In the warm waters around Southern Africa we have many beautiful and interesting fish species but this one is a very special little fish.
Rainbow wrasse are one of those fish that you will never forget about catching. When you feel the tug on your line you are normally expecting some colors on the fish but never to land one that looks like this!
They have elongated bodies with unique coloring and paterns specific to each individual fish. The colors range from orange and reds to turquoise, blue and purple. They might also have some white and black blotches too.
Nicholas Nicolaides caught this amazing adult specimen on paddle tail. They love eating crustaceans and sea worms that they can find on the reef. These wrasse only grow to about 2kg max and their offspring looks very different from the adults.
I read somewhere that they live in what is called a Harem. One male and a few females. If the male dies then the dominant female changes sex to male to take care of the Harem!
I have only caught one of these before and was completely in awe. I quickly released it but I first whispered a wish to it...
My wish came true BTW... Coincidence maybe but I like to think it was because I let a magical fish live for another day.
#extremefishingafrica #schoolofminnows #fishing #ladyanglers #nature #reef #anglingaddicts #freewriters #saltlife #oceansports
