Red nannygai are a deep-water reef fish that plenty of offshore fishos rate highly for the table. They are bright red, hit well when you find a school, and are a great target when you want quality reef fish without chasing the usual suspects.
In Australian waters, they are mostly found off the south-east and southern coast, including NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and parts of SA. They like deeper reef, broken ground and hard bottom, often in 50 to 200-plus metres, and usually hold close to structure in schools.
They feed on baitfish, squid, prawns and other small bottom-dwelling critters. Most of the time they sit around reef edges and broken ground, picking off food that drifts past rather than racing all over the place. When they switch on, they can bite in short, sharp bursts.
Tide matters most where there is enough run in deeper water, with the better bite often around the change of tide or during a steady, manageable flow that keeps baits near the bottom without too much drag. Low light can help, especially around dawn or dusk, but in deep water they will still feed through the middle of the day if the school is active. Lighter winds make a big difference because holding position and presenting baits properly is easier when the boat is not skating around. Lower swell is also a big plus offshore, both for safety and because it helps you stay on the mark and keep your rig in the strike zone.
A 15 to 24 kilo overhead or spin outfit with braid, a paternoster or dropper rig, and enough lead to hold bottom is the standard setup. Fresh squid, pilchard, cut fish and strip baits all work well, and small to medium circle or suicide hooks are fine depending on how you like to fish. If they are fussy, smaller baits fished neatly and right on the structure usually get more bites.
Despite the name, red nannygai are not the same fish as the tropical red emperor that many Queensland anglers also call nannygai.