Nannygai (Saddletail Snapper)
Offshore / ReefA deep-bodied tropical snapper of northern WA, also called saddletail snapper or large-mouth nannygai for the dark blotch on the tail base. Found on deep reef and rubble from the Gascoyne north through the Pilbara and Kimberley, often in big aggregations. Excellent eating and a reliable demersal target on the bottom. Not to be confused with the South Coast 'nannygai' (Bight redfish), a different species under different rules.
Overview
Nannygai — the saddletail snapper, Lutjanus malabaricus — are a mainstay demersal of WA's tropical north, vivid red fish named for the dark saddle blotch above the tail. They school over deep reef, rubble and broken bottom from the Gascoyne up through the Pilbara and Kimberley, frequently in large aggregations that can produce fish after fish once you're on them. They run alongside red emperor, goldband and crimson snapper, and they're a favourite of charter and trailer-boat anglers for their willingness to bite and their quality on the plate. Note the name clash: WA's South Coast 'nannygai' is the Bight redfish (Centroberyx gerrardi), an entirely separate species with its own size and bag rules — this entry is the northern tropical snapper.
Identification
Saddletail snapper, large-mouth nannygai, red jewfish, scarlet sea perch
A deep-bodied, uniformly red snapper with a steep forehead, a large mouth and — on juveniles and mid-sized fish — a dark saddle blotch above the tail base that fades on older ones. The close relative is crimson snapper, or small-mouth nannygai (Lutjanus erythropterus), which has a smaller mouth, a more rounded head profile and no saddle. Juvenile red emperor carry three broad dark bands and lose them with age. Then there is the name clash: the South Coast 'nannygai' is Bight redfish (Centroberyx gerrardi), a completely different family with a huge eye and a shorter, deeper body.
How to Catch
Whole squid, octopus, mullet or scaly mackerel fillet, large pilchards, fish strip baits
Slow-pitch jigs 100–250g, large soft plastics on heavy jigheads, vertical knife jigs
Paternoster rig with two 6/0–9/0 circle hooks on 60–100lb mono droppers and enough lead — 16–32oz — to hold bottom in deep water and current. Strong terminals and sharp hooks matter at depth. Some anglers run a snelled twin-hook for big baits.
Drift or lightly anchor over deep reef and rubble in 30–120m, dropping baits to the bottom and winding a couple of cranks up. Nannygai often hold in numbers, so once you connect, mark the spot and work it — they can come over the side in a hot streak. Slow-pitch jigging works well when fish are aggressive: short, sharp lifts off the bottom. Use a release weight for any fish you're returning; barotrauma is real from these depths.
Northern WA fishes year-round, with the cooler months (May–September) offering the most comfortable weather windows in the Gascoyne and Pilbara. Tide changes trigger the bite; neap tides make deep bottom-fishing easier than springs. Dawn and dusk are most productive.
Up to 1m and around 10kg, commonly 2–5kg
Year-round (Gascoyne, Pilbara, Kimberley)
Size & Growth
Most nannygai off the northern grounds run 2–5 kg; a 6–8 kg fish is a good one and the maximum of around a metre and 10 kg is uncommon. They are slow-growing and long-lived — tropical snappers of this family routinely reach ages measured in decades — so a big red on the deck represents a lot of years. They school by size, so a patch that gives you three-kilo fish will generally keep giving you three-kilo fish. If you want better, move and find a different aggregation rather than flogging the one you are sitting on.
Diet & Habitat
Nannygai feed on and just above the bottom, taking small fish, prawns, crabs and squid, and they will happily eat a large bait. They hold over deep reef, rubble patches, coral bommies and broken bottom in roughly 30–120 m, typically in aggregations dozens of fish strong — find one and the sounder lights up as a mass sitting just off the bottom. In WA they are a northern fish, running from the Gascoyne up through Onslow, Dampier and the Pilbara to Broome and the Kimberley, sharing that country with red emperor, goldband and crimson snapper.
WA Size & Bag Limits
| Minimum size | No minimum size (northern saddletail; the South Coast 'nannygai', Bight redfish, is a separate species with a 350 mm minimum) |
|---|---|
| Bag limit | 4 outside the West Coast Bioregion; 2 in the West Coast Bioregion; 1 at the Houtman Abrolhos |
| Counts toward | Counts within the demersal scalefish mixed daily bag (4 outside the West Coast Bioregion). |
Saddletail snapper (nannygai) are a tropical snapper (Family Lutjanidae) and a demersal scalefish. No minimum size limit applies. Individual species daily bag limit: 4 outside the West Coast bioregion, 2 in the West Coast bioregion, 1 at the Houtman Abrolhos — counted within the demersal mixed daily bag (4 outside the West Coast region). The West Coast boat-based demersal closure (Kalbarri to Augusta) runs until Spring 2027, but this is a northern fishery largely outside that zone. Do not confuse with South Coast 'nannygai' (Bight redfish), which has a 350mm minimum and its own bag rules.
Eating Quality
Yes — excellent, and one of the better-value demersals for a feed given how readily they school up. The flesh is firm, white and mild with a moderate flake, and it takes almost any treatment: grilled, baked whole, crumbed, battered, or held together in a curry where softer fish fall apart. Smaller fish of 2–3 kg are the pick for the pan; the big ones are still good but the flesh coarsens. The skin is thick and the scales heavy, so most people skin the fillets. Bleed and ice on capture — in tropical heat the flesh deteriorates faster than it looks, and a fish left on a hot deck for twenty minutes is a noticeably worse fish. It freezes well vacuum-sealed for a few months.
Perth Tips
Charters and trailer boats out of Exmouth, Onslow, Dampier and Broome target nannygai over deep reef, often as part of a mixed demersal bag with red emperor and goldband. When you find a school, stay on it — they aggregate, and a marked patch can fish for hours. Carry a release weight and use enough sinker to get baits down fast through bait-stealers in the water column.