Mission #1 - A fish other than a dorado, sailfish, or bonita.

Two young boys were fishing of the malecon in Barra. They had caught two Needlefish and were after more. They use a hook with some bate and a length of fishing line as their weapon. It looked like fishing was a bit slow, but they were very persistent.

Needlefish Info from the web:

Fish Identification Photos: Pacific Needlefish, Tylosurus pacificus: The Pacific Needlefish is characterized by a dark blue-green back which is green upon collection and quickly turns to dark blue, silver belly, and distinctly eponymous “needlelike” appearance. The Pacific Needlefish has a long slender beak, 17 percent of its body length, and short pectoral and pelvic fins, both less than 8 percent of itsbody length). The inside of the mouth is a distinctive green coloration.

The bottom lobe of the Pacific Needlefish's forked caudal fin is much longer than the top lobe. The Pacific Needlefish has a raised, prominent black keel at the tail base. The Pacific Needlefish is quite similar to and can be confused with the Giant Mexican Needlefish, Tylosurus crocodiles fodiator (short beak, less than 17 percent of body length, and long pectoral and pelvic fins greater than 8 percent of body length, a more robust body, and an off-white colored mouth).

The Pacific Needlefish is a member of a group of coastal and oceanic pelagic schooling fish that are normally found on the surface well off shore that belong to the Belonidae or Needlefish Family.

The Pacific Needlefish has a limited distribution, being found in Mexican waters south of Guerrero Negro on the Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula, in the lower one-third of the Sea of Cortez, and throughout the Pacific coast of mainland Mexico. It appears to be absent from around the oceanic islands. It reaches a maximum of 4 feet in length and is normally found in the first 25 feet of the water column. The Pacific Needlefish is viewed by locals as poor table fare and a “catch and release.” It feeds mainly on small schooling fish such as anchovies, herrings and mullets, and they are not known to attack larger reef fishes.