Painted Sweetlips – Blue Bastard are a highly sought after but tricky flats fish that predominantly shy away from a moving fly Painted Sweetlips – Blue Bastard are more inclined to eat a well presented stationary fly.
When feeding in shallow water, often their tails can be seen waving around as they feed with their heads down, using their large sucker shaped lips to rummage around for grubs and other tidbits on the bottom.
Tailing fish are what you want to target and if luck is on your side, you may well find yourself up against an absolute monster.
There are both blue and brown bastards. Both fish will eat flies and provide a stubborn and dogged fight. They’re spooky but nowehere near as spooky as permit which makes them a realistic target.
Blue Bastards spend their time in areas where there’s rubble, coral bommies, rocky outcrops and large sandy patches nearby.
