The pargo mancha, a snapper with a black spot on its back and one of the most common table fish in the Pacific, from Mexico to Peru. Bottom fishing with natural bait and light jigs over rocks.
Also called: pargo-lunarejo, pargo-da-mancha, spotted rose snapper
Eastern Pacific snapper, from Mexico to Peru. Adults live over hard bottoms and coastal reefs, usually at 10 to 60 m, alone or in small groups, sometimes in large schools; juveniles stay in estuaries and river mouths. It eats invertebrates and fish. It is one of the most fished and sold snappers in the region, and in Mexico it is being tested in aquaculture. For sport anglers it is a bottom fish, caught from boats over rocks and shoals with natural bait, light jigs and silicone lures, and it gives good catches of numbers, with small to medium fish.
fun facts
The black spot on its back gives the lunarejo its name (from lunar, spot).
In Mexico the species is being studied for farming in ponds and cages.
how to recognize it
identification
Light carmine flank with a silvery sheen and horizontal rows of bluish dots, golden-yellow belly, and a head with bluish dots and lines. The species' mark is a large dark spot high on the back, below the end of the spiny part of the dorsal fin (the lunar). The scale rows on the back rise diagonally above the lateral line. The Pacific red snapper is pinkish-red without the spot.
how spotted rose snapper fishing looks
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
spinning reel 3000 to 4000 or small baitcasting reel
line
braid 20 to 30 lb
leader
fluorocarbon 25 to 40 lb, 1 m
hook
circle 1/0 to 3/0
lures
metal jig 30 to 60 g
jig head with small shad
slow jig
natural baits
squid strips
shrimp
sardine fillet
accessories
sinker 40 to 120 g
descender (fish descender)
alicate
tip from an angler
Use a small hook and bait in strips: the spotted rose snapper nibbles before swallowing. Keep the bait about 20 cm off the bottom.
what the law says
rules for the spotted rose snapper
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency. Conservation: Old global assessment; it is one of the most commercially fished snappers in the region.
Mexico: up to 5 per species and 10 saltwater fish per day
5 specimens of the species per angler per day, within the limit of 10 saltwater fish
In recreational sport fishing in Mexican federal waters, each angler may keep up to 10 saltwater fish per day, no more than 5 of the same species. The spotted rose snapper (pargo lunarejo) is not among the species reserved for sport fishing under art. 68 of the General Law of Sustainable Fishing and Aquaculture, and has no quota of its own. Fish over the limit must be returned alive to the water, and sport-caught fish may not be sold. Anglers fishing from a boat need a Conapesca permit.
Incopesca set, in AJDIP/026-2018 (which repealed AJDIP/102-2017), a legal first-catch size of 30 cm total length for the spotted rose snapper (pargo mancha) during the first two years (until February 2020). After that, art. 7, b requires applying the first-maturity size of 32 cm, which is the minimum to respect today. The rule covers all fishing activity, prohibits selling and transporting fish below the size, and allows a 10% tolerance in number and weight, only from catch to landing. We found no later agreement that changes this; check with Incopesca.
El Salvador: minimum size of 23 cm (rule not confirmed in full)
23 cm (total length)confirm with the agency
Document from El Salvador's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) that prohibits, in snapper fishing, catching spotted rose snapper (lunarejo) under 23 cm total length. We did not confirm the number, date or validity of the rule: check with Cendepesca before keeping small fish.
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Bottom fish can float up with an inflated swim bladder: use a descender to return it to depth. Respect the minimum sizes of each country.
in the kitchen
White, delicate and highly sought-after flesh; fried whole, roasted or in ceviche.
calculator
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01349, b = 2.9; FishBase). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
scientificFishBase — Lutjanus guttatus (ficha da espécie)Names, distribution, biology, length-weight relationship, list of countries and references. Page checked 13/10/2026. FishBase cites up to 105 cm in landing data from Colombia (AUNAP, 2014), a value that does not match the recorded maximum weight (1.3 kg, IGFA record database). The entry uses the maximum length from the FAO catalog (about 50 cm).
