Spotted cabrilla (Epinephelus analogus), illustration

Sport fishing Epinephelus analogus

Spotted cabrilla in Los Cabos

A stocky, red-spotted grouper that ranges from Southern California to Peru. Around Los Cabos it shares the rocky reefs with the leopard grouper, and it’s a very good food fish.

Up to 114 cmMax length

49 lb 3 ozIGFA world record

Under 1–107 mDepth

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.

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How to recognize it

Robust and elongated, tan to grayish, covered in many small red-brown spots about the size of its pupil, smaller on the head and fins. Four broad, faint dark bars run across the upper half of the side and onto the dorsal fin.

Biology

The spotted cabrilla lives only in the Eastern Pacific, from San Pedro in Southern California to Pucusana, Peru, including the Gulf of California and offshore islands such as the Revillagigedos, Cocos and Malpelo. It lives on rocky reefs and also enters shallow estuaries, from less than 1 m down to 107 m.

It’s a carnivore that eats octopus, squid, cuttlefish, bony fish, shrimp and crabs from rocky and sandy bottoms. In winter it moves closer to shore to feed heavily on swarms of pelagic red crab. Its larvae drift in open water before settling on the reef.

Things you probably didn't know

A winter crab feast

In winter, spotted cabrilla move closer to shore and feed heavily on swarms of pelagic red crab (Pleuroncodes planipes), a small red crustacean that gathers in huge swarms.

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From California to Peru

Its documented range runs from San Pedro, Southern California, to Pucusana, Peru, and from less than 1 m to 107 m deep.

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A Galápagos question mark

It was long listed as a Galápagos resident, but a 2024 checklist reclassified it as a vagrant there: it’s very rare and easily confused with juvenile local groupers.

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A record from 1990

The IGFA all-tackle record, 49 lb 3 oz (22.31 kg), was caught on November 18, 1990 at the Cedros and Natividad islands on Baja’s Pacific side, and it still stands.

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Fished too hard up north

A 2026 study of official 2006–2023 catch data estimated the stock on Baja’s Pacific coast above 25°N at about 69% of its healthy target size, fished 1.6 times harder than is sustainable.

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Buchona and guichona

In Magdalena Bay, fishers interviewed for a 2015 study called it buchona or guichona, and said it’s rare there and more common in the Gulf.

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Photos

Spotted cabrilla, photo 1 (Juluapan, Mzlo.) — Alberto Alcalá · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

How it's caught in Los Cabos

Spotted cabrilla live year-round on rocky reefs and points, from the shallows to deeper structure. Around Los Cabos it’s an occasional catch: local reports mention it now and then on inshore reef trips, usually on the same spots as the far more common leopard grouper.

Local captains fish it near the bottom with live bait, squid or cut bait, or with jigs worked tight to the rocks. Once hooked it tries to reach its hole, so you have to turn it fast. Sport fishing is not allowed inside Cabo Pulmo National Park.

On the table

A very good food fish with white meat; FishBase places it in its high price category.

Rules, records & conservation

Daily limit (NOM-017-PESC-1994)	Up to 5 per angler per day, within the 10-fish total
Gulf grouper (baya)	Different species, limit 2 per day
IUCN Red List	Least Concern (assessed 2016)
IGFA all-tackle record	49 lb 3 oz (22.31 kg), Cedros/Natividad Islands, Baja California, 1990
Cabo Pulmo National Park	Sport fishing not allowed

Don't confuse it with

The leopard grouper or cabrilla sardinera (Mycteroperca rosacea) is olive-brown to reddish with dark leopard spots and no bars. The flag cabrilla (Epinephelus labriformis) is olive green with white blotches and a black saddle on the tail base. The Gulf grouper or baya (Mycteroperca jordani) is a much bigger, endangered species.

How to tell Cabo’s groupers and snappers apart ›