Fishing in Dana Point for Someone Cares Soup Kitchen

Clementine, our boat for the day (Julie Wolfson/ LAist)

LAist was invited for a day of fishing off the coast of Dana Point to catch fish to help feed the hungry and homeless in Orange County.

With Give Back Getaways opportunities though The Ritz-Carlton's Community Footprints program, the hotel finds unique ways to engage their guests and staff in volunteer projects worldwide. A few months ago, LAist interviewed Sue Stephenson, who runs Community Footprints, to find out more about the company's commitment to community service. She told us about a unique program in Orange Country with The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel. Guests can go sportfishing off the coast of Dana Point and donate the day's catch to Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa. Someone Cares feeds more than 300 people each day.

We arrived at the Dana Point Harbor and headed into Dana Wharf Sportfishing to get equipment. Starting as a complete fishing novice, they reassured us that the crew on the boat would help as much as we needed. We headed to the dock and got on board the Clementine for our five hour journey (they also offer 9 hour, 14 hour, and overnight trips). As the boat headed out of the wharf, we stopped for bait (live sardines), and headed out to sea. On board experienced fishers and families with young children share the day enjoying the views of the Pacific Ocean. While we looked for whales and dolphin, we saw many pelicans, other sea birds, and some happy sea lions.

To bait the hooks, we were instructed to grab the live sardine in the bait troughs and spear them through the nose. Then we tried to learn to cast out. Some of the largest fish we caught were helped by the crews expertly casting out our line and letting us reel in the catch. By the end of the day, our group of four had caught eight fish that were large enough to keep. Several other people on the boat learned of our donating to Someone Cares and by the end our bag had twenty fish. The crew gutted and deboned the fish and wrapped them it to be ready for pick up. We got off the boat with sardine scales on our hands, a bit of a sunburn, and a big smile on our face.

Sitting on the beach at Salt Creek that evening it was a good feeling to know that for the people who were eating dinner at Someone Cares, there was some freshly caught fish on the menu.

Call the Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching if you would like to join a fishing trip. You can also make a request to donate the fish you catch.

Give Back Getaways activities are available at Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world. Activities range from traditional farming in Osaka, Japan to feeding baby Blue Iguanas in Grand Cayman. It's great to hear that volunteer opportunities are popping up all over the world even when people are on vacation. Any program that inspires people to help others is a wonderful thing.