those trips caught fish. The last two years we ended up on the Clemente and were very dissapointed. Since the purchaser has no control over which boat you get to go out on it's basically a crap shoot. Our party of four caught 3 fish and because one was a non game fish (basically bait) we only got 2 keepers. @ $40 each with license and poles that was $160 for 4 small fillets on an over crowded boat. There were 40 people on our boat and there were only 40 keepers total. On Long Island and Virgina Beach for less money the boats hold just as many people but they also have seating for everyone to get out of the sun/weather because they are longer wider boats, the poles and bait are included and are identicle (personal rigs are not allowed) so there is less time lost untangling lines. I just felt that for the same investment of time and money there are better ways to spend my valuble vacation time than to accept pot luck and end up on a boat that couldn't find fish even if it fell into a bait tank. ALSO, why does it say 5 hours?? We left the dock at 5:30PM and got back to the dock at 9:30PM. That is only four hours total. I think they still owe me an hour. What a rip-off!!!!

My wife and I totally enjoyed the trip. The captain and crew were professional and very helpful. While the bite was off, the crew worked hard to try to find the fish and we had a great time anyway. I would highly recommend this trip. It is an excellent value for the money.

For this month's Father Daughter day, my princess asked to go fishing in the ocean. I have gone out of Dana Warf many times so naturally I went to their website to get more information. They had an offer that was perfect for us. She was free and her pole rental was free. There was a clinic before the trip for the kids to show them how to tie on their hooks and how to properly bait the hook. She was ready to go. Since this was her first trip into the ocean I did not have a lot of expectations for a good time. Sea sickness, boredom and disinterest were my concerns. She loved the boat ride comparing it to a ride. As far as the other two concerns that was a non-issue almost from the first cast. Fishing was horrible because of the sudden water temperature drop but she didn't care. She landed two fish and has her own "One that got away" story. She was very upset when the captain told us to pull in our lines because we had to head back. The crew was even impressed that she liked getting her own bait since a majority of the other kids (mostly boys) wouldn't. It was a great bonding day which was the true goal. She is already planning our next fishing trip. By the way she read that you have sleep over trips. I wonder how her Hello Kitty sleeping bag will fit in with the rest of the fishermen's gear. We will have to see..... Thanks for a great day filled with memories. R. Stone Alta Loma, CA

Friendly crew! Will defiantly go again!