Steve Smith with a Blue Nose Warehou weighing 12.3kg taken off Dunedin, Otago, during an event run by the Tautuku Fishing Club.
Blue nose warehou are a deep water species seldom seen by the majority of anglers. This fish is rarely caught in water less than 100m deep and is usually found much deeper down to about 600m.
They are most likely to be taken by anglers fishing over deepwater reefs for groper. Indeed many anglers refer to this fish as a blue nose groper to which it is not related at all. It also doesn't grow anywhere near as big. A large specimen might reach as much as 30kg but most are around half of that.
The most noticeable features of Blue Nose Warehou is that it has a blunt snout, forked tail, and is a darkish blue/black colour. The eye is large and it has a single row of teeth in each jaw. Blue Nose Warehou feed on crabs, squid, ling and other fish. They are ravenous predators often seen in schools on deepwater sounders.
When hooked their bladders don't inflate so they float to the surface like groper. Instead they fight hard all the way to the surface. They are generally taken by anglers on the same tackle used to land bass and groper. Best baits are small squid, barracouta fillets and jack mackerel. Use large tuna circle long line hooks when fishing in deep water as there is no need to strike the hook. These are self-setting with fish almost always being caught in the jaw.
Again like groper blue nose are a great eating fish. They are often caught commercially and sold in the shops as groper.
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