Pargo is not a species. It is what everyone here calls the inshore snappers, and there are several of them living on the same rock. They are hard fighting, dirty fighting, and very good to eat. We shoot them and we catch them, depending on the day and what you came for.
Pargo is the Spanish name for snapper, and along this coast it gets used as a catch-all for a group of related inshore fish rather than for one species. Depending on who is speaking and what is on the deck, pargo might mean the barred pargo, Hoplopagrus guentherii, the mullet snapper, Lutjanus aratus, the yellow snapper, Lutjanus argentiventris, the dog snapper, or one of several others.
We would rather say that plainly than pretend there is one fish called a pargo with one season and one scientific name. If you want the biggest of the family specifically, that is the cubera, and it has its own page. Everything else here lives under pargo.
What they share matters more than what separates them. All of them live on rock, all of them fight to get back into it, and all of them are good on the table.
Pargo are one of the fish we most often go after with a gun. They live in clear water over structure at depths a freediver can work, they hold under ledges and around boulder fields, and hunting them is a proper test of breath, patience and stalking rather than a matter of dropping down and shooting the first thing you see.
The larger pargo are wary. They will drift off the moment they decide you are interested in them, and they know where every hole is. Most good shots come from working the terrain quietly and letting the fish come back to you, not from chasing it.
A speared pargo also has to be pulled clear of the rock immediately, for the same reason a hooked one does. Once it gets its head into a crevice it will wedge itself in and you will lose fish and shaft together.
Our spearfishing trips are guided freediving. Most divers bring their own gun, fins, mask and suit, and we have some rental gear if you would rather not travel with all of it. We provide lead and floats, so nobody needs to fly with weights. Weather, visibility and your own experience decide where we go. Be honest with us about your level and we will pick water that suits it.
They are also a fine rod and reel target and often turn up while we are fishing for something else along the coast. Live bait on the edge of structure is the standard approach. Jigs work. Surface plugs at first light get a spectacular reaction from the bigger ones.
Heavy leader and a tight drag. This is short range fishing against rock and there is no room to play a fish politely.
Warm months are generally best for the inshore snappers here, roughly late spring through the fall, when the water is up and there is bait along the coast. Some pargo are catchable year round, and the cooler months bring cleaner water on some days, which helps a diver more than an angler.
Visibility is the thing that decides a spearfishing day. Swell on the coast stirs the inshore rock and takes the visibility down quickly, so we watch the swell forecast and pick a coast rather than promise a spot in advance.
Very good. Firm white flesh, clean flavoured, and versatile. Whole on the grill, in tacos, or filleted and pan fried. Smaller pargo are excellent whole. This is a fish worth taking home for dinner.
We keep what we will eat and put the rest back, and on the spearfishing side that is easier to control than with a rod, because you choose the fish before you take it. Shoot the one you want, leave the rest, and do not take the biggest fish on the reef just because you can.
The short version of how a trip with Indigo Adventures works. Licences, deposits, boats and what happens to your catch. The full FAQ has the rest.
Read the full FAQ→Indigo Adventures is based in El Pescadero, on the Pacific side of Baja California Sur, a few minutes south of Todos Santos. Boats launch from three points: Punta Lobos beach in Todos Santos, San Jose del Cabo, and the Cabo San Lucas Marina. Which boat runs your trip decides where you meet us.
Custom fishing and spearfishing charters, freediving excursions, whale watching from mid December to April, and kayaking. Every trip is built around your group, your dates and the conditions rather than a fixed timetable, and almost every one goes out private.
Book online on the Book Now page, where availability is live and a 50 percent deposit holds the date. If you would rather we picked the trip, send an enquiry with who is coming, when you are here and what you want out of the day, and we will say which trip fits and which one does not.
No. Everyone fishing in Mexican waters needs a Mexican sportfishing licence, and each angler buys their own. We help you arrange it before the day so nobody is sorting paperwork on the dock. The same licence covers rod and spear.
Rarely. Almost every trip goes out as a private boat for you and your group. If a split makes sense for a small party we will say so when you enquire.
Three on the 24 foot Punta Lobos panga, up to four on La Ruca and La Morita, and up to six on Don Pancho and El Wahoo King. Whale watching numbers run a little higher because nobody is swinging a rod.
Yes. The catch goes home with you. Filleting at the dock, vacuum sealing and freezing are available, and most guests fly home with a cooler. Marlin are mostly released, with judgement on the day.
Yes, on fishing days. The crew rigs and handles the gear and hands you the rod when something eats. Guided spearfishing needs breath-hold experience and runs on a strict buddy system, which is the only legal way to spearfish in Mexico. Water, ice and snacks are normally aboard.
