5 day WA fishing charter

This week we had another crew who travelled all the way from Canberra to join us for their Blue Lightning Montebello Islands Charter.  The trip organiser enjoyed his second trip to the Montebello Islands with Blue Lightning Charters this year and we were very happy to welcome him back on board.

 

Day 1- Perfect conditions

What a beautiful day to be on the water. After leaving Dampier in the early morning, we fished our way across to the Montebello Islands. We kicked off the trip trolling for Mackerel. Unfortunately, the Mackerel decided they weren’t hungry but lucky for us the Mack Tuna were.

Bottom Fishing

For our next session we decided to try our hands at some Bottom fishing. It was a good session which produced some Rankin Cod, Coral Trout, Red Emperor, and Gold Spot Trevally. John was crowned the Coral Trout King for the day getting himself a few Coral Trout throughout the day. Terry also had a good session getting himself a nice sized Gold Spot Trevally. Rod however did not have luck on his side he thought he had a good fish on but it was a shark! It put on a real dance on the surface which was great entertainment for us all. We went for another troll looking for mackerel.

WA Fishing Perfection

It really was an awesome day on the water with the water being the most beautiful shade of blue and the water temperature was up to 25.5 degrees celcius. With the water temp up so high the Yellow Fin Tuna were out to play. John, Paul and Patrick were able to get themselves a Yellow Fin Tuna each. The Spanish Mackerel were also on the bite. Peter, Sam and Terry managed to get their first ever Spanish Mackerel, landing one each. Though the guys did tease Terry as they suggested his Spanish Mackerel was from the kindergarten section, he released it so it could grow up to be big and strong hehehe. We reassured Terry that he shouldn’t worry it was only day 1 and there were plenty more days to show these guys you can catch a bigger one.

A whale of a greeting

As we entered the islands we were welcomed by a group of whales. Our whale sightings have been slowing down over the last few weeks and we are not seeing as many as we did earlier in the season. Our “pet” Queensland Grouper Kodak also delighted us with his presence when we arrived at the Blue Lightning Pontoon known as “The Cod Cave”. After dinner a delicious dinner a hammer head also decided to show his face providing some interesting evening entertainment.

 

Day 2- Visiting the islands

We woke on day 2 to a very wind day blowing 28knSSE. While we were disappointed by the wind we excited to see dolphins swimming around the boat. The guys decided to head to shore while we waited for the wind to calm down a bit. We were thrilled that the wind did subside a bit and so we made our way out for the day on Blue Lightning.

Bottom Fishing

Our first session was some Bottom Fishing. The boys caught a good array of fish including Rankin Cod, Red Emperor, Long Nose Emperor, Spangled Emperor, and Chinaman. Steve was stoked to catch his first ever Rankin Cod.

 Trolling time

Before long we decided it was time to move on and started Trolling. The Mackerel were very hungry and the guys had a lot of fun catching them. Patrick had a funny thing happen to his lure while catching a Spanish Mackerel. The split ring where it is normally with the hook, must have came off, but miraculously ended up perfectly on the wire trace. It was very weird and we have not seen this before, it was not like this before he put it in the water. Despite this crazy occurrence he still managed to land the Spanish Mackerel!!

For dinner I made a delicious green curry with squid, crayfish and fish. It was a great way to finish off a great day.

 

Day 3- unexpected weather

We woke on day 3 expecting the wind to be howling as the weather man said it was going to be.  He got it wrong for the morning as it was calm, though as the day went on it definitely picked up. We made our way out starting the day with some Trolling. The guys got a few Spanish Mackerel and were quite pleased with their trolling session. Terry was able to get a good sized Spanish Mackerel, much bigger than the one he caught on the first day. I told you Terry, your day was to come.

Bottom fishing fun

We ended day 3 with a Bottom fishing session which produced Cobia, Rankin Cod, Robinson Sea Bream and Scarlet Sea Perch. It was definitely Terry’s day,  he caught his first ever Cobia and Rankin Cod. Rod was also happy, getting a nice Robinson Sea Bream.  We were all entertained when a shark decided do a few flips on the surface. There must be something in the water up here this year with all sorts of fish jumping and flying through the air (See last week’s Mackerel Madness Blog here)

 

Day 4- Rain at the Monties???

WOW! We woke on day 4 to rain, yes rain! We still can’t believe it either, Rain in September at the Montebello Islands is very unusual. It was completely set in for the day so we decided to take the opportunity to enjoy an Island day, which was great fun. For the morning the group split up with one group coming with me to the beach and the others heading out on Heart Starter. My crew got dropped off at Alpha Island, I suggested they have a cast for squid and the squid were definitely around. Yum! I was immediately looking forward to entrée. After taking them on the bomb site tour I left them to enjoy fishing off the beach until lunch time.

 An afternoon of fishing fun

After a nice lunch at “The Cod Cave” the guys were ready to set off for the afternoon session. Once again they split up, though this time a few went on Heart Starter and the other group headed out on our Jet Boat, Huntress. It was a great afternoon for us all on both vessels.  The fish were very hungry and were sure to keep the guys very entertained. The guys on Hear Starter were catching  plenty of Spanish Mackerel, Mack Tuna, and Chinaman while trolling. The Huntress crew headed off for a Mackerel afternoon, and there was definitely no shortage of Mackerel. It made it a very worthwhile afternoon and exciting for the guys. Steve caught a nice size Green Job Fish on the troll. Splitting into two groups made for a great evening as we exchanged fishing tales over a good meal after a seriously great afternoon of fishing.

 

Day 5- Trolling home

On day 5 the wind picked up from the SSW, up to 20kn. We decided to troll our way back to Dampier in the hope of getting some Billfish, unfortunately they were not around. The guys did catch a few Tuna although a few were also dropped.

 

All in all, it was an interesting week weather wise making for a pretty eventful and enjoyable trip with a good crew. The Montebello Islands fishing season continues next week with another quick turn around for the Blue Lightning crew. We can’t complain though, a quick turn around means we are back out enjoying this incredible islands paradise even sooner!

Until next time, happy fishing

Leah

For more information on one of our incredible WA Fishing Charters to the Montebello Islands check out our Montebello Islands destination page here or contact us at info@bluelightningfishingcharters.com.au

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