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Don Alley
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Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
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Barrilete or bonito?
This one is a barrilete, or Black Skipjack. There are fair numbers in the SOC near Loreto. Last summer we saw a modern seiner, using a helicopter
spotter, net a school of these. Probably to be ground up. Their flesh is very dark, and while some Mexicans will eat them, often in salads, they are
often released. Most gringos won't have anything to do with them. Great light tackle fighters that often go easily over 10 lbs. They will hit trolled
jigs, cast lures of live bait. Many times I have seen them called "bonito." But the black spots on the belly indicate they are barrilete. Jose Torres
calls them "cat paws" from the shape of the black marks.
Sometimes we'll catch one like this. But not nearly as often. I believe this is a bonito, perhaps an Eastern Pacific Bonito, although Kira's site
states they are not found in the SOC north of La Paz. These are not nearly as common as the barrilete in the Loreto area, imo. I haven't killed one
but I've been told by one captain that they are much, much better to eat than the barrilete, with a lighter colored meat. Often found in the same
places as barrilete; twice this fall I've caught both in the same place, same day.
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Santiago
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DA: thanks for posting some pics of fish and talking about fishing. We should do this more often.
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bajabass
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Location: La Paz,BCS
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Mood: Want to fish!!!
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Cut the dark meat away from a fresh bonito fillet, fry it up with butter, onion, and garlic! Yummy. Catch one on a trout rod with 4lb line. Mini
wahoo. 
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Iflyfish
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Used one to catch my 265lb Blue Marlin. Ran it live on a C hook in the middle between two hoochies on either side.
Iflyfish
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Don Alley
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Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
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I used to catch many bonito in Southern California waters in the 60s. They were very abundant, far more than the bonito or barrilete available around
here now. Always a favorite gamefish of mine, wonderful on light tackle and beautiful when they come to color. But my mother had little patience for
them, and never seemed to want to eat them, preferring calicos, rockfish and halibut.
Me, I'm not a fish eater. I fished today, Paula's having some of the yellowtail snapper and I'm having a couple of pork chops.
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acadist
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Location: Spanaway,WA
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Mainly used as bait or to find the good eating fish. I have made tuna salad with them though.
Dave
I moved to CO and they made me buy a little rod to make it feel like a real fish
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mulegejim
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Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: San Clemente, CA/Mulege, BCS
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Just remember that bonito have no markings on their bellies as skipjack do, so don't confuse the two - bonito if bleed out and iced down are very good
eating. The other fish often confused with bonito and skipjack are Kawakawa - sometimes referred to as white bonito - it is in the skipjack tuna
family, however, they have a white mouth as compared to other tunas that have a black mouth and are very good eating.
[Edited on 12-9-2009 by mulegejim]
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Skipjack Joe
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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The bottom one sure looks like a bonito. But different from the ones I remember catching off the Redondo barge. The one below is how they looked. The
stripes on the back didn't go front to back. They went diagonally from the lateral line to the back. Is that how you remember them?
There may be considerable variability in this species and stock in the cortez may be genetically different than what we see in So Cal.
BTW you can see markings on the belly of this bonito as well.
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comitan
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Bonito have teeth, Skipjack don't.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Don Alley
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Posts: 1997
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Location: Loreto
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There are two subspecies of Pacific bonito that I can find, Pacific bonito and Eastern Pacific bonito. The range and description of the Pacific Bonito
seem to match the ones I caught off Redondo, Catalina, Anacapa, etc. The one I caught today seems to be closer to Kira's description of an Eastern
Pacific bonito.
And the Black Skipjack/Barrilete is different from the skipjack caught on the San Diego tuna boats among the albacore.
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Skipjack Joe
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Another skippy.
One thing that's really obvious between the two species is that boundary separating the head from stripes. It goes so much further back in the
skipjacks. It's almost like 2 patches of skin coming together there.
Just my 2 cents.
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mulegemichael
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comitan is right, bonito have teeth, skipjack don't ...bonito are really really good eating...skipjack are really really bad eating...
dyslexia is never having to say you\'re yrros.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
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Location: Sonora
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I have seen bonito over here that have the black spots on the belly, just like the skippies.
The teeth are the dead giveaway; bonito have teeth.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
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one of the places we go the bonito are 5-1 while fishing for jurel. the strike gets the heart rate skipping a beat, but then there's no pay off.
although the panguero wants theM for his lobster/cabrilla traps....
we usually say, "P-nche MACKEREL GRANDE!!!!!"
[Edited on 12-9-2009 by woody in ob]
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Hook
Elite Nomad
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I used to say something like that about the Pacific Bonito I used to catch off So Cal.
These bonito in the Sea are much tastier.
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Skipjack Joe
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I believe you've got it, Don.
Check this out:
http://www.fishbase.org/search.php
1. Search by common name.
2. enter 'bonito' for search.
3. Then sort by country
You'll see lots of bonitos that are found in US waters. If you play with the all suitable range map it will show you which species goes all the way up
the coast to oregon at times and which species is from the cortez south.
Striped bonito (Sarda Orientalis):
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=114
Eastern Pacific Bonito (Sarda chiliensis chiliensis):
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=113
Although why they would not call call Eastern Bonito 'orientalis' is confusing.
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monoloco
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Location: Pescadero BCS
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If it is a Bonito it will have some substantial teeth. They are excellent eating cooked or raw. Their meat is white but a Skippy has dark flesh.
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fishbuck
Banned
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Bonita... you guys are spelling it wrong!
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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fishbuck
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Here's a Skippy!
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Don Alley's pictured bonito: Sarda Orientalis (striped bonito)
Catalina, Anacapa, Socal bonito: Sarda chiliensis chiliensis (pacific bonito)
That's an oceanic skipjack, Fishbuck. Uncommon in baja. I caught some in the central pacific. They are really beautiful. The guys on Kon Tiki would
get them from the raft.
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