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Cast Away: Conquering Montebello's Waters

Cast Away: Conquering Montebello's Waters

Cast Away: Conquering Montebello's Waters with Blue Lightning Fishing Charters & West Coast Poppers!

Map showing the Montebello Islands in Western Australia, the prime fishing grounds for topwater fishing with West Coast Poppers lures.



Location:

  • Montebello Islands – Situated in the Indian Ocean off the north west coast of Western Australia - approx. 120km west of Dampier.

 

Fishing Charter:

 

Angler:

 

Charter Date:

  • November 28 – December 6 2023

 

West Coast Poppers stickbaits and poppers, designed for topwater fishing, ideal for targeting fish around the Montebello Islands.


West Coast Poppers & Stickbaits taken for the trip:

  • FS50 125mm Fast Sink Stickbait (Mahi Foil)
  • FS50 125mm Fast Sink Stickbait (White Foil)
  • 60g Huay Popper 150mm (Goldband Fusi)
  • 60g Huay Popper 150mm (Calavera)
  • S60g Slow Sink (Dorado)
  • S100g Slow Sink (Dorado)
  • S120g Slow Sink (Goldband Fusi)
  • F40 Floating 170mm (Goldband Fusi)
  • F60 Floating 190mm (Blackjack)
  • F80 Floating 210mm (Black Foil)
  • F80 Floating 210mm (Dorado)

 

Angler holding a trophy catch, caught using West Coast Poppers lures in the crystal-clear waters of the Montebello Islands, Western Australia.


Species Caught on West Poppers and West StickBaits

  • Queen Fish
  • Rankin Cod
  • Coral Trout
  • Giant Trevally
  • Chinaman Cod
  • Spangled Emperor

 

A stunning fish caught with West Coast Poppers lures during a fishing adventure at the Montebello Islands, showcasing the lure's effectiveness.


Standout West Coast Lures For the Trip

S100g Slow Sink (Dorado)

Used on the PE 7 RippleFisher & Saltiga 14000. Before A land-based, Giant Trevally snatched it and bricked me on a ledge 3 days into the trip, this lure was red hot and catching everything. Very versatile - caught a range of big fish and had very bright Green/Blue/Gold flash/shimmer on the twitch that could be seen at distance even on the longest of casts. Sat perfectly just below the surface chop in the upper water column. Could cast this lure a mile on the GT rod. This lure got the “thumbs up” by Tim and the Blue Lightning crew…..I Will be taking more than just 1 on the next trip!

 

Customer with a big catch using West Coast Poppers poppers and stickbaits while fishing around the Montebello Islands with Blue Lightning Charters.


Honourable Mention

FS50 125mm Fast Sink Stickbait (White Foil)

Used on the PE 3/4 RippleFisher & Saltiga 4000. Versatile and worked very well in the shallows (<5 meters). This little dynamo caught A HEAP of Big Chinaman Cod, Coral Trout and Rankin Cod. Very bright white/silver flash and a very visible lure in the shallows. Worked best with a long cast and left to sink down for 5-10 seconds toward structure with a slowed down erratic twitchy retrieve. The finish has held up well after a number of good fish and still looks great.

 

Lure Summary for the Trip:

  • Montebello Islands are a unique and fantastic part of the world full of big angry fish all looking to kill lures. Whether land based; in the shallows on the Jet boat or; out wide on the mothership - West Coast Lures all worked exceptionally well on our trip.
  • Blue and/or Green and/or White (or a combo of the 3) seemed to be best colours for lures for our December 2023 trip.
  • Big GT Poppers and sinking West Stickbaits caught the majority of my big fish on the trip.
  • We had some windy days and lots of surface chop so not many opportunities to use floating Stickbaits or lighter poppers. However; in the right conditions, skinny water or; on lee side of islands, I have no doubt that they too will catch fish at the islands.
  • On our trip GTs were everywhere – From large schools out wide; to 5 or 6 sitting in slackwater or eddys waiting to strike to; individuals cruising past our feet at the base of the island bombies. The GTs were BIG and fired up and hunting down all different sizes and colours of Poppers and sinking Stickbaits. The visuals of these brutes hitting our lures were amazing and left us speechless on more than one occasion……they were certainly the highlight of my trip!
  • Landbased island walks were action packed and some ripper fish landed. Heaps of GTs hooked but the majority were too big and angry for us to land....this ended up in a large number of lost lures and bruised egos! – make sure you pack lots of big poppers and stickbaits to cast at these Unstoppables. Prize Coral Trout were hooked (and released) on the walks using the West Fast Sink Stickbaits. Good sized Queen Fish also landed (and released) on one of my first casts using the S100g Dorado.

 

In Conclusion:

  • West Poppers and Stickbaits look and swim beautifully in the water….and most importantly they catch fish. These lures are versatile; can be used in a number of differing types of retrieves and; look outstanding no matter what style or speed of retrieval I used.
  • For me, the West 60g, 100g & 120g Slow Sinking Stickbaits and the 125mm Fast Sink Stickbaits were outstanding and had plenty of interest, follows, strikes and hook ups. I will be purchasing a stack more for my next trip to the Islands!
  • For my future trips to the Islands, I will include some heavier GT Poppers (125g up to 150g) & West sinking stickbaits (up to 150g) and be considering more variety of colours (i.e. Pilchard Foil, Pink Disco Stu, Coral Trout & Squid 2.0 for the next trip – I reckon these will also be killer colours out at the islands).
  • If your heading to the Montes, just make sure you pack a variety of floating & sinking lures in a stack of different colours, sizes and weights to make sure you have every scenario covered on your fishing trip! Wind, swell, tides, current, time of year & size and colour of bait in the water etc.. all need to be considered in such a remote location – just make sure you have the right West lure in the right colour in the right size in the right weight when you head over.....you can never have enough!

 

Breathtaking view of the Montebello Islands, Western Australia, offering world-class fishing opportunities with West Coast Poppers lures.


Final Note:

  • Big shout out to our hosts for the week Blue lightning Charters. The crew are fantastic and went out of their way to consistently put us all onto fish. Chad, Jake & Tim are bloody legends and top blokes too. Safe sturdy Mothership, Gamefishing Boats, Jet Boats, Houseboats, Sportfishing boats---– they have all the bases covered out at the islands. If your looking to catch fish and have a great time with a great crew – make sure you check out their web site https://www.bluelightningfishingcharters.com.au/  and drop these guys an email – you wont be disappointed.

 

West Retailers:

 

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