Charlie
Micallef has always had a passion for the ocean. In his early
days he used to compete in spearfishing competitions and was
a member of the 'bulldogs' spearfishing club. He competed
against people such as Rob Torelli who has won many Australian
championships. He has a couple of Victorian spear fishing
records, and has dived many areas in NSW and Vic, especially
the waters between Portland and Wilsons Promontory.
Charlie's most exciting time in the water was at Kennett River
in 1981 when he was surrounded by hundreds of kingfish around
the 20 kg mark, he has also witnessed a feeding frenzy of
hundreds of bronze whaler shark's which forced many out of
water with nothing more than the heads of their catch. He
even witnessed one of his mates being dragged backwards in
the water by a large great White shark that had a hold of
the fish he had on a float - that was at Portland.
Charlie Micallef has owned 5 boats, his first boat was a 3m
Carribean runabout, the second boat a Pride Pacemaker, the
third a Savage Defender which was purchased in '97 and was
soon named 'Savage Seas'. In February
2007 he purchased his fourth, a 550 Evolution fitted with
a 150 E-Tech which is was named Savage Seas II. This boat
was featured in Savage Seas Adventures Volume II DVD.
Charlie's current vessel is a Haines
Hunter 600R which
he was fortunate enough tobe given special permission by the
Haines Hunter management to film the building process.
Charlie has developed a strong bond with Haines Hunter and
he is now involved in the future development of new and exiting
boats.
Charlie sites Rex hunt as inspiring him to pick up a fishing
rod, in fact his first fishing rod was a Rex Hunt Ultra light
which he took pride in catching his first fish on, it happened
to be a Port Phillip Bay King George Whiting. As the saying
goes the rest is history. He has caught many species but has
become very fond of the Port Phillip Bay's southern end and
the large Gummy Sharks that cruise there. Charlie loves being
a fishing guide and gets to take many people out on their
own boat and teach them the correct way to catch a fish. This
is extremely satisfying for him particularly when he puts
his clients onto a fish of a lifetime.
Charlie has made a name for himself as a pro-reporter on Fishnet.com.au
over the years and then turned his hand to making local fishing
DVD's about snapper and gummy sharks. Recently he joined the
ranks of Salty Dog Films. His underwater diving skills, camera
experience and good old fashioned charisma make him a valuable
asset to the fishing/media industry - both in front of and
behind the camera. Tune into Charlie on Friday morning's in
Melbourne on 97.7FM and on Saturday morning, SEN 1116AM and
on 94.7FM The Pulse and hear what's going on around the Port
Phillip, Bass Strait and Western port.
He
is blessed with a beautiful wife Helen, a daughter Kali,
and son Ashley. He also loves motor sport, especially V8
Super Cars and is a member of the Holden Special Vehicles
club HSV.