The word “grouper” comes from the word for the fish, most widely believed to be from the Portuguese name, garoupa. The origin of this name in Portuguese is believed to be from an indigenous South American language.
Their mouth and gills form a powerful sucking system that sucks their prey in from a distance. They also use their mouth to dig into sand to form their shelters under big rocks, jetting it out through their gills. Their gill muscles are so powerful that it is nearly impossible to pull them out of their cave if they feel attacked and extend those muscles to lock themselves in. These bottom fish are a fun alternative to trolling. They offer work to pull out of their bottom dwelling holes and offer a great eating cuisine. The multiple rock and water ledges off of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo offer a myriad of opportunities to bottom fish to to catch nice sized grouper.