Andy cacciatori Loc: Modesto cal.

Randy
It was one of the best fisheries in California had many great times their with my buddies.
Andy

Kansas Boy Loc: Dorothy's Home State

I was there 3-4 years ago. You had to walk about 150 yards to reach the water. All boat docks and buildings were so far from the water. Really sad. Bet it was awesome when Sonny and the boys used to frequent Salton Sea back in the day.

Prundel Loc: Land o lakes

Need to stop depleting all the water for lawns! Whadya tink?

Neil Buesch Loc: Saint George Utah

Hi Jimmy, I grew up in Brawley in the 50's thur the 60's, military 65-67. Fished there a lot, caught so many, many times, so much I stared taking some to the hospital in Brawley until they wouldn't except them any more if they were not cleaned first. We did some fishing at night with a full moon, the corvina looked like bullets stacers in the water at night in schools under the full moon.. Had a great time there,loved it. At that time we didn't have the Mercury problem they have now. God Bess.

Andy cacciatori Loc: Modesto cal.

It was one heck of a fishery in its day @!!
Caught a lot of fish in the spring their.
It was a two hr drive from Orange county.
Andy

Jarheadfishnfool Loc: Woodlake/Tulare ,Ca.

The Salton Sea is actually a dry ancient lakebed,, in the early 1900's the canal from the Colorado River was breached and filled or created the Salton Sea, because it took almost 2years to repair the breached canal, fish were transplanted there. Tilapia from Africa, Corvina from Sea of Cortez.

Langer Loc: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

I've been in the area over 20 yrs and the Salton Sea is still there! Yes the tourists and fish are gone but it still attracts millions of birds. I think there is still tilapia swimming but you wouldn't want to eat anything with a lot of agricultural runoff. If you head south on the fwy you can see a huge bathtub ring on the mountains to the west up maybe 100' And now they plan to mine lithium on the south shore.

Jarheadfishnfool Loc: Woodlake/Tulare ,Ca.

Yes I know it's still there! Read my reply ,it was an ancient lakebed in the past before the breach ,,,

Jarheadfishnfool Loc: Woodlake/Tulare ,Ca.

Hi Langer ,when you've been there, does the wind pick up the dust at certain times of the day ?

runandgun Loc: East Texas

I lived in the Imperial Valley for a long time. Left there in 2005 to come back to Texas. The fishing on Salton Sea I can honestly say for a long time was incomparable to any other place I have ever fished. You never were "skunked". It was a matter of how many and how big the fish were. There are reports of 30 lb. corvina caught. Five to 10 to occasionally 15 pounders were regularly caught. Al Kalin, who some of you know made and sold "Kalin baits" lived only a couple of miles from the Sea. The root beer and off-orange 3-4 inch swim baits he made were spectacular. Caught many fish from shore using his swim baits.

As mentioned, the sea was formed by flooding from a canal heading that was breached due to a flood on the Colorado River in 1905. Finally, the "All American Canal" was finished and provided irrigation water to a desert oasis. As time passed, agricultural run-off laden with fertilizer and pesticides contaminated the sea. The plus is that the irrigation water provided over a million are feet of water which helped maintain the level of the sea to some degree. Evaporation was about the same amount.

The "elephant in the room" which is not mentioned too much was that the farmers were accused of wasting the Colorado River water during irrigation in the form of "run-off". Farmers were forced to employ "water conservation measures" to save water to sell to LA and SD. The funds were used to build cement lined canals, utilize pump back systems to re-use run-off water, use more over-head sprinkle irrigation and sub-surface irrigation lines. These conservation methods led to substantial reduction in run-off thereby lowering water levels in the sea and increasing the salinity to where almost nothing lives in the water anymore according to my friends there.

So in my opinion the big cities are responsible for the demise of the sea. They should be the ones to pay for the cost of reclamation. Like dredging a canal from the Sea of Cortez to the Salton Sea. One of the plans proposed. Other plans are of little consequence that I have seen. Like using bulrushes and a winding water way to cleanse the water. It helps, but not enough.

Just my experiences and opinion. Hope it helps to explain what happened.

FISHLIPS Loc: Colorado

The Salton Sea in its heyday ! I learned to water skii there ! The fishing was great back then. Now it's just a toxic waste of water out in the desert. When the wind and dust pick up DON'T BREATHE and run for your life. Weird makeshift cities out there with no law. We rode our dirt bikes from Ocotillo to The Salton Sea a few years back and it was pretty bad there. Especially when I blasted my buddy with a good 'ol rooster tail of Salton Sea dead fish mud !! that stench still haunts my dreams. it took about an hour and a half to wash off all of the bones, shell fragments and stench mud off of my bike. Good times......

Andy cacciatori Loc: Modesto cal.

They are supposed to put water in 5he Salton Sea the bill was passed several years ago!!
Also because of health reasons. I heard that they were going to build a cannal from the Sea of Cortez and reverse the water back to the sea !!
It was a heck of a fishery and you are right about the smell !!!
Still duck hunt at wister with my sons when the wife and I come down to visit the kids in orange county.
Andy

msample

Uses to duck hunt down there in the mid 70s.