TOTOABA-LIKE FISH SEEN FROM THE AIR AND CAUGHT

August 1, 2004, Lou Federico, Mulege, Mexico Totoaba Sighting:

It was about 1960 when John Bonfonte and I flew his small plane from Point Concepcion and the area around the mouth of Concepcion Bay. We were shocked to see many large groups of very large fish that were formed to look like a huge starfish. There were many groups like this. It looked like there were ten or more fish per group. When we landed we immediately jumped into our skiff and began trolling. It didn't take long and we boated a large totoaba. It was the first one we had ever seen and the last one. We came to the conclusion that it was about this time that the spawning grounds at the Colorado River had silted over and they spawned just that once in the Mulege area. That was the only totoaba ever seen or caught.

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