A mixed bag of Monties fishing fun – Week 9 2016

Time is absolutely flying by and we are now up to week 9 of charters here at the island paradise that is the Montebello Islands. This week’s group were all from Victoria and it was their first time with Blue Lightning as well as it being their first time to the Montebello Islands. We could not wait to show them how amazing the islands can be.

Day 1- Trolling some reefs

We woke nice and early to average conditions on day one. There was a 12-15 knot southerly, which we headed straight into first for a bit longer than usual. We decided to start the trip with a troll around some reefs that we don’t usually get to fish. This meant we could get a better angle for the rest of the trip out to the Monties. Trolling in the shallow water produced some sweet results with Shark Mackerel, Cobia, and Gold Spot Trevally. We continued along or way and stopped for a spot of bottom fishing which produced plenty of Red Emperor and Trevally.

We were very excited to show these guys the islands for the first time and as we entered the archipelago they were blown away by how many islands there were. Before long they were struck by how beautiful the islands are and how different they were from their expectations.

Red Emperor Montebello Islands WA fishing Charter — James with a sweet Red Emperor

Day 2- Bottom Fishing

We decided to kick of day 2 of this Montebello Islands charter with some Bottom Fishing. This first session of the day produced a great mix of species including Chinaman Fish, Long Nosed Emperor, Maroon, Rankin Cod, Green Job Fish and Coral Trout. It was great to see the boys reeling in such a great array of fish on their very first trip to the Monties. The fishing was already impressing them.

We spent some time trolling with skirted lures for some billfish, unfortunately it wasn’t our lucky day and there were no hook ups. L

The final session for the day was a trolling session where Cameron bagged himself a nice sized Wahoo. Soon James was on a nice sized Spanish Mackerel which he was very proud of. The trolling session was fruitful with plenty of Spanish Mackerel and some Shark Mackerel on the bite.

Green Job Fish Montebello Islands WA fishing charter — James with a Green Job Fish he caught on his Blue Lightning Montebello Islands fishing charter

Day 3- Bottom Fishing

Day 3 was already upon us and it was time to break out the bottom fishing gear again for another sweet session. Cameron landed the catch of the day with a very nice sized Red Emperor on a soft plastic. Meanwhile the other boys got a mix of Red Emperor, Rankin Cod and Coral Trout.

We then moved on to a Shallow Water Trolling session which produced some Gold Spot Trevally and Shark Mackerel. While we were trolling Skipper Chad saw a school of squid, so the guys quickly threw over some squid jigs. They managed to get a few squid which made for a great entrée dish J

We ended day 3 with a Shallow Water fishing session which produced Spangled Emperor, Blue Line Emperor and Chinaman Fish.

Day 4- Island day

On day 4 the guys were pretty excited to see around the islands and do some quality beach fishing.

I took the guys on a tour of Trimouille Island, visting the weapons testing sites and giving them a bit of an insight into the history of the incredible Montebello Islands. The guys were pretty keen to see more of the islands so we went on a tour around the islands on Heart Starter, allowing us to get up nice and close.

Heart Starter Montebello Islands Fishing WA Blue Lightning Charters — Our Boston Whaler Heart Starter is perfect for life at the Montebello Islands

Beach Fishing

We continued day 4 with the beach fishing the boys has been after. The guys were super keen to try out some fly fishing on the beach. They managed to land some Queen Fish and Squid. The session on Heart Starter was a bit quieter. The boys surprised me by decorating the pontoon with balloons for my birthday. Brody cooking an amazing spaghetti marinara with plenty of fish, squid, and crayfish in it. It was amazing, they even surprised me with a ice cream cake.

Montebello Islands WA Fishing Blue Lightning Charters — The Boys decorated “The Cod Cave” for my birthday

Day 5- Trolling for Mackerel

We woke on day 5 to an absolutely beautiful morning with not a breath of wind. The weather man got it wrong as were expecting it to be quite breezy, its great when they got it wrong this way. We started the day trolling for Mackerel. Within 30 seconds 3 reels went screaming off. The boys had a blast catching and releasing plenty of Spanish Mackerel. We also spent some time bottom fishing which produced a good variety of Rankin Cod, Spangled Emperor, Robinson Sea Bream, Scarlet Sea Perch, and Chinaman Fish. It was a pretty awesome with the awesome weather topping off some great Montebello Islands fishing fun.

Day 6- Shallow Water Trolling

On day 6 we decided it was time for another Shallow Water Trolling session. It was a good session which produced plenty of Coral Trout as well as Spanish Mackerel and Trevally. The weather was turning for the worst with 30kn Easterly winds forecast for our trip home on day 7. Captain Chad decided we would make our way back towards Dampier on the afternoon of day 6 for the safety and comfort of the whole crew. The guys trolled their way back to Dampier and the reels went screaming off a couple of times with them getting 2 nice Mack Tuna.

Spanish Mackerel Blue Lightning Charters WA fishing — James with his sweet Spanish Mackerel

Day 7- A day in Dampier

We woke up on day 7 to the forecast being right with the wind blowing at 30kn E. We certainly made a great decision the day before to head back in. We headed up flying foam passage, trolling. The boys caught 3 species of Mackerel as well as a Golden Trevally in the dinghy. We relaxed in a bay for lunch and really made the most of the day in and around Dampier.

It was a great week at the Montebello Islands with the boys saying how much they enjoyed exploring and enjoying all the islands have to offer. They were a really great group and they are looking at an Abrolhos Islands charter with Blue Lightning next year. We look forward to welcoming them back on board.

Before they left we asked the whole crew what the highlight of their Montebello Islands Charter with Blue Lightning was.