Black Snook
Robalo negro · also Robalo prieto
Centropomus nigrescens · Centropomidae
- Category
- Flats & Inshore
- Found in
- Sea of Cortez, Pacific Mainland
About Black Snook in Mexico
How to recognize it
Black snook have the classic snook shape: a long body, sloping forehead, protruding lower jaw and a bold black lateral line running all the way to the tail. What sets this Pacific species apart is its color, a dark gray to nearly black back with a deep, heavy build. Pectoral and pelvic fins are dark, and the scales are small. Large black snook rank among the heaviest snook in the world.
Where and when in Mexico
Officially robalo negro, it is just as often called robalo prieto. It lives on the Pacific coast of mainland Mexico and in parts of the southern Sea of Cortez, holding near river mouths, mangrove estuaries, rocky points and surf beaches. Good places include the lagoons of Nayarit and Sinaloa, rivermouths around Banderas Bay near Puerto Vallarta, the Pacific beaches of Baja Sur and Bahía Magdalena. Summer and fall, when rains push freshwater and baitfish to the river mouths, are the prime windows, with timing varying by region.
How it's fished
Live bait is the most dependable approach, particularly mullet or sardina drifted at tide changes along beaches and rivermouths. Casting deep-diving plugs, swimbaits and topwater poppers from shore or a panga along rocky shorelines also produces. Night fishing near lights and structure can be productive.
Good to know
Black snook can top 30 pounds, so stout tackle and an abrasion-resistant leader are important, since their sharp gill covers slice light line. The flesh is excellent, but many anglers release large breeders.
Fishing rules in Mexico
- General limit: 10 fish per angler per day, max 5 of one species
Source: NOM-017-PESC-1994 §4.9.1 (2013 mod.). Rules change; confirm current limits, seasons and permits with CONAPESCA before you fish.
