Established as one of the most successful charter operations in Melbourne, our local knowledge is second to none specialising in Port Phillip Bay, Western Port and the Southern Ocean. Being a trailerboat charter we are able to depart from different locations such as Carrum Boat Ramp for Melbourne's iconic Port Phillip Bay 'Big Red' Snapper, Sorrento Boat Ramp for Squid, Hastings Boat Ramp for thumper Western Port King George Whiting, Gummy Shark & the annual run of Elephant Sharks plus we even travel as far as the Western Victorian border for the famed Portland Southern Bluefin Tuna & Albacore.  

The story so far . . .

Reel Time Fishing Charters was founded in 2004 by owner and operator, Matt Cini. Starting out as a part-time venture for Matt, the business grew steadily over the years with an expanding clientelle and loyal sponsorship to now being a highly reputable company seasonally running two vessels in Port Phillip Bay, Western Port and Portland. Matt Cini prides himself on his hands on approach to his business and has also employed the services of a second skipper, local gun, Matt Boulton. Reel Time is regularly featured in fishing publications around the country and Matt Cini has appeared on many T.V shows such as Fishin' Trip, You Fish, Hooked with Dave Butfield, IFish, River to Reef, Adventure Bound, Top Gear and Rove. Reel Time is currently in the early stages of producing their first DVD on Port Phillip Bay Snapper, and plans to follow with Western Port Gummy Sharks.  

How it all began . . .

In early 2004, Matt was working full-time as an injection moulder whilst juggling family life and trying desperately to fish as much as possible. Good mate John Goodrich, who had known Matt for many years and was all too aware of his passion and success as a recreational fisherman, told Matt that it was a waste of unique talent to simply fish as a hobby and that if Matt was to go and get his coxwain license, that he would help to finance a charter boat. Once he got his ticket, a second-hand boat was purchased and fitted out, the name was decided and the 'Reel Time' brand was born. As soon as word got out that Matt Cini would be doing fishing charters, bookings came in thick and the phone hasn't stopped ringing since!

The inspiration... John Goodrich

For the first four years it was a one man show, with Matt doing all the bookwork as well as back to back charters, but by 2008, with both kids settled into school, Matt's wife Mel was eager to get back to work. She took over at the desk and has worked full-time at Reel Time ever since. As a team, the business grew even stronger and an expansion was inevitable. Reel Time #1 was purpose built in 2008 to accomodate larger groups of up to eight people and in 2009 the decision was made to build a second boat to meet the increasing demand for a Reel Time experience. When it came to employing a second skipper, he knew that his best mate and top notch fisho, Matt Boulton would be the ideal choice. 

Best mates and Reel Time skippers, Matt Cini & Matt Boulton

Side by side and ready for action! Reel Time Fishing Charters continues to grow bigger and stronger every year, with a large clientelle gained mainly from word of mouth.

A change is as good as a holiday . . .

The first Reel Time Fishing Charter vessel was a 6.3m Pro Marine half cabin, which was bought in 2004 and rebuilt from scratch. After only a few months, Matt found that it just didn't have the fishing space required for charters of up to six people and decided to upgrade.

Humble beginings... 6.3m Pro Marine half cabin

The second Reel Time Fishing Charters vessel was a 7m Pro Marine cuddy cabin that provided ample fishing room. In 2006, she got a makeover and was named "Spidey Sense", which Matt's kids had nicknamed him after comparing his ability or 'sense' to find fish day in-day out, to their favourite crime fighting superhero, Spiderman!

7m Pro Marine cuddy cabin

By 2008 Reel Time had become one of the busiest charter boats of it's kind operating in Melbourne and Matt decided it was time to invest in a boat that was custom built to not only suit his style of fishing but to give customers the comfort they deserved, with inclusions such as a large deck area and a plumbed toilet in the cabin. The result is a 7.4m Seatamer 'Eliminator' that is in survey to carry up to eight passengers and is also purpose built to charter offshore. Hella Marine was a big player in making this dream achieveable and has showcased their sensational range of LED lighting on board.

Reel Time #1... 7.4m Seatamer Eliminator

Reel Time #2

In 2010, Reel Time added Portland Tuna Charters to the mix and after two successful seasons and an established clientelle, we knew that it was time to upgrade to a larger vessel that would give us the capacity to safely handle offshore conditions in almost any weather! Not only perfect for our Portland season, the Clayton 'Gallant' has become an absolute asset for bay charters as we can now cater to groups of up to 10 people and corporate functions. 

Reel Time #2... 10m Clayton Gallant 

Early years . . .

Matt reluctantly went fishing with his uncles in Port Phillip Bay when he was eight years old, I say reluctantly because he had a great fear of deep water. He was sea sick that day, but his uncles perservered until he caught his first fish... a flathead, and from that moment he was hooked!

A much younger Matt Cini

His uncles still took him out from time to time, but that wasn't enough and most weekends saw him convincing his parents, Fred and Anna Cini to drive him to the local trout farm. By age ten, one of his uncles, Fred Abela, saw that his passion for fishing was fast becoming an obsession and being an obsessed fisherman himself, enjoyed mentoring his young nephew. Although Fred was happy to take Matt fishing most times, he wasn't about to sugar coat the amount of hard work, determination and discipline that is required to succeed. Matt was never one to shy from hard work and they fished the bay nearly every weekend and most days after work to continually produce fine bags of snapper.

Uncle Fred and Matt with some nice PPB snapper

Matt's parents were pleased that their son was enjoying his new found recreation, but found that it was fast becoming a problem when his school rang to see why Matt was taking so many days off. All was revealed one sunny day when his mum was driving down Frankston-Dandenong rd and spotted Matt, fishing rod and tackle box in hand, boarding a bus to Frankston to fish off the local pier. 

By age 14, Matt had little interest in his school work and started getting into more and more trouble. After many meetings with his teachers and parents, it was decided that he would be far more productive working for his father's company as an injection moulder. He was so grateful for the opportunity (and the cash flow that enabled him to support his habit) that he worked relentlessly day in, day out, providing there was freedom to sneak out for a fish when the weather was good. He worked so hard in between fishing trips that by his early 20's, he was regarded by his peers as one of the best injection moulders this side of Melbourne.

At 16 years of age, Matt was already earning himself a reputation as a young gun angler 

With this reputation, came job offers from bigger moulding companies, Matt continued to excel but his first priority would always be fishing and now owning his own boat, was keen to explore Western Port as well as a few trips each year to Narooma, fishing the lakes and ocean. Unfortunately, many of his employers didn't allow the flexibility that his father had given him and Matt often found himself without a job because he had taken too many 'sick' days, which were all coincidentally, sunny days after a south westerly blow. He was actually fired from one job after insisting that he had to take a break from 7am-9am each Friday morning to listen and call in with a report to the 3SER fishing show!

Good Times!

Back in the late 80's, Matt got to know Lee Zahlen, who he still considers to this day to be the best snapper fisherman in Melbourne. Before they met, Matt can remember being a young teen at the ramp and watching in awe, when even on the hardest days, LZ would always come in with his bag. Until he started fishing with LZ in the late 90's, Matt had never used a GPS or sounder and hadn't realised the benefit of fishing structure. Lee took Matt under his wing and fine tuned his techniques that has without a doubt made Matt into the fisherman he is today.  

Snapper guru... LZ

Time to settle down . . .

In the winter of 1998, with little fishing to be done, Matt met his wife, Mel at a mutual friends birthday party. With a whirlwind romance over winter, Mel was shocked to learn of the lifestyle that she was adopting once Snapper season came around and Matt transformed into the fish crazy guy that she has grown to understand and admire. He was keen to show off his antics and had her on the boat in no time. As much as she tried to share Matt's enthusiasm, being an obsessive animal lover, Mel was never really comfortable killing or even fighting fish for that matter and is now much more at ease looking after their family and her administrative role at Reel Time Fishing Charters.

Mel's first ever fish, an elephant shark caught in PPB 1998

Matt and Mel have two young children, Marlon and Blake, who are fast becoming as keen as their father (if that's possible!) when it comes to fishing. Matt has had some awesome fishing sessions in his 30 odd years, but these days as a doting father, nothing gives him more satisfaction than taking the boys out on a nice calm day and watching their faces light up with every 'first' moment they have.

The Cini clan!