Once upon a time I did quite a bit of shore fishing down at the Salton Sea. Some of the best times I had fishing there were after the sun went down. We’d get there early in the evening and set up on the shoreline with our lantern, ice chest, folding chairs, tackle boxes, and poles. Around midnight the whiskey would come out and by 3:00am we were sleeping in our chairs. We’d wake up once in a while, re-bait our hooks, cast out, and drift off to sleep again.
We never worried about missing a bite because we had tiny bells attached to the tip of our poles that would ring out the moment we got any action (best invention of all time for sleepy fishermen). This one time my fishing buddy Brad and I were sitting on the shore sound asleep when the bell on his pole started ringing like a church bell. We woke up just in time to see his rig jump out of the pole holder and fly out into the darkness of the Sea, never to be seen again. A hot corvina bite stole poor Brad’s gear right before our eyes and there wasn’t a thing we could do about it. Brad attempted to give chase and jumped into the water after it, but it was a waste of time. All he got was wet. We learned a valuable lesson that night: keep a tight grip on your pole at all times. Maybe that should be number 6 on the list below.
Five things you need to know about fishing the Salton Sea in August:
- The water is saltier than the ocean.
- The sun will make you wish you’d stayed home.
- Cold beer in the cooler at all times is a must.
- Bring your own shade. (see #2)
- You’ll eventually get used to the smell. (see #3)
I quit fishing the Sea in the early 1980’s because of the accumulated chemical runoff levels from the surrounding agriculture.
Maria Elena – Ry Cooder – Boomer’s Story – 1972