los angeles river tilapia fishing...?

Question

does anybody know where to find tilapia in the l.a. river?? i used to catch 'em in there when i was a kid, but i was a kid, don't remember where. wanna take my son now. any ideas on what streets?? probably somewhere near long beach harbor, i remember it was close enough to the ocean for the tide to affect the water.

Answer 1

The LA River is a Joke! It use to be a Flash Flood desert flow, when it rained prior to settlers. Then, when LA got built up they made a cement river.

If you catch a Tilapia there it would not be eatable - and is not native.

"This small, lowfat fish originally comes from Africa where it has been used for thousands of years. Recently it has become one of the most important "aquaculture" fish in the world. Tilapia are grown in large farms and produced for mass consumption. Tilapia is a white fish with a slight pinkish color. It is an excellent fish for grilling and broiling."

Answer 2

Strange but true. Back in the early 80's I also caught tilapia but farther south at the Santa Ana River mouth. I know they aren't native to the SoCal coast, but somehow they got in there and they've likely been there for a long time, just nobody mentions them. The weird thing is I didn't know what they were back then. I only figured out they were tilapia years later because I saw the same fish swimming in a tank in a Chinese market and recognized what they looked like.

I have to agree though, whether it's the L.A. or San Gabriel River (or Santa Ana for that matter) I don't think it's safe to eat anything out of those waters anymore... Sign of the times I guess. And if you happen to catch white croaker anywhere definitely don't eat it. Just catch and release.

Answer 3

Talapia is not a fish native to the USA-there is no wild population.
It is from New Zeland and only found in farm ponds in The United States.
Is the LA River a River?