Small Boats.  Ginormous Fish!

This website is brought to you advertisement-free.  I hope you will benefit from its contents without having to endure the visual clutter and distraction of meaningless ads.  It is just another way to say thank you and give back to science.  Please enjoy!

Introduction:  Within this website you will find hundreds of on-the-spot pictures of Mexican resident fish, the vast majority having actually been caught in Mexican waters. In total this website contains more than 1,200 species, some quite rare, accompanied by photos. A large percentage of these fish have been caught by myself out of either a charter skiff (a Mexican panga captained by local Spanish speaking “pangueros”) in the greater Cabo San Lucas area, from shore in the greater Los Cabos area of Baja California Sur, Mexico, from a panga based in Loreto into the Sea of Cortez, or “inside” and “outside” from a panga based in Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos into the Pacific from Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos. Also represented on a limited basis are fish from the traditional and historic sportfishing centers of East Cape and La Paz in Baja and the major fishing centers on the coastal mainland, which have been submitted by recreational anglers. Finally, and on an ever-expanding basis, I have included fish from the Gulf of Mexico with the majority of the photographs submitted by recreational anglers who fish the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. This unique fish photo gallery also contains biological notes for each species, their scientific names, and local Spanish names, making it a handy guide for identifying and learning about what you’ve just caught on your Mexican travels.

As my directory has expanded past Mexican fish and into other types of animals, I have added more websites to better organize my findings and increase accessibility. I sincerely hope that you will view this as a continuing work-in-progress that will help you become a more thoughtful and enthusiastic sport angler, and one who will help promote marine conservation everywhere.  This is the Home Page for Mexican Fish.com it being one of seven websites that I maintain.  The other six are accessible via the links at the top of this page.

Current Inventory:  The current fish inventory includes 1,232 individual fish all of which are residents of Mexican waters of either the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean or both.  Via the links below you can also find a comprehensive list of all fish presented by:

Fish – Alphabetical Index by Common Name (1,232)
Fish – Alphabetical Index by Genus and Species (1,232)
Fish – Alphabetical Index by Families (179)

Fish Photo Directory: This website is extensive and contains hundreds of links to fish species listed by their English, Spanish, and scientific names (genus and species). It also includes some of the best photographs available (from a scientific perspective) of numerous fish species The best way to find the fish you are looking for on this page is to use the “Find” command of your page browser to search for the fish’s name. Alternatively, the complete listing of fish species may be browsed in the index pages provided just above.

New to Science:  I have one species that is new to science, the Cape Wrasse, Sagittalarva inornata, pictured below. It was uncovered by Dr. Benjamin Victor within this website – I had originally posted it online as a different species.  As of February 2023 Dr. Victor is currently revisiting this fish and it may be renamed in he immediate future. In December 2022 I provided him with only my second catch of this species which he will use to establish it’s DNA profile.

Cape Wrasse, Sagittalarva inornata. Fish caught out of 250-foot water, on Gordo I, 10 miles northeast of Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, August 2008, on a Sabiki rig. Length: 13.0 cm (5.1 inches).

Length, Range and Depth Extensions:  I have had encountered, during my days within Baja California Sur, a total of 45 length extensions (new world records!), 34 range extensions, and 7 previously undocumented depth extensions. These are provide in table format accessible via the widget on the right hand side of each page.

My TV Show:  Captain Barco, in the role of the fall guy, and I, the “Species Hunter”, were featured in an episode of “Extreme Fishing with Robson Green” that aired in prime-time on British TV in April of 2012 with a live audience estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.5 million viewers, and yes we launched off Palmilla Beach and the waters we fished were the ones we fish day in and day out.

Thanks for Visiting.  Please Enjoy.

John T. Snow, Ph.D.