Salton Sea quesions

[Slims]

First question I have is: is the sea still alive? Are there still corvina or sargo in there? When was the last reported corvina caught? Also, when do the tilapia start hitting? There will be no rain in imperial tomorrow, so thats where Im looking to fish.

What do guys think of the sea? Dead or Alive?

[Jimbow]

Its dead as far as the sportfishing goes. As far as the tilapia go.........if you stand on shore about one foot from waters edge no matter what the conditions are and hold out your net about one hundred tilapia will have jumped into it within a few minutes ......LOL.

[DockRat]

Forget about the Salton Sea. Read these posts and WATCH THE VIDEO and you will never fish it.
Fed by The New River that flows north from Mexicali Mexico and is the MOST POLLUTED RIVER IN THE USA
Especially near the of the video where the sewer septic trucks back up to the river daily and dump RAW SEWAGE into the river daily in Mexico. Axxholes :Finger:

Fish the freshwater Canals :Thumbs Up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW-B1oAK1fM

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?43209-Salton-sea

[Vlkter]

i heard by the new river theres 50+lb catfish there. i want to check it out. i went last season and caught 100+ aday

[YELLAGIRL]

Only tilapia there

[Fish Dog]

Nothing but the tilapia now. Last conformed corvina was 2003...


Keeney said the last corvina and croaker the DFG found in a survey was in 2003, and sargo disappeared the year before.
Corvina were once top dog in the Sea, growing to 20 pounds or more, and chopping through schools of smaller croaker or tilapia like yellowtail munching on anchovies. But the last good action on corvina was in 2002, with only a handful of skinny fish landed the following year. The death knell was a one-two punch of increasing salinity levels that finally made it impossible for corvina spawn to survive and water quality episodes that killed off both adults and young in shoreline areas.

“We still get occasional reports, third or fourth hand, of someone knowing someone who’s caught a corvina, but we haven’t actually seen one since 2003,” said Keeney.

http://www.wonews.com/t-FeatureArticle-JimMatthews-Tilapiacontinuetothrive-020909.aspx

[DockRat]

i heard by the new river theres 50+lb catfish there. i want to check it out. i went last season and caught 100+ aday

I wouldn't go near that river or sea. And that comes from a guy that lived on Legion Rd in Brawley 1/4 mile from the New River and also worked 1/4 mile from the Salton Sea on a Geo Thermal power plant.

The workers that built the 'new' bridge over the New River going into Brawley had to get a series of SHOTS prior to working near the river. Just in case they touch the water. I hope you guys watch the whole video before advising people to fish that area.

I lived there 3 1/2 years and locals don't even go near the New, Alamo River or the Salton Sea except for bird hunting.

It's OVER, forget about catching tyfoid or maleria. FISH CLEAN WATER ONLY !

Typical Dead Tilapia, OH AND THE SMELL AND FLIES http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a348/masternewbie/peeyew.gif

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e164/byaeger/Bisbee/Bisbeetrip19.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee287/notoriouskelly/Truck/SaltonSubmarine.jpg

DR

[Vlkter]

I wouldn't go near that river or sea. And that comes from a guy that lived on Legion Rd in Brawley 1/4 mile from the New River and also worked 1/4 mile from the Salton Sea on a Geo Thermal power plant.

The workers that built the 'new' bridge over the New River going into Brawley had to get a series of SHOTS prior to working near the river. Just in case they touch the water. I hope you guys watch the whole video before advising people to fish that area.

I lived there 3 1/2 years and locals don't even go near the New, Alamo River or the Salton Sea except for bird hunting.

It's OVER, forget about catching tyfoid or maleria. FISH CLEAN WATER ONLY !

Typical Dead Tilapia, OH AND THE SMELL AND FLIES http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a348/masternewbie/peeyew.gif

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e164/byaeger/Bisbee/Bisbeetrip19.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee287/notoriouskelly/Truck/SaltonSubmarine.jpg

DR

Yeah i went last summer the fishing was good but its just nasty over there. i read a post from 2001 i think that people were catching 50+lb catfish. just wanted to see if anyone else saw that too.

[ToadsToadsOnly]

i heard by the new river theres 50+lb catfish there. i want to check it out. i went last season and caught 100+ aday

You fish the new river! I saw a documentary on that river and the youtube video I fish some pretty grimy places but I would stay far far away from that place.

[DockRat]

Yeah i went last summer the fishing was good but its just nasty over there. i read a post from 2001 i think that people were catching 50+lb catfish. just wanted to see if anyone else saw that too.

The fishing is good in the canals. Not worth getting Staf Infection touching the river water.

Kinda funny how with all the great fishing down there there is not one tackle / bait shop near the Salton Sea or in the whole Imperial Valley except Walmat in El Centro. :ROFL:


DR

[Natural Lefty]

That is correct that only Mossambique Tilapia are left in the Salton Sea. There have long been talks about renovating the Salton Sea. In fact, there is officially a Salton Sea renovation project underway, but with the state's current budget problems, progress has been very slow. I wrote about this last year on my blog, and at some point, am hoping to enlist members of this board to encourage the project to continue. There could be many great outcomes from it, if completed, including cleaner water, better fishing for a wider variety fo species, additional farmland and use of geothermal energy, and perhaps even a commercial Tilapia fishery.

Actually, from what I have read about the Salton Sea, its only water problems are elevated levels of natural selenium, excessive saltiness, and being overloaded with nutirents (which is what makes it stinky at times). It has virtually no mercury, PCBs or other toxic substances, so despite appearances, the fish are perfectly safe to eat. My wife and I went to the state park there last March and caught some Tilapia. We filleted and ate them, and they were really good, better than Tilapia from the store, I think. There were lots of other people there who ended up bringing home ice chests full of the critters. That place as it stands now, is one humongous Tilapia factory.

[TEAM CASTIN]

dUDE ITS ALIVE in the summer..100+ tilapia in about 3 hours easy..fun fishing..

[DirtyDave413]

For those of you that have fished there, Do you think Bowfishing there for Tilapia would be good? Are they close enough to the surface to shoot? Close enough to shoot from the docks? I am thinking about checking it out but it is a bit of a drive for me and want to be sure it is worth it.
Thanks

[drifter023]

Nope, the good water looks dark brown is not like any other lake you have been to. Fishing for them is great but bow fishing not the place you got to go check it out it is like fishing on the moon. You will love it or hate it no in between.

[smokehound]

there ARE a few species other than tilapia. ---Gambusia, and Sailfin Mollies. Of course those are tiny and not worth catching.