After being on this board for 3+ months now I thought I'd summarize my "new to socal fishing" information that I've learned. Hopefully this will help some of the new so cal powerboaters in the future.
Paddy Fishing for Dorado Names - Dorado, Mahi-Mahi, Dodos, Dolphin Fish
The approach
You want to be on the lookout for something like this
This is your friendly kelp paddy. Underneath it could be tons of yummy baitfish or a few yellowtail or a school of tasty dorado. The key thing to remember is that you don't have to be ON the paddy to catch fish. Bait fish like to keep to the paddy as protection and the bigger fish swim around (up to 1/4 mile around the paddy) the paddy and go in and feed when they're hungry.
If you see another boat on the paddy it's common courtesy to hail the skipper on channel 72 on your VHF radio and ask permission to slide in if you're having trouble finding your own paddies. Just ask "skipper on the parker off my portside, do you mind if I slide in with you?"
After you're out finding your own paddies you'll appreciate not having other boats try and slide in. Most of the time I just like watching people catch fish so I don't mind. If the skipper gives you permission to fish the paddy then make sure you slow down to the same speed you'd be going in the harbor and slide in upwind of the paddy about 50-100 feet off to the side so you don't drift over it. If you're not sure what way you'll be drifting, cut the engine, zoom in your GPS and watch which way you drift. Use that information to position yourself properly.
Sometimes paddies are hard to spot. Sun conditions, lack of paddies, etc could all be factors. So it helps to not just look for paddies but also schools of feeding birds
generally this indicates that something is driving the fish from underneath forcing them to choose between the lesser of two deaths. This is an excellent sign fish are around and feeding. Sometimes it pays off to follow some birds if you see them beginning to circle. Once they start diving you know your chances just increased.
Signup for the Terrafin service
www.terrafin.com
This will give you surface temperature maps that you can use to help hone in on the area you should start your search. Look out for sudden temperature breaks. When gamefish are swimming in 73 degree water and they hit a wall of 69 degree water they're going to turn and follow that break. You'll want to troll across the breaks in a zig zag pattern while you're spotting paddies or schools of birds. Keep a copy of the map on board with you. There is no use going to a spot that's 68 degrees when 5 miles away you see 73 degree water.
Tactics Live Bait - Live bait is usually crucial to being able to pull fish from a paddy. You can always use lures but sometimes they're just not interested. When you start your drift, chunk up some of your bait into 1-2inch chunks and start throwing them over the side at an even tempo once your get your bait into the water.
Live Mackeral seem to work best for Dorado. If you can get out early and catch some macks on light line before you head out you'll increase your chances of catching quality fish when biting conditions get tough.
Usually the bait you'll be working with are live sardines. You'll usually want to nose hook these guys so they can swim pretty freeley. This also let's you troll them off the surface without losing them. If the seagulls are diving for your dine you'll want to bring it down below the surface. You can do this by adding some split shots to the line but a better way would be to butt hook the bait
This allows the fish to stay alive longer since they're not carrying that extra weight. Butt hooking causes the dine to dive down below the surface.
A decent setup would be 20-25 lb test with 3 feet of a 30lb flurocarbor leader attached using an albright knot.
http://www.sea-fishing.org/fishing-albright-knot.html 
Attach the other end to a 1/0 - 4/0 circle hook. This type of hook will usually hook the outside lip better and prevent quick swallowing of the hook. If the dorado swallows the hook the chances of line breakage because of their teeth increases. Best line colors seem to be clear and green. Ande is a good choice of line for a newcomer.
If live bait isn't working and it appears they are jumping or chasing your chum chunks, then slide a hook in a chunk of sardine and throw it over with another load of chum.
Trolling - Sometimes fish just won't take your bait. You have to be ready to try different tactics. One tactic used in mexico is to skim sardines about 25 feet behind the boat, letting them skim off the surface. I imagine this imitates flying fish. Just stick your poles in the rod holders, set the clicker on the reel and make a zig zag pattern around the paddy or boil.
You can also use various tuna/marlin feathers. Best colors seem to be pink, green and blue. Try various sizes from 9" down to 4" models.
Catching and Landing
Your gear should be all prepared to handle the dorado strike. Make sure your drag is set properly. Make sure when he hits just start reeling, rod tip up. Any sudden "setting the hook as hard as you can" could lead to line breakage is line is exposed to the teeth.
When bringing a dodo to the side of the boat have your gaff man ready. The gaff should go out past the dorado so that when you're hooking him you're pulling towards the boat. This will keep you from tangling the line and snapping off at the boat.
If this is your first dorado have the gaffman keep the dodo at the side of the boat for a few minutes. Get a few baits in the water ASAP. Usually a caught dodo will cause the whole school to crowd the boat and start a feeding frenzy.
Departing the Paddy
After you're all done fishing a paddy check to see if there are boats around still fishing. If so, put your boat back into gear and slow exit the area. Once you're 100-200 yards away you can start to slowly motor your engines out of there so you don't scare off their fish. Unless they crashed your paddy, then you just jam that sucker into high gear
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