Montebello Mackerel Madness

Spanish Mackerel Blue Lightning Charters WA's best fishing charters Montebello Islands

Montebello Mackerel Madness

Wow is this year flying by! We are already finished week 10 of our Montebello Islands fishing charter season. It’s been an awesome season so far and this week we welcomed a great group of guys who travelled all the way from Canberra for a 5 day charter. This group travelled a massive 5,135km to join us for their Blue Lightning Montebello Islads fishing charter! This group was a mix of new and returning customers with one of the guys making this his second trip for the 2016 (Welcome back Spiros). As always we were extra excited to showcase everything Montebello Islands to the newbies in the group.

Montebello Islands WA fishing charter Blue Lightning Charters
The beauty of the Montebello Islands still blows us away on a daily basis

Day 1 Natural Wonders

We departed Dampier nice and early on day 1. As we made our way through the islands of the Dampier Archipelago we were delighted to see 3 manta rays swimming along the surface. It was an incredible moment, we are constantly in awe of the natural environment up here and this was another great show to remind us why this area is so very special.

The winds were up on day 1, about 25 knots from behind us meaning we felt like we were surfing our way to the Montebello Islands. The guys didn’t let it get to them though and they had a great session Trolling for Mackerel. The guys managed to catch plenty of Spanish Mackerel, Mack Tuna and Shark Mackerel.

 

Day 2 Spanish Mackerel hook ups

We woke on day 2 to a beautiful day in the island paradise that is the Montebello Islands. After a spot of breakfast we hit the water for the first session of the day. We started the day trolling some lines. Not even 30 seconds past and the hook ups began. It was a hot little session of Spanish Mackerel double and even triple hook ups which kept the guys very busy and certainly entertained.

day-2

Captain Chad in his element

We followed this session up with a spot of bottom fishing which landed an impressive mixed bag of species. The boys caught Gold Spot Trevally, Golden Trevally, Chinaman Fish, Spangled Emperor, Red Emperor, Maroon, Coral Trout and Robinson Sea Bream. One of the afternoon’s bottom spots was a little quiet. There were fish on the sounder but they just weren’t biting for the boys. Captain Chad decided to show them how it’s done. He dropped in and got one fish after another 4 times!!!!! Sometimes I think this guy thinks like a fish, or he is half fish half human! Hahaha!

Chad Mills Montebello Islands Red Emperor Maroon Sea Perch
Captain Chad with a sweet Red Emperor and Maroon Sea Perch

Day 3 Jigging and Soft Plastics

We started day 3 with a session of jigging and soft plastics. Sava was lucky enough to get a big Coral Trout. It did try and reef him but it was his lucky day and he successfully brought it to the boat. The guys had lots of fun during this session, getting some seriously good quality fish. Arthur got one of the biggest Rankin Cod of the day using a soft plastic. The crew finished the session off with some great fish including a good number of Rankin Cod, Coral Trout, and Gold Spot Trevally. Rankin cod was by far the dominant species of the session.

 

Montebello Mackerel Madness

We decided to spend the next session of the day Trolling for Mackerel. Captain Chad managed to put us onto a school of very hungry Mackerel. There was a bit of chaos as the Spanish Mackerel went crazy doing leaps in the air. The sharks making an appearance only seemed to urge them to go more nuts and jump even higher. The boys were having an absolute blast. Despite the chaos the boys still managed to get a good number of Mackerel to the boat. John managed to get the biggest Spanish Mackerel of the session and we were all impressed by his efforts.

Spanish Mackerel Montebello Islands WA fishing charter Blue Lightning Charters
John with a Spanish Mackerel he caught on his Blue Lightning WA fishing charter

Day 4 Island fun

It was decided that day 4 would be the day for island fishing. After the excitement of the trolling session on day 3 the boys were pretty keen to enjoy the islands and have bit of a relax. The crew split up in the morning with a few of the guys heading to the beach for a fish and a relax in the sun. Meanwhile the other group headed out on Heart Starter to dive for Crayfish. They did manage to find one big one but she was a female so back she went.

 

Relaxation

After lunch and some time relaxing at “The Cod Cave” (our pontoon) we had trouble moving some of the guys off the couches. A few stayed back for a sleep, while the divers went to the beach looking for squid. A couple more guys headed out on Heart Starter to enjoy some fishing close to the islands. They ended the day with a few squid. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at the incredible Montebello Islands.

 

Day 5 Return to Dampier

We started day 5 with a big cook up. Before long the wind picked up and the guys decided to head straight back to Dampier. It was another awesome week with a great crew at the Montebello Islands. This crew love to cook some awesome, authentic Greek food, I am pretty sure I put on at least a few kilograms during this 5 day charter. The evenings were a heap of fun with plenty of fun and entertainment including lots of good laughs, smiles and dancing.

The fishing season continues

We are already headed out on another 5 day charter to the Montebello Islands and are excited to see what the islands have in store for us this week. We are now just over half way through our Montebello Islands fishing season which will stretch into December this year. Chad and I are loving welcoming new and returning customer’s on board. The fishing up here is still blowing us away week by week. Even after being here for 10 years in a row we are still pleasantly surprised by the epic array of fish species up here.

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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