LATEST INFO!! 7/01/09
Well it have been a pretty good year for the tilapia down at the sea it has been pretty much wide open for the last 3 months for fish to 2 lbs. There has even been some unconfirmed reports of corvina. Check the local message boards for the most up to date info.
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OUTDOOR TALES
Friday, January 9, 2004 2:43 PM PST
The past year in review
Everyone else is reporting on the year in review, so I guess I should also.
The Salton Sea continues to be a big question mark as many wonder if the fishery is going to make a comeback or even if the Salton Sea will ever be saved. The croaker and tilapia have virtually disappeared, replaced by a plague of salt marsh water boatmen, a tiny insect with a pair of oar-like legs that it uses to motor around looking for prey to spear with its harpoon-like beak so it can suck the juices out of its victim.
Nobody seems to know whether the high numbers of salt marsh water boatmen are keeping the fishery from returning back to normal. I suspect it's possible they could be attacking croaker and corvina eggs but the main species of tilapia in the sea hatches its eggs in its mouth so I doubt if the boatmen are stopping the tilapia from bouncing back. The real culprit may be cold winter water temperatures and high fish kills from numerous algae blooms during the year.
It's a sure bet, though, the corvina are suffering badly from lack of food. Those that have been caught recently are so skinny they look more like barracuda than corvina.
And with the lack of fish this past year there was a lack of the birds that feed on the fish. The numbers of pelicans that died from botulism this past year were at a recent all-time low because there were few fish to feed on so they went elsewhere to look for food. The same is true of the great blue heron, the cormorant, the osprey, the various terns and the black skimmer. However, more bird watchers visited our Valley this year and the numbers seem to be growing with every passing year.
The waterfowl hunting season this year has been one of the worst on record. The numbers taken by hunters are way down from last year, which also was a very bad year. Oddly enough the state biologists tell us duck numbers are up dramatically from last year. So where did our local population go?
On a positive note the deer population has improved dramatically this past year and most of the does gave birth to twins this summer as rains filled many of the drinkers built by Desert Wildlife Unlimited in our eastern desert. With full drinkers that can last up to four years without any rain, it is possible the deer population may continue to grow over the next few years even if we don't receive normal rainfall.
Also positive were the increased numbers of out-of-town hunters that came to our valley in search of doves and pheasants while spending their dollars in our local establishments.
Pheasants Forever, a national organization whose goal is to improve pheasant habitat and increase the acres of open hunting areas across the United States, joined forces with Desert Wildlife Unlimited to help improve the pheasant population in the Valley. The two local chapters of Duck Unlimited raised record amounts of money to improve waterfowl habitat in North America. Waterfowl habitat also provides great upland gamebird habitat during certain times of the year.
Desert Wildlife Unlimited is growing by leaps and bounds. This year it installed two more drinkers in the desert, provided over 2,500 acres of dove and pheasant habitat, raised and released more than 8,000 pheasants into the wild and continued to look for more funding to build more wetlands in the Imperial Valley.
The group's annual dinner and raffle is slated for 6 p.m. Jan. 24 year at the Lions Center at 225 A St. in Brawley. For the first time, because of generous donations, 20 brand new rifles and shotguns will be raffled. In addition, a silent auction will be conducted during the dinner with dozens of items to be offered, including a ladies diamond ring worth more than $1,000.
The available areas for desert recreation continue to decrease. As people are jammed into smaller areas violence is becoming more common. Numerous people have told me many of the Bureau of Land Management rangers patrolling the areas are unfamiliar with their surroundings and are creating lots of hostility when they try to kick people off public lands that are open for public use.
On the west side of the Valley this past week desert campers witnessed a ranger drive though the middle of a campground spewing rocks and gravel, where children were playing, at speeds estimated close to 60 mph while chasing a motorcyclist off in the distance. What if he had hit one of the children? Let's hope this year rangers can learn to treat people with the respect they deserve and aid campers in the enjoyment of the outdoors instead of intimidating them.
I also understand an expensive count will be done of an endangered plant species known as Peirson's milkvetch that is keeping thousands of acres of recreational areas closed. When I took range management classes in college Peirson's milkvetch was called "locoweed" and all good range managers killed it on sight.
>> Outdoor Tales writer Al Kalin can be reached on the Internet at akalin@quix.net
Tilapia population up in Salton Sea
By Benjamin Spillman
The Desert Sun
October 7th, 2003
The people who count fish in the Salton Sea say they’re dragging in more tilapia with their gill nets.
The population survey by the California Department of Fish and Game indicates tilapia are reproducing in the sea, despite an ongoing fish drought experienced by many anglers in the lake.
Tilapia, though not the most glamorous fish in the sea, are a key source of food for corvina, the sport fish that has lured fishermen and women from around the country to the desert sea.
Fish and Game workers who netted almost nothing during spring surveys, reported snaring 686 tilapia when they repeated the exercise this summer.
Fall sampling is under way and the results could give an even clearer picture of what’s living in the murky water.
"Tilapia were the only things we caught," Fish and Game biologist Jack Crayon said of the summer survey, which he recently reported to the Salton Sea Authority. "Here was a whole species that was invisible during the spring yet obviously there."
In a report on the findings, Crayon said existing tilapia appear to be maturing to reproductive age.
The report added, "this summer is the first sign of that happening in several years."
Salton Sea fishing guide Ray Garnett said he’s hopeful increasing numbers of tilapia will eventually fuel a resurgence of corvina.
"It is the best fishing in the world when the conditions are right," Garnett said of the sea.
Garnett said corvina, a silvery fish than can grow to more than 30 pounds, are important to seaside life because of their popularity with anglers.
"They are a good fighting game fish and they are good to eat," Garnett said. "That is all I fish for."
But Crayon said even if existing tilapia continue to grow and reproduce, it may take years to cause a noticeable impact on corvina.
And even if it does, Crayon, along with another member of the Fish and Game Department’s Salton Sea team, might not be there to record it.
Crayon said he’s one of two of the team’s three members to be warned of potential layoffs related to the state’s budget crisis.
The team only recently began producing consistent fish surveys.
Doug Barnum, the scientist who coordinates research at the Salton Sea Science Office, said disrupting Fish and Game surveys can hurt research even if someone else picks up the work.
"The value of a monitoring plan is to do it and do it on a regular basis," he said. With disruptions, "you have gaps in your data and gaps in time that you can’t explain."
UPDATE: 8/19/03
Launched out of Red Hill. It was very humid and hot, early morning hours seemed to be our best action in the southwestern area of Mullet Island in around 13-17 feet the corvina seem to be hitting the gold Hopkins spoons when trolling, but for some strange reason they like the silver for jigging, Mudsuckers seemed to do the trick towards the late afternoon hours, couple of very young Corvina were caught within our group one was just over a 1/2 pound which were released but the ones that were kept ranged from 6-11 pounds and with the biggest of them at 12.6, what really had me was my old man hooking a Sargo! yes a Sargo at night off the shore of Red Hill they are the ones with the black stripe that runs down the middle of them aren't they? Well everyone we cannot count the sea out we just have to get down there and try, there are fish in the sea plenty, it's just finding what they hit. A side note here- Saturday evening there were 4 or 5 people catching Talapia in the area where the old gas station used to be at Red hill years ago and in the rock jetties. All around a good trip and we will try it again next weekend, so lets all get down there and get our poles in the water.
Brett H. San Bernardino,CA
Report by Gary Matthews Outdoor News Service
7/11/03
Slow fishing all over the sea, but the conditons have improved dramatically over the past week. Green tides have subsided and there is more brown water, the preferred color for corvina. There were a few croaker and tilapia reported out of Bombay over the holiday weekend, but no corvina. Very light fishing pressure because of all the poor reports.
Update: 6/11/03
Still Slow
I called around today to all my usual contacts and everyone pretty much said the same thing. Water is green and the fishing is slow.
The folks down at Johnson's Landing said they have had the bait so long that they have started naming it.
Dang! And with the weather cooling down this week, I am starting to worry.
I have vacation days scheduled motel rooms reserved, even a storage spot for my boat. So I sure hope that something changes for the better real fast.
Click on the link to the Salton Sea Authority and check out the May newsletter. I shows and explains pretty well what is in store for the Salton Sea in years to come.
Let's keep our fingers crossed. According to the 2003 states on the SSA site there has only been 83 corvina and 1 croaker caught so far this year. I know these figures are skewed to some extent because there is no way that they can keep track of that actually.
Salton Sea stench permeates valley
Area residents are holding their collective breath for winds of relief
By Benjamin Spillman
The Desert Sun
June 3, 2003
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SALTON SEA BEACH -- From the right angle, the view from the Salton Sea Beach Marina might make a nice postcard.
Distant mountains in the east mark the horizon, while the Salton Sea shimmers under warm, blue skies.
But on certain days, when conditions are right, seaside communities are bombarded with a heavy, penetrating odor that can blanket the entire region.
For Milton Ed Purdy and others who have sentimental and financial investments in the sea’s virtues, the scent is a jarring olfactory reminder that all is not right in its waters.
The "Coachella Valley is filling up fast," said Purdy, 48, who recently took ownership of the Salton Sea Beach Marina Store.
"If they don’t do something with the sea, they’ll have all this development around a puddle of crud."
On Monday, the air outside Purdy’s store was heavy with musty smells from the sea’s tepid waters. It was strong enough to turn noses 50 miles to the northwest in Palm Springs.
"It is offensive, absolutely offensive," said Jim McCartney, 69, who lives at PGA West in La Quinta. "Sooner or later this is going to have an effect on real estate values in the desert."
There are a variety of causes for the compost-like odors that sometimes waft from the isolated sea basin to the populous Coachella Valley.
This time, according to those who know the sea best, the likely culprit is uncontrolled algae blooms in the seawater.
Hot weather fuels an algae boom in the sea’s nutrient-rich waters.
The unpleasant smell is one byproduct.
Others can include isolated fish kills where the algae quickly depletes oxygen from the water.
Workers at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge reported as many as 10,000 dead fish in eastern and northeastern portions of the sea around Memorial Day weekend.
On Monday, wildlife workers returning from the sea reported widespread algae, said refuge manager Sylvia Pelizza.
"It is over the entire sea right now," Pelizza said. "It is probably going to smell for a while."
Doug Barnum, the scientist who coordinates official research on the lake, said one way to reduce the smell would be to lower the levels of nitrogen and phosphates flowing into the lake.
The sea largely is replenished with agricultural runoff from Imperial Valley farms.
The farm water, along with wastewater from Mexico, flows to the sea via the New and Alamo rivers.
It carries nutrients that promote algae growth. Combining fertile water with hot summer temperatures sparks algae blooms.
Already, researchers are using a fish farm near Mecca to study whether ponds teeming with algae and tilapia could be used to filter contaminated water before it reaches the sea.
Another possibility, Barnum said, is to treat high-phosphate inflows with a polymer that causes nutrients to drop from the water as sediment.
"We don’t have to take all of the nutrients out of the water," he said. "Maybe as little as 25 percent."
The Colorado River Basin Region of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board is considering new rules that would limit the amount of nutrients that could flow from fields to the sea, said Jose Angel , the board’s watershed protection division chief.
But the new rules wouldn’t account for inflows from Mexico, Angel said.
Ray Garnett, 73, of Salton Sea Beach said he suspects the nutrient problem might be exacerbated by a dwindling tilapia population.
Garnett, a Salton Sea fishing guide for 25 years, said tilapia are known as voracious algae-eaters. Rising salinity in the sea is thought to be hurting tilapia and other species of fish.
"We don’t have the tilapia out there to help eat the algae, it is just going to get worse," he said.
Tom Kirk, executive director of the Salton Sea Authority, said if the sea’s ecosystem continues to decline, it could result in more frequent and intense smells locally.
"There is a lot of life in the Salton Sea and a lot of death," he said. "That could really spell trouble for the Coachella Valley."
Back inside Purdy’s store, Derrel Ware, 73, worried the smell would heap more negative attention on the Salton Sea.
Both men hope for a return to the days when the Salton Sea was known as a haven for fishing and recreation, not complaints from down-wind residents.
"The smell is there, you have to admit it is there," Ware said. "But not all the time like people think."
OUTDOORS REPORT
Friday, May 30, 2003 by Al Kalin
Corvina fishing continues to be slow with a few small fish being caught by anglers using live tilapia and mudsuckers. Oxygen-lacking green water is evident in much of the sea.
Update: Peter Corselli 5/28/03
Fished from the State Park up to Salt Creek. Caught one fish in water that was starting to turn green (mudsucker) about six pounds but healthy. I then ran north looking for good water. Around Corvina beach I talked to three guys who had caught three fish on dead tilapia. The water was starting to go green there also, they said it had just started to change. I drifted north of them for a little while but then I remembered that I had good bait so I went back to the area they had been drifting. After a while the water looked good again so I ran back to salt creek. The water looked good here too but still no fish.
Around 4 pm I trolled all the way back to Corvina beach. I trolled hard, very slow big "esses" 2' out to 11' and back again-nothing
Around six the wind started to blow pretty good I was trying some drifts in front of the Mecca camp ground (I wanted to fish there earlier but the Jet skis were around) for nothing.
I headed back towards the harbor figuring on finishing up the day drifting north of the harbor. The wind was really honking by this time and the wind waves were pretty substantial so a drift wasn't really practical but I was metering lots of small fish so I tossed the anchor to give it a try. Well, it was getting dark and the boat was bobbing around like a cork so I gave up. Right when I finished pulling the anchor I looked down and the rod with the swim bait on it was bucking like crazy! The hard part was fighting the fish and keeping the boat off the rocks. I got that one in which was a little longer than the other but skinny. I put in another ten minutes (couldn't leave right after catching one) and called it a day, a long day. Fished from 8 am till almost 8 pm for two fish.
I sure hope there are lots of fish holding in deep water somewhere cuz I don't think I metered more than two or three bigger fish all day.
Peter
UPDATE: 5/27/03
Called down to Red Hill today to see how fishing was over the long weekend. The Ranger stated that it was terrible. I asked him if he thought that the water just needed another week or so to warm up and he said "do you want my honest opinion, it is not scientific or anything". I of course said yes. His theory is that they had 2 1/2 months of solid wind down there and it churned up the water so bad that the baitfish were unable to move in to spawn. He said that we are not seeing baitfish or birds working anywhere. His thought is that in a month or so that everything will get back to normal, or he hopes. He said that when it happened back in 94-95 you couldn't catch a fish for a year and a half.
But look at it this way if you believe in this theory then the fishing will come back real soon. Compared to the other theory floating around that the sea is dying and it will never recover.
Stay tuned for more info. If the fish turn on you will her about it her first.
Update: By Jim Penn of Penns Guide Service-5/22/03
Well, I had to see for myself and all the reports were right on the money. Fished red hill from 7-11 this morning. water was OK but no fish, no bites, nothing on the meter. Two other boats had the same. Put the boat on the trailer and went to johnsons. fished all the way to the navy base for no fish, no bites. water was green all the way, real green. Saw some dead floating croaker and one corvina out of Johnson's. I think in the old days there would have bee a thousand croaker not a handful.
anyway, I am tired of not catching and until I get some good reports I ain"t going back!
tight lines
Jim
Check it out!
When have you ever been fishing and seen Pink Flamingo's? Well that is just one exciting thing you can see at the Salton Sea Thank you Stefan Orebo for the picture..