Red Emperor galore- Montebello Islands Fishing

This week marks week 7 of our Montebello Islands Fishing season. So far the season has been awesome with some great fishing and some mixed weather. The fishing at the Montebello Island is always unbelievable with the most incredible mix of species you are ever likely to come across.

This week we had a full boat hire with a group of guys from Perth. Half of the crew had never been to the Montebello Islands before which really makes the Blue Lightning Crew’s week. We love the opportunity to show newbies everything these islands have to offer.

Day 1- Bottom fishing

After departing our mooring in Dampier we were soon heading out to the islands with a stiff Easterly wind behind us. A quick troll proved fruitless, with some dirty water likely to be to blame. We kept steaming along for a while longer before we dropped some bottom baits. Despite the quick drift the boys managed to bring a sweet selection of reef fish to the boat. Species included Red Emperor, Scarlet Sea Perch and Spangled Emperor. With a nice selection of fish on board and the wind only increasing we decided to continue our run to the islands.

Day 2- Some tasty bottom fish

We woke on Day 2 to some dark clouds, threatening to rain on our Montebello Islands adventure. We headed North to try our hand at some bottom fishing. It was our lucky day with rain clearing quickly leaving us with some nice conditions for fishing. After fishing in a variety of spots the guys managed to reel in a seriously great mixed bag of tasty bottom fish. The predominate species of the day was Emperor in various forms including Red, Spangled and Long Nose. Other catches included Rankin Cod, Coral Trout, Sea Perch, Chinaman Fish and even a Cobia.

Day 3- fishing the inshore reefs and drop offs

Day 3 began with us realising the rain had really set in. We were lucky though as for most of the day it was only lightly drizzling and the wind was not as strong as forecast. Skipper Chad made the call to set some lures out and troll by some inshore reefs and drop offs. Again this proved to be a great call as an otherwise quiet day turned out to be filled with lots of fun and excitement. Plenty of Shark Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel were keen to hit the lures. The boys even managed to reel in a few Coral Trout and a surprise Rankin Cod.

Squid and Crayfish

After such an exciting morning we decided to head back to “The Cod Cave” (Blue Lightning’s Monties Pontoon) for a little break and a bite to eat. Before long the boys were keen for some more action and we spent the afternoon targeting Squid and Crayfish. The boys modest haul made for a very an awesome entrée for the whole crew.

Day 4- Sunshine!

We woke on day 4 to something very welcome…. The sun! After a bite of breakfast we headed out for a bottom bouncing session. The crew had a great time landing some Red Emperor, Spangled Emperor and Rankin Cod. The Red Emperor and Spangled Emperor were definitely the dominant species for the day. In the afternoon we decided to do some trolling which produced some nice Spanish Mackerel.

Day 5- Return to Dampier

This charter has absolutely flown by and day 5 is already upon us. As we made our way back across to Dampier we fished in a few spots along the way. The boys managed to reel in some good sized Red Emperor, Cobia, Spangled Emperor, Rankin Cod and Trevally before arriving safe and sound back in Dampier.

It was a great 5 day charter to the Montebello Islands with some very nice sized Red Emperor making an appearance for the boys.

The fun of the Montebello Islands

You might have noticed from our blogs that there isn’t a typical week on Blue Lightning. While we spend 6 months of our year up here at the incredible Montebello Islands the itinerary for each charter varies depending on our customer’s preferences. Last week we completed an 8 day charter with a group who love their Sports fishing, this week was a 5 day charter with a mix of fishing styles. We love this mix and we love showing everyone all the incredible landscapes, outstanding fishing and awesome history of these islands. We are now back out at the Montebello Islands for the next 7 day charter, and are excited to see what the Islands will give us this week.

Until next time, happy fishing

Leah