Thread: Fish ID please--from Auckland but probably lots of places in NZ.

My friend hauled this horse out of the depths today but didn't know what it is, does anybody know?

Banded wrasse of some sort

Banded wrasse/parrotfish

Thanks everyone!

They are delicious steamed in foil with garlic/ginger etc

when you keep feeling nibbles that clean off your bait but aren't catching anything decent - it is often this guy or his pink mate the Scarlett Wrasse. I use it as a sign to move on if you catch them. generally over rocky terrain

We call them shit fish. But they're actually not bad chewing.

What sorta size are you eating them at?

Have only caught the pink ones and just throw them back, as suggested pull up anchor and move on to a better spot to catch tastier morsels

We call them cray bait or net fillers. When we were kids they would be the fish in the nets that we used as bait. Now they are about the biggest fish we catch. I still can't bring myself to eat them (perhaps I should try one) so it means we have pretty much stopped fishing. Same goes for trout. Never liked trout so have never been keen on trout fishing. Catch and release sort of seems mean- If I catch it, I intend to eat it. If I dont want to eat it why try catch it?

Mollymawks quite like to eat them when you throw them back.

Wouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to move on in the South Island as they like similar terrain to blue cod, just prefer a bit more weed than the cod.