Totoaba, a giant croaker

[lamb]

Check out the Totoaba story on MexFish...

I've been hearing about them, never really got the full story.

Visualize 300# WSB...



It's a very sad story...

http://www.mexfish.com/mexi/mexi/af051209/af051209.htm

[THE DARKHORSE]

A terrible sad story indeed, but if I catch one this month I might be tempted to submit that son of a bitch (sorry).

[bajadog]

We used to see them dragging them up on the beach in San Felipe (mid-60's).

They would use a wrecker to drag them up the beach.

Took them even in the spawning season.

BTW. That picture is Tony Reyes on left, and Papa Fernandez in the middle (1954).

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.blueroadrunner.com/Images/reyesgroup.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.blueroadrunner.com/reyes.htm&h=252&w=360&sz=24&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=SE_uzalpgWmPgM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3DTony%2BReyes%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26cli ent%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26sa%3DN

[Fishsith]

In its juvinile stage the totoaba is known to Mexicans as a Machorro.

I have caught a couple of 20 to 35 pounders fishing out of San Felipe.

Cought one last week and released.

I do notice many fisherman catching one after another and keeping them. Makes me wonder if these fish are plentifull at this stage (Juvinile) than full grown.

Not much is known about this fish and how it has recovered from near extinction.

[bajadog]

Apparently the area North and West of Isla Montague is a Mexican
ecological preserve. This is were toutuaba spawn.

[GREYAK]

I understand that they spawn in the River. I was told by an oldtimerback in the 60s, that he used a donkey to pull his gillnet from the River.
Bruce