Whale watchers strike gold off Calif. coast

There's rarely been a better time to go whale-watching off the California coast.

A humpback whales lunges out of the water to feed near a sailboat and a stand up paddle boarder just off a beach at San Luis Obispo, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012. The whale fed on a school of bait fish for more than an hour, often breaching near gathered spectators. (AP Photo/Bill Bouton)

A humpback whales lunges out of the water to feed near a gathering of kayakers just off a beach at San Luis Obispo, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012. The whale fed on a school of bait fish for more than an hour, often breaching close to nearby boats, kayakers and stand up paddle boarders. (AP Photo/Bill Bouton) NO SALES

A humpback whales lunges out of the water to feed near a gathering of spectators just off a beach at San Luis Obispo, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012. The whale fed on a school of bait fish for more than an hour, often breaching close to nearby boats, kayakers and stand up paddle boarders. (AP Photo/Bill Bouton)

In an undated photo provided Monday, Aug. 21, 2012, by Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, Calif., spectators watch whales off the coast of southern California. Endangered blue whales, the world's largest animals, are being seen in droves off the northern California coast, lured by an abundance of their favorite food _ shrimp-like creatures known as krill. Whale-watching tour operators are reporting a bumper harvest of blue whales, orcas, humpbacks and binocular-toting tourists eager to witness the coastal feeding frenzy. (AP Photo/ Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari)

In California, it’s a misdemeanor to shoot any animal from a moving vehicle — unless it’s a whale, in which case you will have to answer to federal authorities because marine mammals receive federal protection in the U.S. and great whales have protection under the Endangered Species Act. (Source: Animal Legal Defense Fund) (AP Photo/ Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari)

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A humpback whales lunges out of the water to feed near a sailboat and a stand up paddle boarder just off a beach at San Luis Obispo, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012. The whale fed on a school of bait fish for more than an hour, often breaching near gathered spectators. (AP Photo/Bill Bouton)

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