Nannygai in WA: Catching Saddletail Snapper Up North

Q: Are nannygai good to eat?

Yes — saddletail snapper are one of the better tropical table fish in WA. The flesh is white, firm and clean-flavoured, good grilled, fried or in curries. Bleed and ice them straight away; like all tropical reef fish they go off faster than they look like they should in the heat.

Q: What's the difference between nannygai and red emperor?

Both are tropical Lutjanus snappers caught on the same northern grounds, but they're separate species. Red emperor (Lutjanus sebae) is deeper-bodied, a richer uniform red, grows to around 20kg and has a 450mm minimum size and a 2-fish individual bag. Nannygai — saddletail snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus) — is more slender, usually smaller, carries a dark saddle blotch above the tail base, and has no minimum size. In WA's north they're often in the same esky.

Q: Can you catch nannygai near Perth?

No. Nannygai are a tropical fishery centred on the Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley — Exmouth, Onslow, Dampier and Broome. They're a rare stray south of Shark Bay, and boat-based demersal fishing in the West Coast region is closed anyway. To target them you head north and offshore.

Q: Is nannygai the same as the South Coast nannygai?

No, and this trips people up. In WA's north 'nannygai' means saddletail snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus), a tropical Lutjanid. On the South Coast the same name is used for Bight redfish (Centroberyx gerrardi), a completely different deep-water species with its own 350mm minimum size and separate bag rules. The name also gets used for crimson snapper and red bass in other states. This guide is the northern saddletail.

Q: What's the bag and size limit for nannygai in WA?

From 1 June 2026, saddletail snapper have no minimum size and sit in the 'all other species' group with an individual daily bag of 4 outside the West Coast region, counted inside the combined mixed demersal scalefish bag limit of 4. Limits are tighter inside the West Coast region and at the Houtman Abrolhos. Always confirm current numbers at DPIRD before a trip.

Nannygai don’t get the airfare-and-glory treatment that red emperor do, which is exactly why the people who fish for them keep quiet about it. They’re a bright-red northern snapper that schools in numbers, bites willingly, and eats beautifully — the workhorse of a good demersal day rather than the trophy shot. The nannygai is a deep-water, boat-based, tropical fishery, and like every other quality WA demersal, it lives a long way from a Perth jetty.

Get north and get offshore, though, and few fish reward the effort more reliably.

What It Is — and the Name Confusion

Nannygai in WA’s north is the saddletail snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus), a tropical Lutjanid. It’s a deep red fish, more slender than a red emperor, named for the dark saddle-shaped blotch above the base of the tail — hence “large-mouth nannygai”. They hold over deep reef, rubble and broken bottom from the Gascoyne up through the Pilbara and Kimberley, often in big aggregations.

The name is a minefield. On WA’s South Coast, “nannygai” means Bight redfish (Centroberyx gerrardi) — a totally different species with its own 350mm minimum and separate rules. Elsewhere it gets stuck on crimson snapper and red bass. This guide is strictly the northern saddletail; if someone in Esperance is talking nannygai, they mean something else entirely.

Where and When in WA

This is a northern fishery, full stop. The recreational catch runs through the Gascoyne (Shark Bay and Ningaloo) and the North Coast (Pilbara and Kimberley). South of Shark Bay a nannygai is a genuine surprise, and the West Coast demersal closure makes the metro question academic anyway.

They share ground with the marquee reds — find a nannygai school and you’ll often be pulling red emperor, goldband and crimson snapper off the same patch of rubble. That mixed bag is the whole appeal of northern bottom fishing.

The north fishes year-round, but the weather runs the calendar. The cooler, calmer April–September window gives the most workable offshore days in the Gascoyne and Pilbara — chasing demersals in 70m with a 25-knot sea breeze on is a quick way to donate your lunch to the ocean.

The Rules — Check DPIRD Before Every Trip

Nannygai are a demersal scalefish, and WA’s demersal rules were overhauled statewide from 1 June 2026. For saddletail snapper specifically:

No minimum size limit. Saddletail aren’t on the named size list — but the red emperor you’ll catch alongside them now carries a 450mm minimum, so know your fish at the boat.
Individual species daily bag: 4 outside the West Coast region (the “all other species” demersal group).
Total mixed demersal scalefish bag: 4 per fisher outside the West Coast region — nannygai count toward the same combined limit as red emperor, dhufish and every other demersal in the esky.
West Coast region: boat-based demersal fishing remains closed, land-based capped at 2 demersal fish. Inside the West Coast region and at the Houtman Abrolhos, individual nannygai limits are tighter — confirm before fishing those zones.

Don’t take those numbers off a ramp mate or a Facebook screenshot. The reforms are recent and regional rules differ — read the current bag, size and closure rules at DPIRD before you leave the driveway.

Launch Points That Put You on the Grounds

You catch nannygai from a boat, over deep rubble bottom, off the right northern town:

Exmouth — the easiest base for a first northern demersal trip. Boats work the grounds off the Ningaloo shelf, and nannygai are a staple of the mixed bag.
Coral Bay — small, but the reef drops away close in, putting demersal ground within a short run.
Onslow — gateway to the Mackerel Islands, where the reefs hold good aggregations of nannygai and reds.
Dampier — Pilbara reef country, with sheltered launching at Hampton Harbour and plenty of bottom in reach.
Point Samson — a practical Pilbara launch with productive reef grounds close enough for a day run.
Broome — the Kimberley end of the range: big tides, big fish, and timing that punishes the unprepared.

Check the wind and swell for your launch on BiteCompass before committing to a long offshore run — up north it’s the forecast, not the fish, that cancels the trip.

Gear for Deep Dropping

Nannygai live deep and the reef they hold on doesn’t forgive a slow lift. This is heavy bottom-fishing tackle, not jetty gear.

Rod and reel: a 15–24kg overhead or heavy deep-drop spin outfit, cranking weight up from 40–100m against current.
Line: 50–80lb braid with an 80–100lb mono or fluorocarbon leader.
Rig: a two-hook paternoster with 7/0–9/0 circle hooks on heavy droppers — the bread-and-butter nannygai rig, ideal for schooling fish where a double hook-up is common.
Sinker: 12–32oz depending on depth and current. Underweighting is the classic mistake — bait stealers strip a slow-sinking bait before it reaches the reef.
Baits: squid strips, whole pilchards, slimy mackerel or mullet fillet, and octopus. Nannygai aren’t shy biters.
Lures: slow-pitch jigs in 100–250g over an aggressive school once you’ve marked one.
Non-negotiable: a release weight or descender on board. Barotrauma is real from these depths — you’ll need one for anything undersize or over your bag.

Technique

Nannygai aggregate, so the fishing is about finding the school, not grinding a single bait. Sound around the deeper reef edges and rubble until you mark a stack of fish, drop on it, and then stay on it — a good patch fishes for hours, and a drift off the mark turns a hot bite cold in seconds. Re-drop with the sounder, not from memory.

Tide change triggers the bite, and neap tides make bottom-fishing far easier than the big spring runs. Dawn and dusk are the best light. Drop fast, keep contact with the bottom, and when a fish loads up, lift it clear of the reef before it buries you.

Frequently Asked

Are nannygai good to eat?
Yes — one of the better tropical table fish in WA. White, firm, clean-flavoured flesh. Bleed and ice them straight away in the heat.

What’s the difference between nannygai and red emperor?
Same grounds, separate species. Red emperor is deeper-bodied, a richer red, reaches ~20kg, with a 450mm minimum and a 2-fish bag. Nannygai is more slender, usually smaller, carries a dark saddle blotch above the tail, and has no minimum size.

Can you catch nannygai near Perth?
No — a tropical fishery centred on the Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley, and West Coast boat-based demersal fishing is closed anyway.

Is nannygai the same as the South Coast nannygai?
No. Up north it’s saddletail snapper; on the South Coast the name means Bight redfish, a different species with a 350mm minimum and its own rules.

What’s the bag and size limit for nannygai in WA?
From 1 June 2026: no minimum size, individual bag of 4 outside the West Coast region, inside the mixed demersal bag of 4. Tighter in the West Coast region and at the Abrolhos. Confirm at DPIRD.

Nannygai are the quiet achiever of WA’s northern reefs — less hyped than red emperor, just as good on the plate, and a lot more willing to bite. Read the nannygai species guide for rigs and handling, confirm the rules at DPIRD, and check the offshore forecast for your launch on BiteCompass before you point the boat north.