Pacific crevalle jack (Caranx caninus), illustration

Sport fishing Caranx caninus

Pacific crevalle jack in Los Cabos

Pure muscle with a blunt head. Packs of toro push bait against Cabo's beaches and hit surface poppers with a violence that surprises first-timers, and they almost never give up.

Up to 101 cmMax length (fork)

39 lbIGFA world record

~15 yearsLifespan

5 per dayLimit per angler

Season in Los Cabos

Jan·Feb●Mar●Apr●May●●Jun●●Jul●●Aug●Sep·Oct·Nov·Dec·

●● best months · ● regular · · occasional. Based on local fishing reports; conditions change year to year.

Tap a month to see everything biting in Cabo that month ›

How to recognize it

A deep, flat, silvery body with a steep, blunt forehead and a deeply forked tail. A row of bony scutes runs along the rear of the lateral line, with a black spot on the gill cover, a black blotch at the lower corner of the pectoral fin, and yellowish tail and anal fins.

Biology

Toro live close to shore, over sand and gravel, around rocky points and in estuaries, from San Diego Bay (only in El Niño years) to Peru, including the Gulf of California and the Galápagos. Young fish live in estuaries and sometimes swim up rivers.

They eat mostly fish, plus shrimp and crabs. Young toro travel in schools; the big adults often hunt alone. Studies in Colima found they live about 15 years, with spawning peaks in May and November.

Things you probably didn't know

It grunts

A toro often makes a grunting sound when it's landed.

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Its bones swell with age

Adults grow thickened, swollen bones (hyperostosis) on the supports of the dorsal and anal fins, starting at about 38 cm. Scientists use these bones to tell it apart from the Atlantic species.

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An Atlantic twin

It looks so much like the Atlantic crevalle jack that many scientists considered them one species. A 2007 review settled it: different bones, fin colors and more scutes.

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A diary in its ears

Its ear stones (otoliths) grow seasonal rings, like a tree. Off Colima, the fastest growth is from August to February, which researchers link to the rainy and hurricane season.

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From the sea to the river

Juvenile toro grow up in estuaries and sometimes swim up rivers into fresh water.

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Los Cabos is in the record book

The IGFA all-tackle fly-fishing length record for this species, 81 cm, was caught at Punta Arena, La Ribera, in the East Cape, in 2023.

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Photos

Pacific crevalle jack, photo 1 (Cabo Pulmo, 23570 La Ribera) — Bill Levine · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Pacific crevalle jack, photo 2 (Cabo Pulmo, 23570 La Ribera) — Bill Levine · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Pacific crevalle jack, photo 3 (Manzanillo, MX-CL) — Alberto Alcalá · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Pacific crevalle jack, photo 4 (Residencial la Jolla, 28868 Manzanillo) — Alberto Alcalá · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Pacific crevalle jack, photo 5 (La Paz, MX-BS) — Bill Levine · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Pacific crevalle jack, photo 6 (La Paz, MX-BS) — Bill Levine · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

How it's caught in Los Cabos

Toro are around Los Cabos most of the year, and local reports put the best action from May to July, with few from September to January. In June 2026 our pangas found them thick along the beaches, 15 to 25 lb (7 to 11 kg), while fishing for roosterfish.

Surface poppers, pencil poppers and stickbaits cast to breaking fish, or live mullet and sardines slow-trolled along the beach. The first two hours of light and the last hour and a half before dark are usually best. Most toro are released.

On the table

Not a prized table fish: the meat is dark, red and coarse. Small fish taste better if they're bled right away, but most anglers release them.

Rules, records & conservation

Daily limit (NOM-017-PESC-1994)	Up to 5 per angler per day, within the 10-fish total
IUCN Red List	Least Concern
IGFA all-tackle record	39 lb 0 oz (17.69 kg), Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica, 1997

Don't confuse it with

In Mexico "jurel" alone is used for many jacks, so ask for "toro" or "jurel toro" to mean this one.

How to tell yellowtail, almaco jack and Cabo’s jacks apart ›

Questions

When can you catch toro in Cabo?

Most of the year, with the best beach action from May to July according to local reports; from September to January they’re scarce.

Is toro good to eat?

It's edible but not prized: the meat is dark and strong. Most anglers release it.

What's the difference between toro and roosterfish?

Both hunt along the beaches and are often caught on the same trip, but the roosterfish has a tall comb-like dorsal fin and dark stripes; the toro is plain silver with a blunt head.