Salton Sea Trip - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

FishRaiden · 11-24-2013, 08:36 AM

My family and I went during the Summer of 2012 (with kayaks) & Summer of 2013. The fishing was good almost all day long till the heat beats you up.

Salton Sea has been a lot cleaner & "fresher" these past two Summers. There was rarely any dead fish laying/floating around, the bad smell went unoticable, but the summertime fish stayed the same, WFO.

Heres a Tilapia from this years trip:

Fun to catch on the trout rods.

Raskal311 · 11-24-2013, 08:40 AM

yeah when I was there in the mid 90s there were probably tens of thousands of dead fish all over the beach. I think I have to make another trip in the near future; hopefully we wouldn't get shot at this time ;D

Siebler · 11-24-2013, 10:33 AM

There is going to be a lot of waterfowl hunters there through Jan. One of the only areas to really hunt in SoCal so it draws a lot of folks especially around Wister Unit/Sonny Bono/ Red Hill.

taggermike · 11-24-2013, 11:10 AM

The Sea looked good when I visited the last 2 years. No smell, not many dead fish, water was super clear(for the Sea), maybe 90 degrees, plenty of folks catching lots of fish, and loads of birds. The tilapia die because of low oxygen levels. When the waters hot after an algae bloom the algae decays and removes much of the O2 from the water. This kills the fish; not disease or toxins. Tilapia reproduce so fast and the Sea is so fertile that even after a huge fish kill there are plenty of fish or there soon will be. There are whole beaches made up of fish bones several feet deep.

Yep, sadly the big vinas are gone. The first 1 I caught there was 22lbs. All the ocean fish are gone; vina, sargo, gulf croaker, mud suckers, and mullet. The tilapia stay around because no matter how bad the sea gets there is always a population of the them in the New and Alamo rivers as well as all the creeks and drainage ditches that lead in to the Sea. If every tilapia in the Sea died then we had a wet year and the water improved a bit the fish would recolonize and completely repopulate the sea in just a few years. The last fish and game estimate I heard for the sea was 35 million tilapia. Just some info. The sea is always fluctuating. Mike

ful-rac · 11-24-2013, 05:13 PM

I have always been facinated with the salton sea...its different...its one hell of an interesting place...im not quite sure camping there is a good idea but its pretty cool to go there for a day.

If your thinking of going there and catching fish sometime soon...scratch that idea off your list. Like the guys said wait until summertime. I would go in july, only problem is its blaz'n hot out there, its friggn brutal. The last couple of trips out there we got in fished and got out before noon.

Siebler · 11-24-2013, 05:27 PM

You can camp at wister unit. No use fee if you have hunting or fishing license.

We camp all over the valley with no issues. Even on canal roads that are yards from the border.

dogjaw · 11-24-2013, 06:51 PM

I go out riding in Ocotillo Wells and took a trip out to the Salton Sea to fish for the day and was disappointed. Like the other post said the fish averaged about 5" inches. You can also fish the canals for bass and catfish though.

11-24-2013, 08:36 AM	#1
FishRaiden CEO-TacticalFishingCrew. Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Norwalk, CA Posts: 275	My family and I went during the Summer of 2012 (with kayaks) & Summer of 2013. The fishing was good almost all day long till the heat beats you up. Salton Sea has been a lot cleaner & "fresher" these past two Summers. There was rarely any dead fish laying/floating around, the bad smell went unoticable, but the summertime fish stayed the same, WFO. Heres a Tilapia from this years trip: Fun to catch on the trout rods. __________________ Follow us on Instagram: @tacticalfishingcrew #TacticalFishingCrew #DropLuresNotBait

11-24-2013, 08:40 AM	#2
Raskal311 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Santa Ana/Westminster Posts: 1,256	yeah when I was there in the mid 90s there were probably tens of thousands of dead fish all over the beach. I think I have to make another trip in the near future; hopefully we wouldn't get shot at this time ;D __________________ Kevin Yellow PA12

11-24-2013, 10:33 AM	#3
Siebler Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Richland Oregon Posts: 1,547	There is going to be a lot of waterfowl hunters there through Jan. One of the only areas to really hunt in SoCal so it draws a lot of folks especially around Wister Unit/Sonny Bono/ Red Hill. __________________ CJ Siebler

11-24-2013, 05:13 PM	#5
ful-rac Emperor Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buena Park Posts: 3,649	I have always been facinated with the salton sea...its different...its one hell of an interesting place...im not quite sure camping there is a good idea but its pretty cool to go there for a day. If your thinking of going there and catching fish sometime soon...scratch that idea off your list. Like the guys said wait until summertime. I would go in july, only problem is its blaz'n hot out there, its friggn brutal. The last couple of trips out there we got in fished and got out before noon. __________________ There's nothing colder than yesterday's hotdog.

11-24-2013, 05:27 PM	#6
Siebler Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Richland Oregon Posts: 1,547	You can camp at wister unit. No use fee if you have hunting or fishing license. We camp all over the valley with no issues. Even on canal roads that are yards from the border. __________________ CJ Siebler

11-24-2013, 11:10 AM	#4
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	The Sea looked good when I visited the last 2 years. No smell, not many dead fish, water was super clear(for the Sea), maybe 90 degrees, plenty of folks catching lots of fish, and loads of birds. The tilapia die because of low oxygen levels. When the waters hot after an algae bloom the algae decays and removes much of the O2 from the water. This kills the fish; not disease or toxins. Tilapia reproduce so fast and the Sea is so fertile that even after a huge fish kill there are plenty of fish or there soon will be. There are whole beaches made up of fish bones several feet deep. Yep, sadly the big vinas are gone. The first 1 I caught there was 22lbs. All the ocean fish are gone; vina, sargo, gulf croaker, mud suckers, and mullet. The tilapia stay around because no matter how bad the sea gets there is always a population of the them in the New and Alamo rivers as well as all the creeks and drainage ditches that lead in to the Sea. If every tilapia in the Sea died then we had a wet year and the water improved a bit the fish would recolonize and completely repopulate the sea in just a few years. The last fish and game estimate I heard for the sea was 35 million tilapia. Just some info. The sea is always fluctuating. Mike

11-24-2013, 06:51 PM	#7
dogjaw Junior Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 8	I go out riding in Ocotillo Wells and took a trip out to the Salton Sea to fish for the day and was disappointed. Like the other post said the fish averaged about 5" inches. You can also fish the canals for bass and catfish though.