Montebello Islands Fishing First Timers

For week 2 of our Montebello Islands Fishing charter season we had an awesome bunch of blokes on board thanks to Compleat Angler Nedlands. The crew at Compleat Angler Nedlands organised a Blue Lightning charter for 6 customers from their store and one of their workers as well as a couple of others who joined the group.

Day 1- Old Faithful pulls through

For the first day of this 7 day Montebello Islands WA fishing charter the weather was amazing. Mike caught the first fish for the morning borrowed an old faithful. The guys said you will not catch anything as the hooks are rusty. He proved them wrong by gettingh the first 2 strikes one after another and landed one to the boat. A sailfish decided he was also hungry and hooked up to a x-rap Rapala red head. Unfortuntately after a few jumps and he threw the lure.

Plenty of fish on the bite

The first day of this charter proved an exciting one with a hot mackerel session after the heavy rains of the previous few days. We were lucky enough to be greeted with some beautiful sunshine and some fish which were definitely on the bite. We took the opportunity to have a few bottom fishing sessions and it was a great day on the water with the bottom fish also on the bite. The guys were using a mixture of plastics, jigs and bait. The plastics and jigs worked well with Jon catching the biggest coral trout so far, a 72cm on Yakamito zaeta 170gram glow and orange stripe. It was his lucky day also landing a Rankin Cod on same plastic.

Tim caught a coral trout on an orange Mccarthy soft plastic 7inch. They finished the bottom session with a good mix of Coral Trout, Red Emperors and Spangled Emperor. Coral Trout was the dominant species for the day.

Montebello Islands… Paradise

At the end of the day we continued making our way to the islands. The guys were pretty excited, as it was all their very first time to the Montebello Islands. The looks on the faces said it all, they were all completely mesmerized by the beauty of the islands. One of the reactions that stood out was a comment from one of the guys that “this is paradise” and that it is…. Sharing this with customers for the first time is always a highlight for both Chad and I. Upon arriving at the Blue Lightning Pontoon affectionately called the “Cod Cave” we were greeted by Kodak and Fuji the Queensland Grouper who live under the pontoon.

Day 2 – one massive mixed bag

We started off day 2 with a cloudy cold, threatening to rain day. We decided to start the day with a bottom bouncing session. The guys used a mix of jigs, plastics and a couple on bait. The boys caught a mixed bag of Rankin Cod, Red Emperor, Chinaman, Coral Trout, Spangled Emperor, Long Nose Emperor, Blue Bone and even Robinson Sea Bream. The afternoon session was a mixed session of casting and trolling. Casting ended up with a couple of encounters and one hook up stretching Jon’s arms but unfortunately taking him into the reef. Trolling was a hot little session with Spanish Mackerel, Mack Tuna and Shark Mackerel. San had fun with a Mackerel that turned into a shark. He was determined to get the shark in. He managed to bring the shark in, even with a broken rod, now that’s determination!!!

Day 3- Exploring the Montebello Islands

We woke up on day 3 with a very windy day, with 24SSE and rain throughout the day. We decided to show the guys what these islands have to offer and went for a walk on Alpha Island to show the crew where the last nuclear tests were performed on 19^th June 1956. The rest of the day was spent fishing, relaxing and sight-seeing around the islands. Rod caught a small GT off the shore. The guys had a good session on squid, which was great for our entrée.

Day 4- Trolling for fun

Day 4 was still a windy day although the winds did ease in the afternoon. We started off the morning with some trolling. Spanish Mackerel and Shark Mackerel were on the bite. We then went shallow water trolling which resulted in Spanish Mackerel, Shark Mackerel, Golden Trevally and Gold Spot Trevally. The boys also got some Spangled Emperor and Coral Trout caught on plastics.

We anchored up in the shallows with Chris catching a GT on a popper. The boys also caught lots of Golden Trevally. The guys were having lots of fun catching and releasing fish. We finished the day with a couple of bottom spots resulting in plenty of Golden Trevally and Coral Trout.

Day 5 – trolling

The guys started day 5 with trolling and they managed to catch Shark Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel and Mack Tuna. Next we decided to have bottom bouncing session on one of the drifts. This resulted in a hot session of Red Emperor, Rankin Cod, Spangled Emperor. Mike caught a nice size Coral Trout trying to beat the 72cm Coral Trout from day 1 of the trip, the bet was set on day 1 but so far was yet to be beaten. Jon caught a red emperor on 7 inch z-man streakz in pearl glow elevated head. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

Chris was reeling his fish in when we heard a crack, and his rod snapped. He still managed to reel in his prized Red Emperor saying “it was a worthy sacrifice for snapping my rod for this fish”. These boys sure have determination to get the fish no matter what J

An incredible mix of species

On the morning of day 5 Jon asked Chad “if Coronation Trout are common up here getting caught on a jig or plastic?”. Before long he answered his own question catching a Coronation Trout on a Yakamito zaeta 170gram glow and orange stripe. This jig was very hot throughout the trip catching the most fish of any jig. We finished off the day with a good variety and some quality reef fish, including Red Emperor, Chinaman, Long Nose Emperor, Crimson Sea Perch, Coral Trout, Spangled Emperor, Rankin Cod, Robinson Sea Bream, and Coronation Trout. In the afternoon the wind totally subsided making it a beautiful pleasant night at the incredible Montebello Islands. A pod of dolphins put on quite a display while we were eating our dinner. Though the gardies were not happy about it jumping out of the water to get away from the dolphins. Kodak was not very amused sharing his space with the dolphins and sharks. He was rising to the surface looking at us with his big gloomy eyes.

Day 6- beach fishing

On day 6 the wind decided to return strongly making it another day around the islands. We made most of the day though, fishing from one of the amazing beaches around Alpha Island sheltered from the wind. This resulted in a hot Squid session, Spangled Emperor, and Charlie Courts. After lunch the guys went to another bay looking for GT’s. Unfortunately, they were out of luck with the GT but they did catch some more Spangled Emperor and Charlie Courts. The lads really enjoyed their day around the islands, how could you not, these islands are simply an amazing place. A few of the guys went for a snorkel in the afternoon and saw some good size Coral Trout and Blue Bone.

Day 7- The Dampier Archipelago

The winds for the final day of the charter were predicted to be strong at 28 knot Easterly winds. This meant we would be moving straight into the wind. The Blue Lightning crew decided that we would be best off making our way across to Dampier in the early evening of day 6 and spending the final day of the charter fishing the Dampier Archipelago. We woke up to a windy day blowing at 30kn plus. We spent the day fishing around the Dampier Archipelago, with schools of Mackerel and boys casting Mack Tuna.

A bitter end

Unfortunately, for us all good things must come to an end. The boys were reluctant to leave the boat. They are already planning next year’s charter and we look forward to welcoming them back on board Blue Lightning Charters.

For the record Jon ended the trip as the champion, catching the largest Coral trout and winning the beat against the rest of the group.

Until next time, happy fishing

Leah

For all our Perth customers looking to buy any fishing gear, we would highly recommend you visit the friendly team at Compleat Angler Nedlands.

Phone number: 93891337

Address: 154 Stirling Hwy Nedlands WA 6009