BajaNomad

Caught a Pacific Stargazer right off the beach in Todos Santos today

tobias - 2-8-2018 at 06:11 PM

Asked the other guys on the beach including one of the fillet guys who process they days fish on Punta Lobos if they had every seen a fish this ugly and was it good to eat. One guy gave a tentative yes but everyone else had not seen one.
It was a good sized fish and it fought like a mule , in fact at first I was sure it was a snag because they are buried in the sand when they attack.
In the end I tossed him back because I did not want to kill a fish I did not know enough about.
Turns out he was poisonous and could have also shocked me!
This is the third fish I have turned loose because I could not come close to identifying it.
What other fish are dangerous or endangered in baja?
Do we have a nice list somewhere? I am only aware of a few.

DanO - 2-8-2018 at 06:33 PM

Quote: Originally posted by tobias  
Asked the other guys on the beach including one of the fillet guys who process they days fish on Punta Lobos if they had every seen a fish this ugly and was it good to eat. One guy gave a tentative yes but everyone else had not seen one.
It was a good sized fish and it fought like a mule , in fact at first I was sure it was a snag because they are buried in the sand when they attack.
In the end I tossed him back because I did not want to kill a fish I did not know enough about.
Turns out he was poisonous and could have also shocked me!
This is the third fish I have turned loose because I could not come close to identifying it.
What other fish are dangerous or endangered in baja?
Do we have a nice list somewhere? I am only aware of a few.


The pain from a poke from the spines of a Sculpin (California Scorpionfish) is, as one person put it on one of the fishing boards, enough to make you religious. I was pulling a gunny sack full of fish off of a panga once and the spines from a Sculpin that were sticking through the sack jabbed into my leg, right through my pants. Hurt like an absolute mofo. The meat, however, was very tasty. They're plentiful, but dangerous.

Fish

jkruk - 2-8-2018 at 07:37 PM

Heard story about fish caught of sandy bottom that lives under the sand? Big mouth ,ugly , nice firm fillets ?

BajaBlanca - 2-8-2018 at 07:41 PM

I don't think there has ever been such a list posted here....has there?

tobias - 2-8-2018 at 08:52 PM

Quote: Originally posted by jkruk  
Heard story about fish caught of sandy bottom that lives under the sand? Big mouth ,ugly , nice firm fillets ?


Thats the guy, the meat is supposedly good , some say similar to monkfish and the electric shock is probably worth it.
The poison spike is potentially deadly if the interwebs are to be believed.
Mine had to be close to as big as they get.

Fish

jkruk - 2-8-2018 at 11:33 PM

Heard story about fish caught of sandy bottom that lives under the sand? Big mouth ,ugly , nice firm fillets ?

chippy - 2-9-2018 at 06:48 AM

Poisonous,ugly and shocking:o!
https://www.mexican-fish.com/pacific-stargazer/






Lee - 2-9-2018 at 12:32 PM

Snagged a mobula at Lobos (babies weigh 25 pounds) and getting it in was difficult. Heard locals eat them but I threw this back in. Dead weight when it hit the sand. Schools feed this area of beach -- steer clear of them -- the water ripples when they're around.

DawnPatrol - 2-9-2018 at 01:52 PM

I caught one surf fishing a couple years ago and didn't know what had until I posted it and people said I could have been shocked.

Luckily it was rather smallish, bass size so I hap lipped it with my thumb before releasing.

So glad it didn't spine me... would have ruined a good trip

Alan

Puffer should be avoided

thebajarunner - 2-9-2018 at 05:11 PM

Caught a bunch of them at LABay a couple years ago from the shore.
Nice articulated freckles on the top of the head and back,
But unless you are very confident in cleaning them the poison may kill you
Japanese consider them a delicacy, and they have specialists who are adept at avoiding the poison liver, etc.

Oh, and after some stern warnings from my compadres they all got tossed back to swim another day.

tobias - 2-10-2018 at 09:23 AM

Ok so we have "
Stargazer
Sculpin
Stingray
Puffer

Anymore that can hurt you?
How about ones that can land you in jail?

bajabuddha - 2-10-2018 at 11:10 AM

I always fish with two hemostats and a waterpump pliers handy at all times. I rarely handle any fish with bare hands, especially for catch-and-release. Simple twist of the wrist and barbless hooks do wonders. Tobias, don't forget ocean catfish, just as nasty as channel kitties in fresh water. One whack is all it takes to ruin a good day's angling.

JZ - 2-10-2018 at 11:45 AM

A pic would be nice.

chippy - 2-10-2018 at 11:47 AM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
A pic would be nice.




Check out my link.

chavycha - 2-10-2018 at 12:29 PM

Nice catch. Even though it's ugly as ***, at least it's poisonous and will shock you, too.

toronja caught a big ol' California scorpionfish today off of Asuncion. She normally does fine with releasing her own fish, but somehow with this one she decided that she "needed to take a picture" so I'd have to handle it. Thank goodness for the extra-long pliers. Ughf.

daveB - 2-10-2018 at 12:35 PM

There are books, with pics showing and describling, fish in the area. a small one I had came in handy, when some young Mexican kids got hold of a sea snake, with a long, yellow stripe. My book was enough ID for ma to tell then, mucho peligrosso, amigos! and don:t throw it back into the area where the swimmers are, but walk to the other side where the rough water is (and where they got it in the first place). That one inhabits most of the tropical waters of the planet. Apparently, their size doesn"t matter much, and a bit could kill you.

del mar - 2-10-2018 at 12:49 PM

a poison electric fish in baja! I've got plenty of decades fishing here and thats a new one to me.......can you run a light off one? :light:

tobias - 2-13-2018 at 11:07 AM

Quote: Originally posted by del mar  
a poison electric fish in baja! I've got plenty of decades fishing here and thats a new one to me.......can you run a light off one? :light:


There is a USB port right behind the anal fin. Takes a bit of fussing to get a solid connection but its great if you are fishing and your iphone runs out of juice.

caj13 - 2-13-2018 at 01:04 PM

Quote: Originally posted by daveB  
There are books, with pics showing and describling, fish in the area. a small one I had came in handy, when some young Mexican kids got hold of a sea snake, with a long, yellow stripe. My book was enough ID for ma to tell then, mucho peligrosso, amigos! and don:t throw it back into the area where the swimmers are, but walk to the other side where the rough water is (and where they got it in the first place). That one inhabits most of the tropical waters of the planet. Apparently, their size doesn"t matter much, and a bit could kill you.


been looking for a field guide style book, marine life of Baja, any suggestions?