Sergeant Baker is a bright red bottom fish that southern offshore anglers rate highly for the table. It is not a glamour species, but when you find a patch of them they are reliable, good eating, and great fun on light gear.
In Australia you mostly find Sergeant Baker off southern coasts, especially around Victoria, Tasmania and parts of South Australia and southern New South Wales. They hold over reef, gravel and broken bottom in offshore water, often from around 20 to 100 metres, and they like areas with a bit of structure rather than wide open sand.
They feed close to the bottom on small fish, prawns, crabs and other little marine critters. Sergeant Baker are not big speedsters, so they tend to pick food off or just above the bottom rather than chase things far. Once they switch on, they often bite steadily in short flurries.
Tide changes usually help most, especially when there is enough run to stir up the bottom without making it hard to hold bottom with your rig. Low light around dawn, dusk or overcast periods can improve the bite, but they will still feed through the day in deeper water. Light to moderate wind is best because you can drift properly and stay in touch with the bottom, while strong wind makes presentation messy. A low swell or manageable sea state helps a lot offshore, because cleaner boat control means your baits stay where Sergeant Baker are feeding.
A light to medium offshore bottom outfit with a simple paternoster or dropper rig works well, using small sharp hooks and just enough lead to stay near the bottom. Pilchard strips, squid, bluebait and fish flesh baits all work, and small soft plastics or slow jigs can pick up fish too. Keep the bait neat and close to the bottom because they are not usually coming far up to eat.
Despite the name, Sergeant Baker is not a baker at all — it is actually a deep red morwong that often surprises anglers with just how good it is on the plate.