Fish

Totoaba

Totoaba macdonaldi

SaltwaterBrackish

At a glance

Typical size

Adults 50–150 lb.

Depth

10–80 ft.

Best time

Do not target.

Found in

1 area

Spot it, size it up and learn its habits.

Identification: A giant croaker: long, silvery-gray to bluish body, a large mouth, and a tail with a pointed middle. The young look like big corvina.
Typical size: Adults 50–150 lb.
Maximum size: About 6½ ft and over 200 lb.
Diet: Fish, shrimp and crabs.
Behavior: Migrates to the delta of the Colorado River in the upper Gulf to spawn in late winter and spring.

Where, when and how deep to look.

Where to find it: Found from Baja & Sea of Cortez. Found only in the Gulf of California, mostly the northern and central parts.
Habitat: Found only in the Gulf of California, mostly the northern and central parts.
Depth: 10–80 ft.
Fishing depth: Do not target.
Best season: Do not target.
Best time: Do not target.
Best tides: Do not target.
Best weather / conditions: Do not target.

What to tie on and what to throw.

The rod, reel, line and lures BigJoe would use.

Also at Bass Pro Shops: Rod Reel Line Leader Poppers Jigs Hooks

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Step by step, from first cast to landing.

Go where it lives: Found only in the Gulf of California, mostly the northern and central parts.
Rig up: Do not target. Do not target.
Pick your bait: Do not target. Lures: Do not target.
Fish it: If you hook one by accident while corvina or white seabass fishing, cut the line or unhook it in the water and let it go.
Time it: Do not target. Do not target.

Fishing techniques: If you hook one by accident while corvina or white seabass fishing, cut the line or unhook it in the water and let it go.
BigJoe's tip: Learn to tell it from gulf corvina and white seabass so you can release it fast.
Catch and release: Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Is it good to eat, and how to prepare it.

Safety, rules and taking care of the fishery.

Safety warnings: Heavy fish; handle carefully in the water.
Regulations: Fully protected: fishing for or keeping totoaba has been banned in Mexico since 1975, and it is listed on CITES Appendix I. Illegal fishing for its swim bladder is a serious crime. Mexico requires a sport fishing license (CONAPESCA) for every person aboard a fishing boat, even those not fishing. The general daily limit is 10 fish per person, no more than 5 of one species, and only 1 billfish (marlin, sailfish or swordfish) or 2 of dorado, roosterfish, tarpon or shark. Billfish, dorado and roosterfish are reserved for sport fishing, and many islands and coasts are parks or biosphere reserves with their own rules.
Conservation: Illegal gillnets set for totoaba have pushed the vaquita porpoise to the edge of extinction.

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Sources & photo credits