David Slater's Fishing News Letter 2009/10

Marlin run continues till late in the season.

With Easter over and most of the holiday makers gone home, there will be fewer boats going out now, as business slows although the weather, despite the southerly winds, has held and the seas are not yet rough.
White Mischief was out on Monday, and young Danny Thomas caught a 222kg blue marlin, on 36kg stand-up tackle, a magnificent achievement for the young man. Also on board was visiting Shimoni skipper Simon Hemphill, who himself tagged a striped marlin, no doubt impressed with the waters off Watamu! The same day the anglers on Alleycat had a black marlin about 270 kgs, and another estimated at over 110 kgs, so there is still plenty of marlin action around.
The Banks is yielding good scores of wahoo as well as some sailfish , and the Ocean Sports Family competition was fished last Saturday with the boats crowded with young anglers trying their luck. Albatross, with the Taylor and Nicholas families aboard took the first place, with Joey Taylor winning the girl's prize with her sailfish and the skipper's prize going to JJ Nicholas whose daughter Kiella won the lady's prize with her wahoo. Runner up was Blue Eyes crewed by the Parkinson family, with the biggest of their half a dozen wahoo giving Fritz Strahamner the men's prize, while another big wahoo on Happy Striker won the boy's prize for 10 year old Alex. A fun day for all involved and much enjoyed by all the anglers, young and old.
Before Easter White Bear released a blue and a striped marlin for Donovan and David Starr, followed next day by a sail and four wahoo for Peter and Paul Cooper, who scored next day with another sail and seven wahoo for three good days. On the Sunday, Gary Vincent Lemke had ten wahoo on B's Nest, while Naz Khan and sons had four wahoo on White Bear. Blue Eyes then released three sail, missing out on the wahoo - these often are found on opposite ends of the Banks!
Malindi boats have been busy before Easter but the news was delayed last week by the attachment of a 4Mb picture of a marlin which baffled the email system! As reported, skipper Angus Paul on Neptune hit his 100th marlin of the season, when Perez Vanneste from Belgium and Hardus from South Africa released a blue marlin of 140 kgs and a stripey, as well as two sailfish.
Philip and Nick Matthias are regulars who usually come early in the season when the waters are much rougher, but they were still rewarded with a black marlin of 87 kgs, six wahoo, 6 yellowfin and other small fish for a good day on Tina. Next day they repeated the feat, but the stripey was one of three on the strike, but the other two fell off! Snark had a blue and a stripey, while Eclare released a 120kg black and two striped marlin and Snowgoose had two blue marlin, one of 138 kgs which came in injured and a small one released - a good day for the fleet.
Some big tuna were caught with Neptune scoring one of 34 kgs while Eclare found fourteen wahoo up to 21 kgs so with the south wind blowing there is more variety in the fishing. But soon the boats will be coming out of the water for their annual overhaul, and while many think big game fishing is a very profitable business, a bill for perhaps four million shillings for a new pair of engines reveals how it really stands!

Fishing slows as south wind blows

In the last few days the south wind, the kusi, has started to blow in earnest, and it looks as if it will stay that way now, as we are already into April which is late for the change. This is usually the signal for the migratory billfish to move on in their annual migration and we can expect catches of sailfish and marlin to decrease, especially far offshore in the Rips, although one can expect black marlin to be found around the Watamu Banks and off Malindi for a while.
Anglers are also in short supply and the boats have not been out much in the last week, although there were some good days at the beginning of the period. Thursday a week ago we saw Unreel coming in with tag and release flags for a blue marlin of around 120 kgs, three striped marlin and a sailfish, plus one stripey that was bleeding badly and had to be boated. A grand slam for Andy Manfield and what a good day, as they raised eleven marlin in total so the boat was really running hot for skipper Rob Hellier. The previous day Bamara had tagged two striped marlin with Dickie Evans, as well as a good haul of bottom fish, and two days later the same boat tagged a sail, and caught eight yellowfin totalling 170 kgs, so some hard work there for the anglers.
With the south wind blowing it can get uncomfortably rough in the afternoons, so half days can be the norm and Seastorm with Frederick van Zyl and son William had a sail and a wahoo in a morning trip.
Down in the Pemba Channel, Kamara II returned after a run up north in which Ray Matiba joined Simon Hemphill fishing the Friends of Kenya tournament. A group from Botswana fished in three boats and found lots of sailfish but had a problem hooking these - predictable when boats are targeting marlin as the fishing methods are different and the lures suitable for marlin often not conducive to hooking up with sailfish. White Otter finished the first day with a blue and a striped marlin, Broadbill had three sailfish and Kamara had a good story when the anglers by mistake knocked the drag lever off with a very big marlin leaping away across the ocean, resulting in the 'long line release'- one hopes the fish was able to shake the hook and add to the welter of expensive lures which must litter the ocean floor in these fishing areas!
There are not a lot of private boats running these days, but Minerva at Kilifi is one of them, and Anne Taylor had a most thrilling day when after releasing a sail and missing three marlin strikes, a really big marlin nailed a lure on a 24kg line Twice it was almost at the boat and was seen to be a really huge fish, but after two hours the line parted - but what a fun experience and a day to never forget!

Bigger marlin appearing as weather holds

The good run of marlin continues as the wind stays in the east, and although rain is forecast none has appeared yet in the Malindi/Watamu area. As we near the end of March fewer boats are going out but with Easter soon tourists will increase and will want to try their luck if the fishing holds.
Catch of the week was a 354 kg blue marlin caught on Eclare, which died during the six hour fight and had to be hauled up from the depths, but what a nice fish. Neptune also had a big blue the same day which got wrapped in the line and came in dead, weighing 180 kgs, while up near Lamu Clueless released a blue estimated around 360 kgs. The second half of March has always been the time for a run of the biggest marlin, but the wind seems to have started blowing from the south today, so time may be limited.
The Penn Challenge with eleven teams from Belgium and Holland finished their four days and good catches were reported by all, with Jan Maas and Frans van Bechel having the best day on Snark, with two black marlin and sixteen sailfish which helped them to top position overall, with Snark the leading boat. Other good days included a black marlin released on Tina and estimated at 200 kgs, and three stripeys on Neptune, so a thrilled bunch of anglers that we can expect back next year.
Another group, this time from Poland, started four days in four boats very successfully with Snowgoose catching eleven sailfish and Tina eight the first day, while on the third day Neptune had three stripeys and three other boats two stripeys, so another very satisfied group of anglers.
Watamu boats have been busy, Bamara having a busy day with Dickie Evans tagging a black marlin of 100 kgs and a sail, as well as catching ten yellowfin and a selection of bottom fish, while Tega tagged another black of 90 kgs. Jasiri had a good overnight trip, with five broadbill, a mako shark and a sail being released by George Allen and his crew, and B's Nest tagging five broadbill and a stripey on another night trip.
Chinook released both a blue and a black marlin, and Alleycat released a big blue and a stripey. Castle Lager has been active, with a broadbill on a night trip and a good day for Dave Young and friends when they were fighting both a black and a blue marlin at the same time. One came off, the other broke the line, but they still caught a striped marlin for a very exciting day leaving the team itching for the morrow!
Tarka found four broadbill and two stripeys on an overnight trip, and then had a mixed bag day, with two sail, two yellowfin over 20 kgs and a shark - skipper Callum Looman had earlier passed the hundred marlin mark for the season for the second consecutive year, while skipper Angus Paul on Neptune has just reached this mark also, congratulations to them both.
KASA, the Kenya Association of Sea Anglers, hold their annual Dinner at Ocean Sports Resort on Saturday, April 3rd. KASA represents all sea anglers, from clubs and hotels to charter companies and individual anglers, and keeps angling record details and publishes it's own annual magazine with all the records and various angling articles. A raffle with many valuable prizes will be drawn, and all are welcome.
On the morning of Apr 3rd, an informal family fishing tournament will be held out from Ocean Sports, from where details are available. Children especially encouraged!

Marlin catches seal victory in Watamu tournies

The Fly540 sponsored Watamu International Tournament resulted in twenty marlin and sixty eight sailfish for the sixteen boats that competed - over five billfish per boat, a good result as these fish have been harder to find in recent days after the bonanza catches of a month ago.
Tega, with three striped marlin and four sail looked to be well ahead on day one, but it was the team on Black Widow, Batian Craig, Adam Ogden and Nixon Kayeni who came on strongly the second day to take first place. With a stripey and a black marlin, caught by Nixon Kayeni which died on the line and was weighed in at 194 kgs on the Saturday they added another stripey and four sail on the Sunday for a total of 2800 pts, taking all the main prizes including a very smart Zodiac rubber dinghy with a 5hp Yamaha engine.
The fishers on Tega, Neil McGowan, Nick Dalton, John Bolden, and Jen Cobill with skipper Steve George, seemed to have used up their luck ration as they could find only two dorado the second day, one of which gave Jen the Lady's prize, but they held on to second place ahead of the team on White Bear, Robin James, Sean Macaulay and James Shepherd, who added a good second day with two striped marlin and three sail to the stripey they had the first day to make third place.
Instedda, fished by Imran and Uhsam Moosa, Alan Sibley and Ali al Harazi did well both days adding a stripey and five sail on Sunday to the stripey and three sail they had the first day, to clinch fourth place ahead of Sea Storm, with anglers Callum Scott, Craig Allen and Steve Webb, who had two sail the second day to top up their first day score of a black and a striped marlin and a sailfish, to record the only grand slam of the competition.
A good weekend's fishing, and many thanks to sponsors Fly 540, the low cost airline, who as the speakers remarked, not only kept fishing tournaments going with their sponsorship, but stepped into the gap flying to Malindi when the national airline deserted the area.
A days rest, and the Hemingways 'Friends of Kenya' tournament was under way - two days and a night non-stop fishing, which has become such a popular feature of the angling calendar and the only one of this format for the real enthusiasts.
White Mischief, fished by Russ Brumby, Nick Michaelides and Mtawali Chondo were the clear winners when all the fifteen boats finally returned by 4pm, flying flags for a blue marlin, four striped marlin and two broadbill swordfish for a total 3800 pts and a grand slam.
Second place went to Seastorm, but it was just one fish that scored, a black marlin taken on fly tackle under official rules by Gai Cullen. On fly, this fish scored treble points for 3000 pts, but more remarkable was that it is the first black marlin on fly by a lady angler caught off the African coast - well done Gai, now for that broadbill!
Black Widow came third, with anglers Adam Ogden, Dicky Evans and Adam Lenga, who tagged two blue and one striped marlin and four broadbill, also for a grand slam - very consistent fishing for this boat after their win a couple of days before. Simba, with Mark Allen, Mtawali Zia and Kasungu filled fourth place with two blue and one striped marlin, one broadbill and a sailfish for a super grand slam, while Ol Jogi, fished by Jim Pointon, John Stevens and Stuart Simpson, came in close behind for fifth place, with a blue and two striped marlin, two broadbill and two sailfish, another super grand slam! What amazing fishing!

Kilifi Classic tournament finds billfish

The annual Kilifi International Classic tournament, sponsored by Weetabix, was fished last weekend in good weather, and nine marlin and sixty-five sailfish, all tagged and released, were caught by the fifteen boats so there was plenty of action.
Overall winner was the team on Simba, Paul Worthington, skipper Mark Allen and Mtawali Zia, which had five sailfish on the first day, but really swung into action on the Sunday, when they added a blue and two striped marlin and another sailfish to total 4219 points, a commanding lead over Unreel, fished by Colin van Rooyen, Mike Mitchell and Ray Singh with a striped marlin and nine sailfish.
This placed the Unreel team first in the professional stream, behind the overall winner, followed by the Seahorse team, Angus Ker, Brendan Bowles and Rob Barnett with a striped marlin and seven sail. Rob, a yachtsman, won the most meritorious award for his first ever billfish catches of a striped marlin and three sailfish. Third in this stream was Delta, fished by R.Rosl, Ken Rodwell and Mike, with a striped marlin and six sail.
Kipapa was fourth with Snoo Colville winning best Lady Angler for her striped marlin and a sailfish, while in the amateur stream Minerva, with Anne Taylor, Rosanno Ricci and Andrew Buckoke took first place with three sail, also winning the small boat prize as well as the Partridge Memorial Trophy. Paul Worthington won the prize for the best overseas angler, while Mtawali Zia got the award for the most billfish tagged, and this very popular competition was much enjoyed by all.
This coming weekend the focus switches to Watamu for their annual Fly540 tournament over the weekend, followed by the Hemingways sponsored Friends of Kenya tournament , fished for two days and a night on the Tuesday 9th/Wednesday 10th March. If the billfish keep coming, these should be two fun competitions and good entries are expected.
This last week has seen plenty of sailfish and striped marlin being caught around the Rips, with the added bonus of the run of wahoo which can be expected on the Banks when the clean blue water current runs after a southerly push.
From Hemingways B's Nest with Paul Belcher and Peter Corbett found two stripeys and a sail, Ron Huggins on Ol Jogi had a stripey and two sail, while Sea Storm with Justus Potgeiter and Anthonis Westrate also had a stripey and a sail, while next day Bamara with Dicky Evans and Stuart Mitchell tagged five sail as well as catching yellowfin, dorado and wahoo. Ol Jogi then found a stripey and ten sail a couple of days later again for Ron Huggins, fishing further outside the normal area of the Rips - this was the first day of the Kilifi competition but the boat was not entered!
At Malindi, the boats venturing out to the Rips have been catching marlin, with Clive Watts on Neptune hooking a black marlin estimated at 300kgs on a live friggie on the downrigger. The leader was taken after two hours, a big fish and interesting that some other good blacks were hooked in the same area. The same boat tagged another black next day and Snark also had a black marlin, but they found a hot spot for wahoo and landed twenty-eight of these, running about ten to twelve kilos each - really non -stop action with these fish as they attack in packs and all run when hooked in different directions! Tina, Snark and Snowgoose all caught about twenty wahoo again the next day - fun fishing but these fish do not score highly like billfish in tournaments.

A World first - a broadbill Grand Slam on fly!

A broadbill swordfish on fly is an amazing achievement, with perhaps half a dozen cases on record, but to then catch a marlin and a sail, all on fly tackle under the official rules on a single trip by one angler, is a superlative, unparalleled feat in the angling community - a world's first! Con Jooste, a fanatically keen fly fisherman, has been fishing here for many years on holidays from South Africa, and on Monday 15th Feb. he set out in Eclare to try for a broadbill on fly in the Rips off Watamu. This fishing is done on moonless nights, when the broadbill come closer to the surface, as they are deep dwelling fish,. and as soon as it was dark teasers were set out to attract the fish.
They did not have long to wait, as at 7.30pm a strike was felt on a teaser and the angler cast out at the fish as the engines were cut, the cast having to be done when the boat is out of gear. The fly was immediately taken and after a half hour fight, the 25kg broadbill was brought to the boat, tagged and released. Some other strikes failed to hook up in the night, and at dawn teasers were reset to try for marlin. A striped marlin was soon raised, the cast made and the fish hooked, to be tagged and released, and the team realised they had the opportunity to make history.
Moving closer to Malindi, a sailfish was raised, the fly was engulfed, the hook set and the fish played to the boat for the release - mission accomplished, three billfish species including the broadbill swordfish - surely worth a place in the Hall of Fame! Congratulations to Con, skipper Musa and all his team, as fly fishing needs all members of the crew working as a team to be successful.
The Malindi International Billfish tournament was held last weekend, with the result virtually decided in the first few hours when at 9.30 am the team on Tarka, Paul Worthington, Batian Craig and skipper Callum Looman successfully hooked up on a triple strike of striped marlin and caught them all! They added another later, but this was enough to take the first spot from the Neptune team, John Cook and Steve Herrick, which had a stripey each day for second place. Indicative of the nature of the fishing at the moment, Tarka failed to score on the second day!
Third place went to the fishers on Unreel, while Batian Craig won the Top Angler award, and all thanks to sponsors Wells Fargo Couriers, Hotel Plan and Diamond Trust Bank.
The light line competition for the Morson Cup was held on the previous Friday, with Unreel taking first place with six sail and Tarka coming second with five sail ahead of the team on Eclare, also with five sail but on heavier line. All the boats had a sail, an encouraging result as these fish are so much more fun on the lighter lines.
Fishing has been slower the last few days, with the current setting south and the wind changing to a gentle breeze from the east, a precursor of the annual monsoon change to the south wind, the kusi.
But a few bigger fish have been seen, with Peter Atterbury in Ol Jogi tagging a black marlin estimated at 200 kgs, and Roy Green in Simba tagging a black estimated at 170 kgs. Sea Storm, with Jamie Smith and Mark Ebberson, tagged two blacks around the 100 kg mark, so we can look forward to some big fish in the next couple of weeks, with the Kilifi and Watamu competitions coming up.

Variable winds but quieter fishing

There have been some good days on some boats with others struggling as the fish have gone quieter this last week, even on the windier days when one might expect good action. No obvious reason for this, as the water looks good and a current still running, but that's often the way with fish!
Earlier last week Snowgoose with Art van Davis and a friend had two striped marlin and two sail, while Neptune had a lot of marlin strikes but ended up with only sailfish, five of them however for an exciting day. The other Malindi boats all had a stripey, and the next day David Wilson on Tina tagged and released a very nice black marlin, which gave a magnificent aerial display of jumping near the boat – it was estimated at 250kgs, but sadly no one managed to get any photos. With most fish being released, a pictorial record is so important, and with modern digital cameras with amazing zoom lenses photography should be a breeze.
Eclare took a night trip outside the Rips, finding three stripies and a blue marlin, four sail and four broadbill, a fine catch especially as all the fish except two of the broadbill came to angler Egon Jenke's side of the boat – frustrating for his partner. A super grand slam, and if a black marlin they fought for a while had not jumped off it could have been the coveted 'fantasy slam'! Their biggest broadbill was estimated at 50 kgs, and to prove there are bigger ones around a couple of days later Unreel fought a fish for several hours, - it had died as it was wrapped in the line but weighed in at 113kgs, a very nice swordfish.
Snark has been in good form, with a blue and a stripey, as well as three sail for a grand slam, followed by two stripies and a sail for Ulf Gaetner. A couple of days after they had a blue and a stripey for Hillaeri Henk. Fly fishing fanatic Con Jooste on Eclare started his trip with a sail on fly, and then had a go at both a striped and a black marlin – both of these refused the fly but took a lure far back to be tagged, but how exciting it would have been if they had taken the fly!
Down at Shimoni the marlin are running, although weather problems with very calm days can make things difficult. Kamara II tagged two stripies and a sail, but the big excitement of the day was a huge mako shark, estimated at 230kgs, which took a 50 lb outfit – these fish are so powerful that they have to be fought at maximum pressure on medium tackle, and sadly the line popped when the fish was near the boat. A couple of days later the same boat had three stripeys and two sail, John Carr-Hartley from Botswana releasing two stripeys on twenty pound line estimated at 65 and 45 kilos, good fish on a light line.
With the calm weather, night fishing is popular at the moment, and there are plenty of broadbill swordfish in the areas outside the Rips. Ol Jogi, with the Basin family, released a black marlin over 100 kgs, a broadbill of 30kgs, and two sail, while boating another broadbill that died on the line for a grand slam. Keith Asherwood and Digo Casili on White Bear, got two broadbill, while after a good night's fishing in Black Widow with his team of skippers from Dubai, when they tagged four broadbill, lost two more after a fight and had eleven strikes in all, skipper Adam Ogden decided to come in off Malindi, where in the deep water at the edge of the green lines they found seven sailfish for an outrigger crammed with flags on return!

Gentle breezes slow down billfish activity

In recent weeks the fishing has varied with the weather – when the breeze is gentle and seas very calm all day, the fish stay deep and catches lessen, while on those days when it blows hard and the ocean is rough, good fishing predominates with all the marlin species and sailfish striking actively.
Wednesday was a good example, flat calm water and reduced catches, with boats on average getting one marlin and a few sail, compared with double this a day or two earlier. But a big group of boats tried an overnight trip, where calm water makes conditions much more pleasant, and plenty of broadbill swordfish were caught, with, as I write, Jasiri first boat home with five broadbill and a sail, while Seyyida ran flags for a black and two striped marlin, as well as two swordfish, a nice grand slam.
Recent good catches at Hemingways include regular anglers Charles and Sarah Stephenson with a blue and two striped marlin and three sail while Ol Jogi released a black and four striped marlin and six sail – quite a day. At Ocean Sports Tarka weighed a stripey of 32 kgs which had died, and released two more, Clueless tagged two stripeys and six sail and Castle Lager had three stripeys and three sail, while Seahorse continued a good run with a black and a striped marlin and four sail. This last Tuesday for example, ten boats recording there had 14 marlin and 52 sailfish for the day while next door Hemingways totalled 13 marlin and 40 sail for nine boats. Add in Malindi boats and that's an incredible amount of fish in a single day, with almost a hundred percent released!
Sand Dollar had a good day with a blue and a very big striped marlin, the stripey putting up a spirited fight with Simon Venn fishing. Apparently beaten, lying just behind the boat, it suddenly dived straight down with an enormous lunge, smacking the rod against the transom. The rod broke, but the fish was brought back with the remaining piece, and it then tangled the line in the props! Eventually safely tagged, it was released and swam away, for Simon's first marlin and a story he'll remember!
Next weekend, Sat 20th- Sun 21st sees the International Billfish Tournament being fished from Malindi SFC, in which only billfish score but there should be plenty of those! The light line day, the Morson Cup, precedes this on the Friday, and the experts who will be trying perhaps for a sail on 4kg line could be tested when a large black marlin swallows their bait!
The Kilifi Classic follows the weekend after, 27th-28th Feb, while the Watamu SFC Tournament is the next weekend, March 6th-7th, and the marathon two day and a night event, the Friends of Kenya from Hemingways, is on Tues 9th-Wed 10th March. Plenty of competitive angling here for all!
Malindi boats have been successful, mostly offshore in the Rips, with Neptune having a black and two striped marlin and a sail, a grand slam for Guy de Raeymacker and Jurgen Ludsteck. Another group from Belgium fished three boats and all had marlin on their first day, a good start to their trip. Next day four boats from five scored marlin, with Les McBride and Tony Voss finishing their holiday, eight trips for 20 marlin and 17 sail.
At Shimoni, bigger fish are arriving replacing the packs of smaller stripies – Carlos Rivera found 7 marlin and 5 sail in his six days, including a really nice black marlin released. So good fishing continues everywhere.

Fantastic fishing continues

The incredible fishing around the Rips continues, two boats achieving eight marlin in a day, a super grand slam, and grand slams, three different billfish caught on a boat in the day, too numerous to count!
The weekend saw the 45th Delamere Trophy fished from Kilifi with seventeen boats catching 32 marlin and 47 sailfish, all of which were released, over the two days. Winners were the team on Alleycat, led by skipper Peter Darnborough, with Nick Michaelides and Peter Hofmann, the latter winning Top Angler - three striped marlin, one blue marlin, two sailfish and a yellowfin tuna fell to his rod, to follow his success in the same boat in the Malindi Casino tournament two weeks before, with the team having a total four stripies and a blue, plus six sail and a couple of tuna for 6251 pts. They were leading on the first day, and kept comfortably ahead of Albatross, fished by JJ Nicholas, Jan Verweil and Tina Harris, which had a black and three striped marlin, two sail and a wahoo for 4404 pts. Tina, with two striped marlin and two sailfish, won the prize for the best lady angler.
The third boat was Black Widow, with skipper Adam Ogden, Eric van Vliet and Keiren Day, with three striped marlin and four sail, while Seyyida, Delta and Clueless followed with only a couple of hundred points separating the teams. Dingbat was best small boat, with both Oscar and Walter Biggi catching a striped marlin, while Minerva was second, Anne Taylor getting the prize for the biggest fish weighed in, a 15.6kg barracuda. Many thanks to Deborah Colvile for her sponsorship and lovely cut crystal glassware prizes, for a very successful competition.
From Malindi, Snark with Peter Boke and friends bettered the record seven marlin caught on Tina the previous week with eight stripeys! This was then equalled by Clueless at Watamu a few days later, so that's two boats with eight marlin now holding the record north of the Pemba Channel, where ten stripies in the day was achieved some years ago.
Tina has been having a good run, with Rudy van der Stichel catching a blue and two striped marlin plus five sailfish, while the next day the score was a blue and two striped marlin and three sail for consecutive grand slams. But the other Kingfisher boats bettered this, with Snowgoose recording four stripies and Neptune catching a black and four stripies and four sail, another grand slam. Snowgoose got her grand slam next day with a black and two striped marlin and seven sail for Bart van Hoey, while a couple of days later Neptune, with Les McBride and Tony Voss fishing, bettered this with a super grand slam, a black, a blue and two striped marlin and a sailfish – this was the first day of the Kilifi tournament, which they had considered entering but decided against it! Tina, with angler Chris Barnes, found two black marlin and a stripey, so an amazing week's fishing for all.
Watamu boats also showed incredible results, the same day that Clueless caught eight marlin, Tarka had seven stripies and Alleycat six marlin, two blacks and four stripies as well as three sail for a grand slam – twenty one marlin and nine sail for three boats on one day! Gordon Elder and Bob, in Tarka, had twenty-four stripeys and twenty sail tagged and released in six days fishing – that takes some beating. Simba, with Morten Nordskag, tagged a stripey on fly tackle, while White Bear tagged two sail on fly, as did Ol Jogi with Garry Cullen fishing.
Seahorse weighed a 109.5 kg blue marlin which was wrapped in the line and died, and they tagged three stripeys as well, and Kipapa had a blue and a black marlin and two sail for a grand slam. Let's hope this keeps on!

Marlin fishing keeps getting better

A couple of weeks back I wrote that the fishing could hardly get better – but it has! One runs out of superlatives when things get better, and better, and better.....! The water in the Rips is now blue, the sea has calmed down and fishing conditions ideal. And reports of fantastic marlin fishing are coming in from north and south.
But watching the boats come in at Hemingways this Wednesday we counted twenty-one marlin flags from eight boats, with perhaps the best effort marked by the huge grin on the face of skipper Mohamed Fadhili who had led his anglers Julian Mills, Robin Minter-Kemp and Jonathon Lowe to a super grand slam in B's Nest. One blue, one black and three striped marlin, together with a sailfish, all released,was the total score for the day – and for the anglers who have been coming to Kenya for many years quite their best day ever!
Simba released four striped and one blue marlin shared by anglers James Mason and Len Lippitt, while Tega, Tarka and Black Widow all flew three green flags for striped marlin, with each of them having three or four sail as well. Fishers David Bird and Terry Pendry had to be content with two stripeys and three sail on Unreel, a moderate day for skipper Rob Hellier after his catch of seven stripies a couple of days earlier, but one cannot do it every day!
Well known skipper Ali al Harazi, now in semi retirement, went out on Instedda recently, and caught his first striped marlin on fly tackle. Skippers usually don't fish much themselves, and it was interesting to hear James Adcock, one of the longest serving skippers along the coast and who caught a striped marlin out with owner Adam Ogden on Black Widow on a fun day, remark that it was the first billfish he could remember catching himself for twenty years!
Fly fishing is all the rage these days, and one of our best lady anglers, Gai Cullen, caught her first striped marlin on fly on Simba, the first to be caught on this tackle by a lady on the East African coast. Well done, Gai. Jeremy Block caught two stripeys on fly on Ol Jogi,while Billy Lynch had a stripey on fly on Snowgoose.
Marlin are running at Shimoni in the Pemba Channel now, and Simon Hemphill reports catching 11 marlin in his Kamara II in four days, pretty good fishing in most years but just average this season! White Otter has had a day with three stripeys, and another with two, while Inca, running down from Mombasa with the crew for a charter, picked up a black and a stripey on the way, with four stripeys and a sail a couple of days after, with the clients on board! Kamara II had a multiple strike and caught four stripeys together from one pack, quite a feat.
Malindi boats are fishing the same areas for marlin as the Watamu boats, in the Rips, but also with strikes in the outer mountains and indeed, all over the place, although the sailfishing close to Malindi has gone off with dirty water obscuring the closer-in areas. Tina had a day with seven stripies, which seems to be the best score north of the Pemba Channel these days, while Snow Goose had four stripeys, also all four part of a multiple strike, with Herbert and Monica Lewald. Snark scored two blue and two striped marlin with Lindsay Casserly, who finished with 5 stripeys, 4 blue marlin, one black marlin and 27 sailfish for the nine days fishing in his trip.
Neptune has been out to the North Kenya Banks with a party interested in jigging on the bottom, and caught eight amberjack and varied bottom fish, but not much was seen in the way of billfish, while the water seemed very cold there.

Marlin plentiful for Malindi Casino Tournament

Although strong winds have blown dirty water down from the river mouth, this proved to be just a surface phenomenon which did not upset the billfish, lurking hungrily below the surface, and the Tournament sponsored by the Casino Malindi had amazing fishing with sixteen boats catching a total of 44 marlin over the two days.
Boats could start and finish from either Malindi or Watamu, and it was Alleycat from Watamu, with skipper Pete Darnborough and angler Peter Hofmann, which snatched first prize with five marlin tagged, just ahead of the team of Ali al Harazi with Imran and Usham Musa on Instedda, which also had five marlin and were leading on the first day. A very close finish, and if one sailfish had not come unhooked on the latter boat it would have been a different story – but that's the way fishing goes!
Third place went to the team on Eclare, novice fishermen Wilfried van Laarhoven and Ronald Roy from the Netherlands. Each team won three top of the line rods and reels and other prizes, with Mada Hotels giving the “Top Angler” Peter Hofmann a three day stay at Fig Tree Camp in the Mara, with game drives and a balloon safari. Sandra Young won the Top Lady Angler award, a sporty Swatch watch, with all the prizes being given out at a delicious buffet dinner at the La Griglia restaurant, to round off a very popular and successful competition.
Neptune had two striped marlin on the first day of this tournament, putting them in a strong position, but as they had different anglers booked for the second day they were not able to enter that day, but with three marlin by mid morning they could have run out as winners! This is often a problem with charter boats, so anglers had better plan a year ahead! The event will be January 15th and 16th next year, 2011.
All the boats fishing the Rips have been having fun with Blue Eyes and skipper Rob Coverdale taking anglers David Cawthorne and Julie and Brian Pollard out for three trips, for a total of five striped marlin, three sail and a short-billed spearfish. The latter is a rarity here, although the odd one is caught annually further south in the Pemba Channel, but this seems to be the first in our northern area since White Bear landed a pair in 1992 – interestingly in the same area out near the South Mlima of the Rips.
Other recent catches include a black and a striped marlin and a sail for Simon Rickaby on Seastorm, a grand slam which together with a 23.5kg wahoo and a dorado makes for a pretty good days fishing! White Bear with Marcel and Annick Prott who regularly fish with fly tackle had a striped marlin on fly, quite an achievement and definitely a couple of steps up the ladder from a sailfish! A week ago Tarka had an outstanding catch, with three stripies, two sail and two huge amberjack of 60 and 48.5 kgs, while Kipapa, up from Mtwapa, had three stripeys and two days later four stripeys.
Sand Dollar is another private boat which has had a good run, with trips of three stripies, a stripey and two sail and two stripeys and two sail – skipper Peter Mupe, who used to drive Kaskazi at Hemingways for many years, has obviously lost none of his skills with owner Chris Venn from South Africa.
The muddy water pouring down the Sabaki river from the up country rains has resulted in poorer sailfishing close to Malindi, when the sail tend to move further out to deeper water and join the marlin in the Rips. However as long as the underlying current continues to run north the fishing should remain good, and even improve as the strong winds moderate and the blue water pushes in again.

Good fishing continues with marlin arriving

Superb fishing continues in most areas with marlin showing in the Rips regularly now, mainly stripeys with some big packs striking, while blacks are there and coming to both lures and livebait and some blues as well. Sailfish are still plentiful in the waters off Malindi, with the odd black marlin around the sail shoals, so skippers have the option of almost certain fish off Malindi, or the gamble with marlin further offshore.
A short day fishing is about five hours, so Watamu boats doing short days have more limited options, as both the Rips and Malindi can be too long a run, but marlin are also being caught in the Canyon and Mountains areas. Alleycat, with Nimit Patel from Nairobi fishing found a good black marlin live baiting in the Canyon and released at an estimated 230 kgs, as well as another small one about 60 kgs. The previous day on the same boat Jeremy Brown, a long time angler formerly in Nairobi and now working in UK, also tagged a black marlin. Tega had a good black of 160kgs tagged with Charles and Sarah Prior on a short day.
Last weekend however saw the marlin fishing peak in the Rips, with Unreel tagging a blue and four stripeys, with another blue and three stripeys two days later. White Mischief on a Sunday outing had a black marlin and two stripeys, with Tarka recording a black and three stripeys the same day. Alleycat had three stripeys the previous day, while Dave Plummer, Ian McNeil and David Isaac on Ol Jogi tagged a black marlin one day and a blue and a striped marlin the next day. Adam Ogden in his Black Widow went out with his crew and had a blue and a striped marlin, together with seven sailfish, for a grand slam. It doesn't get much better than this!
Malindi boats have been concentrating more on the sailfish closer to home, and at the beginning of the week Snark had six sail on a short day, while Tina released eight sail on a short day, having had an 80 kg black marlin the previous day. The boats seem to take it in turns to be top scorer as Eclare had seven sail the next day, following that with ten sail for young Aidan Casserly who was being introduced to fishing by his Dad, regular angler Dad Lindsay, a veteran of fifteen years fishing. Snowgoose then caught six sail on a morning trip, while Neptune has been fishing the Rips for several striped marlin most of the week but had their best day off Malindi with a black marlin and eight sailfish.
Watamu boats have been sailfishing at Malindi as well, B's Nest getting nine sail with a Russian crew and fourteen sail with the Goucher family, while Simba and Black Widow both scored seven sail and White Bear eight with the Russian fishers. Tarka had nine sail with Fergus Flynn and his son Douglas, and with the heavy rains upcountry there is a lot of muddy water coming down the river leading to good colour lines in the water from the currents which makes the sailfishing easier.
The Malindi Casino are sponsoring a tournament this weekend so with all these fish around there should be some good sport, and there are magnificent prizes to be won. The Mtwapa Cup follows at Mtwapa on the 17th, and the Delamere Trophy at Kilifi is over the weekend of the 30th/31st , and many of the regulars are beginning to arrive to fish these competitions.

Brilliant fishing continues up and down the coast

 Sailfish turning on for holiday season

Christmas is upon us, and for anglers a special treat as the sailfish in the Malindi area have turned on and good catches into double figures are being made, while Watamu anglers, in addition to accessing the sail off Malindi can fish the Rips, where marlin are beginning to be seen as the kaskazi, the north-east wind, is starting to blow more regularly.
Brad Kidd and family, Kirsten and Nick, back on holiday from South Africa after a two year break, had a great overnight trip on Simba with skipper George Allen, with three broadbill during the night off the Vipingo ridges, a striped marlin about 80 kgs and a sail, all tagged, and followed this next day in White Bear releasing a black marlin for Kirsty and three sail. Next day they took off in Simba again for an overnight on the North Kenya Banks, but while they tagged a black marlin and nine sail, they had no luck looking for broadbill there. There is a seismic survey vessel working the area, one wonders if this could effect the fishing?
Earlier in the week, White Bear had tagged a black marlin for Andre Grundlingh, while B's Nest and Ol Jogi had nine and ten sailfish all tagged. Sea Storm also tagged ten sail, so a good day for the Hemingways boats.
Ol Jogi tagged a black marlin estimated at 130kgs for Kobus Verwoerd, his first and a good way to start! White Dove, fished by Nick Thomson, tagged a black marlin and a couple of sail, while most boats out were finding sail off Malindi with scores of two to six daily, with Tarka having an amazing day for Andrew Manfield with 24 sail released, so lets hope this sort of fishing lasts till the Watamu competition is under way!
Black Widow went with Adam Ogden on a family trip up to Kiwaiyu, and had great fun, two black, two striped marlin and thirty two sailfish making an exciting trip in different waters – there is no doubt that the Kiwayu area is one of the best fishing spots on the coast.
At Malindi the boats are catching the sailfish regularly, while Neptune continued with the group from the German Balzer fishing tackle company, having a successful deep jigging day on the North Kenya Banks. Big amberjack, snapper and grouper were caught while half the group who went with Snark on a normal fishing trip caught eight sailfish, for Ma Ming and Yitao Deng who are Balzer agents in China. The former also caught a marlin on Snark two days later, so perhaps we can show the Chinese a thing or two about game fishing in exchange for what they show us about building roads! Eclare also got a marlin with Wolfgang Friede as well as five sailfish, so very good fishing in this whole area.
With the Watamu SFC Xmas tournament starting on Monday 28th, the first prize of a Zodiac dinghy and an engine should bring in the entries and with the fishing looking so good, a busy time should be had by all. The party for the auction and raffle will be the evening before, Sunday, and a big crowd is expected. Have fun.
Wishing you all a very Happy Xmas and an great angling New Year!

Sailfishing good off Kiwayu and Lamu

Sailfish more active and some marlin appearing

The wind is still doing strange things, south some days and east to north-east others, but still very gentle breezes and it is much hotter and muggy. There have been a couple of early morning showers, but the two to three millimetres we are getting will not fill the reservoirs!
Sailfish are being caught however, with the fishing variable and where one boat comes in with half a dozen another fails to score!
The annual tournament out from Hemingways Resort for Capt Morgan Rum is a combination of a prize for the winners in South Africa of competitions for the biggest fish weighed during the year for many different species, both salt and freshwater, and private teams wishing to try their skills on sailfish. After last year's amazing record catches, twelve fish per boat day, a record turnout of fifteen teams fishing four days out of the six fished in ten boats.
Expectations were high, and although last years figures were not achieved, all the contestants had fun with an average of about two sail per boat per day.
The winners, Ruan, Johan and Arulene Smal and John Zonomeis, collected 4500 points for their fifteen sail – Johan Smal with five sail to his rod sharing top angler with Eugene Volschenk and Paul van Niekerk, whose team with Willie and Shaun Volkschenk came second with thirteen sail in total. The teams fish different boats each day, with a couple of free days, so there is a big element of luck in being out on the right day in the right boat!
The third placed team was Irene and Ryda Brouwer, Henk Mathee and Cliff Magee, having tagged eleven sail. Veteran angler and organiser of the competition Erwin Bursik, was happy to catch two sail one day, but not enough to put his team on the podium!
Daily catches are interesting, the daily totals being 29,22,14,35,11 and 23, so one can see there were a couple of difficult days when the fish were not coming up well. Much of this was due to the wind, or lack of it, as it was switching from south to east to north, and sometimes none at all with mirror like seas, the skipper's nightmare!
Unreel with seven sail one day, and Alleycat with six appear to have had the best days, with White Bear scoring a five and a four, and several boats recording four sail in the day, while the total of 132 sailfish all released compared favourably with bygone years - a very good party enjoyed by all.
Chris Venn comes from South Africa with family and friends for two six week fishing holidays every year, and now runs the 35' Cabo Express Sand Dollar. On his best day this time, they had seven sail – Chris had taken his chef David out to try his hand, and David caught three sail and a wahoo!
Tega with skipper Steve George, tried live baiting with Jon Battison from the UK, back after a four year break, and using circle hooks released an 80kg black marlin. Peter Constable, another regular, tagged a 60kg blue marlin on Ol Jogi, while Alan Park in White Dove released a sail and a striped marlin. Alleycat caught a grand slam with a black and a striped marlin and a sail, so quite a few marlin starting to appear in different locations.
Kingfisher boats at Malindi hosted the Joss de Kock group fishing three boats all week. Fifty one sailfish was a good total score with Tina and Eclare tagging a marlin as well – Eclare's a black estimated at 150kgs on 15kg line, a great effort.

 Wind swings back south, but sailfish taking

The wind in November usually does strange things and has now swung back into the south – the days more cloudy but no significant rain here. But this south wind has been blowing a bit harder and the sailfish seem to be coming up again after the doldrums-like weather of the previous week.
It was during this period that the Wildfly teams competed in their tournament from Hemingways Resort, bad luck for them but they struggled nobly and ended up with nine sail on the fly tackle, with Craig Maree and Gerrit Wyma both scoring two.
Chris Bladen from Cape Town, an internationally renowned sculptor of fish, caught the winning fish for his team, the 'Pink Panthers', releasing the sailfish, his only cast at one in the four days, from Simba, while the 'Bimini Twist' team came second.
Fly fishing is not easy, one needs a dozen fish or more coming up daily to ensure a number of shots at them, with the fish preferably hungry, not just window shopping. One team was reputed to have had thirteen sail up one day, without a tag and release situation arising!
A couple of days later, the Capt Morgan Rum tournament got under way, the wind had freshened and much better results were reported on the conventional tackle. A couple of boats had five sail, others three or four, so lets hope it keeps on for the rest of the week, as they fish for six days.
Fly seems to be flavour of the month, as Kingfisher at Malindi also has a group from Germany using fly tackle for a six day trip. After a slow start the first day, Raimond Gutrath got his first sail on fly from Neptune on his second outing, then went on to score another while his friend Henning Heise also caught one, and they ended up with five sail on fly for the trip, pretty good for beginners!
Anthony Havelock took some friends from UK out, and ended up with four sail, while Snowgoose ran to the Rips and tagged a small blue marlin for Matthias Beyer – a couple of days before the same boat had tagged an 80kg black marlin for Holger Amelung on an overnight trip, but they failed to catch a broadbill with only one good strike coming off.
The annual 'Eye Go Fishing' tournament at Mtwapa went well, though fish were hard to find, except for the winners, Mssrs Rawal, Shah and Mtemi, who ended with five sailfish and a wahoo in Nala. The amateur stream was won by Matamu, fished by Chris Young, Paul Young and Rossano Ricci, who ran out to the Rips to tag a striped marlin and a sail – the former giving Paul Young the Dave Parry trophy for the biggest fish.
Mike Keates and Mike Jnr, with James Knight in Inca were second in the professional stream with a sailfish, while the Delta crew of Max Donner Jnr, Florian Schollinger and Steve Rodwell took third. In the amateurs, Samaki with Cosmo Grimwood, Ken Haji and Julian Luckhurst ran in second, Julian's 20 kg wahoo taking the award for the biggest non-billfish. This event raises money for the Kwale Eye Centre, and a great party was had by all.
A recent directive from Fisheries is meant to have halted the use of ring nets, an unsustainable and indiscriminate method of slaughtering fish which has had great opposition from local artisanal fishermen and Beach Management Units. There are reports however that these nets continue to operate. Surely the time has come to initiate policies which conserve our fish stocks for future generations – sustainable is the word!

Gentle east breezes slow down fishing

The days of good north-east winds were replaced by very gentle breezes from the east a week ago, which resulted in the sailfish turning off and not coming up much. One or two boats tried fishing late in the afternoon and raised fish about five o'clock, but this means coming in as it gets dark, hard work for crews and dinghies, who still have to be at work next morning at 5.30am!
Hemingways Resort at Watamu is this week hosting the Wildfly Fly Fishing Tournament for four days fishing in seven boats, with teams of four anglers from South Africa. Only fly tackle catches score, fishing to the strict rules for this genre – fish are lured to behind the boat with hookless teasers, which are then removed from the water, while the boat has to be placed in neutral, out of gear, and only then can the angler cast his fly to the fish. Needing a well trained team, with the teasing being an art in itself, this makes catching sailfish far more difficult than normal, and as at the moment the sail are being difficult anyway, every fish tagged becomes a triumph!
Skipper Jack Jackson in White Bear has had two days with two sail on fly, with the other boats getting singles, or less! One of our top skippers was bemoaning raising only one sail all day, and if these chaps can't bring them up then nothing less than a depth charge will! (Navy gunboats – please, just a joke!) Results next week.
Ol Jogi, fished by Eric Cousins, tried an overnight run to the North Kenya Bank, and were successful in tagging a striped marlin and a sail by day, and a broadbill at night for a grand slam- as they had got five amberjack by deep jigging, and a dozen yellowfin as well, a good choice of destination. Tega fished the Rips, and were rewarded with a double strike of blue marlin, small but lively which were both tagged after a good fight.
Alleycat also found a marlin in the Rips, a stripey this one, duly tagged, so the change in the wind is starting to bring the marlin in early , a good sign for the season and an interesting alternative to slow days for sail off Malindi. A black marlin was tagged by Dave Young, fishing in his Yamaha 23 centre console – Dave is one of the Club 15 members up from South Africa who run the big catamaran Castle Lager, and both this boat and sister ship Contagious have been catching sailfish.
Malindi boats have much the same story – not so many sail around, and a big contrast to last year, but one cannot expect a best-ever year every year! Exceptionally, Andrew Gibbs, in Neptune, finished his safari with a six sailfish day, giving him fourteen in the four days on his first fishing trip – some anglers are definitely born under the right star! Guy Raeymacher and Andries Gustaaf, from Belgium, had four sail and a wahoo in Eclare at the beginning of the week, one of the sail not even hooked but the leader just wrapped round the bill with hooks dangling! Tina released a nice black marlin off Malindi about 85kgs as well as a sailfish later in the week, but without much wind the fishing went quieter.
Shimoni boat Kamara II on a trip to Kiwaiyu, found a pack of three striped marlin just south of Lamu, and tagged two, but once the clients were on board, they were restricted to some sailfish, and a manta ray, an unusual catch and of course released!

Wind swings into the North-East – will this turn the fish on?

Last weekend the wind swung into the north-east, and has remained there since, significant for anglers as this indicates the start to the main billfish season. It is early this year, but might swing around a bit before settling into the normal 'kaskazi' winds – the rain also has dried up for the last ten days, so are they over? Who knows – farmers may want one scenario, anglers the opposite!
At Malindi, the Driftwood Extravaganza went well, with nine teams on the same number of boats catching forty sailfish over the four days, as well as plenty of tuna, wahoo, kingfish and some dorado. Interesting fishing, as just before 'lines out' on the third day which had produced the best fishing, the team on Eclare were 'skunking' ( a nil catch) when a pack of sailfish attacked the baits and each of the three team anglers caught one to give them the top score that day!
The 'Gaffers' team won, and twenty-six anglers caught their first sailfish ever, so let's hope all these overseas fishers will return next year – they certainly enjoyed themselves, and helped boost sales of that famous Tusker product on their evening parties!
Tarka and Neptune had gone up to Kiwaiyu for a seven day trip, an annual boys outing for some upcountry anglers in search of sailfish, where two years ago they had broken the record for the most sails caught in a day. While the fishing there was not quite so hot this year, Tarka released a marlin on the way up, and Neptune released seven sail one day, with a couple of sail being caught daily on both boats the other days.
Simba, from Watamu, had also been up at Lamu for a couple of weeks, with regular angler Mark Smith from UK who tagged a marlin and eight sail – another black marlin was also caught, but was attacked by sharks on the line, resulting in half a marlin being boated, weighing 100 kgs. Bigger black marlin tend to fight deep and sharks pick up their vibrations and home in for an easy meal!
With the sailfish proving difficult, some Watamu boats, after looking for the sail at Malindi, come home the round-about route, doing some deep jigging on the Rips or Mountains, catching amberjack, rock cod or grouper, and snappers near the bottom. Ol Jogi, with Andrew Walters fishing, tagged a sail, then released an amberjack estimated at 20 kgs, as well as catching a wahoo and a yellowfin. Amberjack are one of the few species which can be caught in very deep water, fought to the surface, and when released can swim down deep again. Grouper however get blown up by the lesser pressure when they surface and cannot swim away due to the bloating, so find their way to the dinner table!
Not much activity reported from the Pemba Channel although earlier the boats that did go out were catching the odd marlin, One interesting catch there was a 13.5kg longtail tuna, thought to be the first ever caught in that area, although these fish are occasionally found around Malindi. Another story relates how a client, having jigged up a 40 kg giant trevally and wanting to release it, found the fish stressed and gasping so plunged into the ocean to help the fish recover until it swam away safely! A nice gesture!

Rain eased off but dirty water affects fishing

The heavy rain eventually eased off with only light showers over the weekend, but the resulting green water from millions of tons of run-off laden with Kenya's top soil continued to affect the fishing, as the fish stay deep in these conditions.
One way to find clean water is to fish further out from shore, and skipper Adam Ogden, in his Black Widow 38ft sports fisherman, reports an interesting trip with Phil and Calvin Du Plessis, experienced skippers themselves from Dubai, when they did a night fishing trip for broadbill swordfish in the deep waters twenty five miles out from Kilifi. Both brothers caught their first 'swordie', and Calvin got a second, all tagged and released, much to everyone's excitement.
Too much excitement at one point on a dark night, when two large fast craft, assumed to be naval gunboats, closed in on our apprehensive anglers, circling them and lighting them up with powerful searchlights. After scrutiny, and without exchanging a word, they seemed satisfied and steamed away into the night!
Good to know, perhaps, that someone is guarding our seas – but who?
Also out from Hemingways White Bear with Per, Julia and Brigitta Lundahr from Sweden found four wahoo, the biggest at 16kgs, and two tuna on a half-day trip, and Sea Storm also found four wahoo for Anthony Battaglia on an afternoon trip.
At Ocean Sports, White Dove caught a 70kg black marlin, and Tarka hung a small 70kg shark on the gantry. Two days later, Tarka had another small shark weighing 90 kgs, and Alleycat weighed one of 68kgs, keeping the tourists happily clicking.
At Malindi a group from Island Safaris in South Africa were out on Neptune, the first of a four day fishing safari. With three sailfish, seven tuna, a kingfish and a dorado this was a good start with plenty of variety. This variety is one of the attractions of Kenya fishing, as in many areas of the world only one species can be targeted at a point in their season, while here one never knows what might show, and a boat can return with ten or more different species. The same boat was the only one to find sailfish, three of them in fact, on Monday 26th when it rained all day with howling winds, and all the boats were glad to be back in port by 2pm! Two days later four inches of rain fell and again all the boats were back early!
The South African group finished their trip with a big 26kg wahoo, while Hans Schonauer on Eclare picked up two sail on 8 kg line over the weekend. The new week starts with the the Driftwood Extravaganza, an event of fifteen years standing although they did not come last year, sadly, for them, missing the best sailfishing year in Malindi history! Nine boats are taking part and sailfish are being caught, results next week.
The annual 'Eye Go Fishing' Tournament, which has been running for thirteen years now, will be fished out from the La Marina restaurant at Mtwapa on Sunday 22nd November, with the raffle, auction and sweep party the Saturday evening before. Major sponsor will again be Liaison Group (IB) Ltd, and the aim is to raise money for the Kwale Eye Centre, a very worthy cause and well worth supporting, as well as being a real fun event. Don't miss it!

Heavy rain keeps the fishing quiet

Heavy rain started at the coast on Sunday night and didn't seem to ease up much, with it still coming down on Thursday morning! Good for crops and the parched acres, but not much fun for anglers – a fishing boat is a cold wet place in this sort of weather, and even where the fishermen can huddle in a cabin, the scream of a reel going off with a fish on the end brings groans rather than rejoicing as one has to go out to grab the rod in the wind and the rain!
Nevertheless, boats have been out and the rain does seem to bring the fish up, perhaps to enjoy the extra oxygen in that cold top layer, but fishing has been erratic, particularly with the sailfish at Malindi, where one day all the boats raise fish, while the next proves disappointing.
Last Thursday was one of the active days, with six sailfish, eleven kingfish and a couple of tuna on Neptune, while Eclare had five sail – they were attacked by a large pack of these fish in the afternoon with sail after every bait on half a dozen rods, but only secured two from this pack! Tina finished with three sail, having lost a lot more.
But the next day the fish would not cooperate, with Snowgoose catching the only sail from three boats – while the fish can be seen finning, they refuse to come to the baits. Why? If one had the answer to that one you could make good money!
Earlier in the week, long time regular Gawie Brewer and a group of doctors from South Africa started a four day stint on two boats, with Neptune getting two sail and Eclare one, together with some giant trevally, kingfish and other small fish the first day. Their second trip was to the North Kenya Banks, Eclare finding a mako shark trolling of about 70 kgs, while both boats tried deep jigging, raising amberjack and snapper as well as a 50 kg rock cod, but neither boat saw any billfish out there nor the big tuna which one might expect at this time of year.
At Watamu it has been a quiet week with few trips, Black Widow tagging a couple of sail for Will Hamilton, his first ever, but on a later trip only finding kingfish and wahoo. Skipper Howard Lawrence-Brown has brought his boat Kipapa up from his Mtwapa base, fishing with Steve and Dylan Wright, and catching yellowfin and wahoo, though the sailfish have eluded them so far.
There certainly are yellowfin around, but often hard to catch – boats fishing a short day from Watamu find the sailfish areas beyond Malindi too far for a five hour trip, and opt to fish the Banks which can be great fun, and hard work, when the tuna turn on. Where there are tuna there are always sharks, and while these are often hooked most of them are released these days. It is always sad to see a dead shark hauled up the beach and dangled on the gantry, though this does bring the tourists in with their cameras. But skippers and anglers should be educated to release - after all, sharks are among the world's most endangered species.

Neptune team romp home at Malindi

Billfish south and north

Not many trips as few fishermen around

Fishing action starting off Malindi and north

While most of the action recently has been around the Watamu Banks, fish are starting to be caught off Malindi and further north on calmer days, and even on one trip to the North Kenya Bank when Peter Hoffman went out in Neptune to test this area. It was a rough, wet ride but a few hours fishing saw 28 yellowfin being caught, seven over 25kgs and the biggest at 38.5 kgs, so as the seas calm down we will see more trips chasing these big tuna as an alternative to the sailfish off Malindi, while marlin will become scarcer as September moves on.
For now however black marlin remain the prize target, with Alleycat catching a big one of 185.5kgs on the Banks when Justin Brown from Mombasa went out with his brother over from Florida for a trip. Tarka had two days with marlin in the previous week, and White Dove also tagged a marlin. This last week saw Tina fishing close to Malindi, with marlin on two days, and missed another which threw the hook another day, though they closed with a sail and fourteen yellowfin for a busy day.
Skipper Angus Paul took his son Arran out when moving the boat up to Ngomeni and the youngster caught himself his first marlin, in shallow water just outside the port – a good start to his fishing career! There are plenty of smaller yellowfin off Malindi as well, with Snark finding 22 as well as a couple of dorado, so it looks as if the fish will be all over the place as the weather improves, but it is still windy and rough some days.
This last week on the Banks a couple of marlin have been caught, Unreel releasing one and Tarka another, while B's Nest tagged a sail for Vanda Brown, and some good wahoo and kingfish of 20 kgs and over continue to come in – the previous week, Ol Jogi had a huge wahoo of 44.5 kgs with John and Bertie Lloyd, and while the record stands at 53.8kgs since 1999, not many around the 100 pound mark are caught.
The boats are not going out much, with tourists hard to come by and school holidays recently finished – at Watamu, a dozen fishing trips from all the boats in a week represents perhaps ten percent of capacity, while Shimoni reports no boats out, so lets hope the tourist season heats up soon, as nothing is more frustrating for captains and crews than sitting on the moorings!
The skippers course at Capt Andy's in Mombasa had to be postponed, and a date will be announced later. Leading to an internationally recognised qualification, this is a must for anyone who drives a boat offshore. Standards on fishing boats in Kenya have improved so much in recent years, essential in a competitive market.
The End of the Line, a disturbing new documentary film, carries the message that the world's fish stocks are being hunted to extinction. Seafood could disappear by 2048, except from farmed sources, with global catches falling annually since 1988, despite increased catching effort and modern technology. As the fishing fleets deplete the waters of their own nations, they move into those of the developing nations – this is not sustainable, and the greedy politicians do not heed the warnings of the scientists.

A quiet week for fish and clients

The last week has been quiet, both for fish, though some marlin have been caught, and for clients, with not many trips out as the busy period in August, with the holidays over, seems to have come to an end. The weather has been windy, with some light rain showers, but the seas not too rough and the water clean, so prospects good for improved action.
Catch of the week must go to Alleycat, when Justin Brown, working in Mombasa, went out with his brother visiting from Florida, and watched him catch a 185.5kg black marlin, sounding more impressive as over four hundred pounds! That should make them sit up in Florida, where they fancy themselves as fishermen, but of course black marlin are not caught in the Atlantic, only blues and the smaller white marlin. A live tuna was the bait, and most marlin are being caught on live bait at present – Tarka had two marlin on different days, one weighing 97 kgs when they also recorded three wahoo, the biggest at 25kgs, while White Dove also tagged a marlin making four for the week around the Watamu Banks.
As September progresses marlin normally become harder to find while the number of sailfish increases especially once these fish move into the waters off Malindi, Mambrui and Che Shale area. At present, most of the sailfish are still to be found near the Banks, with Castle Lager tagging two one day and a single on two other days, while Neptune had a good day with Perez and Christine Venneste, with three sail, three giant trevally up to 40kgs, a big grouper, or rock cod, of 60 kgs, two wahoo, a kingfish, a yellowfin tuna and a dorado – what a great selection of fish! This was their last day out of seven days fishing, they started with a marlin so happy memories till the next trip!
Another huge fish was a wahoo of 44.5 kgs, caught when John and Bertie Lloyd went out in Ol Jogi – the Kenya record stood well below this for many years, although since 1999 it was raised to 53.8kgs, but this is bigger than 99% of the sailfish caught!
The skipper's course at Capt Andy's scheduled for next Monday has had to be postponed for technical reasons, so watch for it later. The KASA dinner is at the La Marina restaurant at Mtwapa on Friday 11th Sept, when the annual trophies will be presented to winning anglers and skippers, so this will be a good party and anyone is welcome.
A disturbing new documentary film, The End of the Line, recently released, carries the message that the world's fish are being hunted to extinction, that at the present rate seafood will disappear by 2048. Global catches have been falling since the late1980's, despite increased effort and modern technology – and as the nations with big fishing fleets exhaust their own waters, they move to the waters of developing nations.
Is this sustainable? Fishing for cod on the Newfoundland Grand Banks, once a dense mass of these fish, was banned since 1992, but the population has never recovered, while in the North Sea, 93% of the cod caught are killed before they can breed.
Ten years ago, one of my first articles was captioned 'Can we kill all the fish in the sea?' Sadly, to echo President Obama – Yes we can!

Marlin difficult but sailfish taking

Black marlin were seen finning all around the Banks at the beginning of the month, and were hard to catch, but mid-month this changed with five marlin coming in on the 18th, definitely the best day so far this season. Many other days boats reported marlin on, but they escaped! One wonders if this is just chance or are the fish definitely hungrier some days with more determined assaults on the baits?
Tuesday 18th saw Peter and Thomas Puelinkx on B's Nest catching a marlin each, while William Brogan on Ol Jogi scored with a black marlin and on Unreel, Robert Cockburn also found a marlin, with all these fish being tagged and released. Hemingways have a tradition that those anglers who catch their first marlin are invited to ring the bell at the bar, a signal for drinks all round, and as for all the three proud fishermen this was their first, the bell was kept busy that evening!
The same day, Greg Much on Neptune from Malindi also scored a black as well as a sailfish, both released, so five marlin in the day! Greg, from the UK, was doing a five day charter, and had five sail and half a giant trevally on his first trip – it had been attacked by a bull shark and only the head came in! His next trip he caught a bull shark, and another sailfish, so a good variety of fishing for him.
At the beginning of August Tarka released two black marlin in a day, their second double of the season, while Adam Ogden took his new boat, Black Widow, out to christen her with a sailfish, followed by a dozen yellowfin the next day and releasing a good giant trevally over 30 kgs. A 38ft Blackfin from America, sporting a huge tuna tower atop the flying bridge, which places the skipper's eyes almost thirty feet above the water, and a maze of antennae above that, she is an awesome fishing machine and an impressive addition to Kenya's fleet of modern sportfishing boats.
At this time of year, it is normal to see good catches for a few days, followed by leaner spells, often dictated by the weather, when strong winds can bring dirty water and disturbed conditions. In the week leading up to mid August, Alleycat had a black marlin, a bull shark and a wahoo, followed by another shark, then a black, a sail and a big yellowfin of 30 kgs and a final day with two marlin and two sail – good fishing for whoever had chosen that week.
Most of the fishing is around the Watamu Banks at the moment, with the marlin being caught on live bait. Live baiting can seem a slow process, for keen anglers rather than the average tourist who just likes to catch anything, often on a half day of five hours, but the rewards are there for the patient angler. For a change, Neptune ventured north last Saturday, finding plenty of fish in the Mambrui/Che Shale area, and returned having caught two sailfish, 13 yellowfin tuna, two wahoo, two kingfish and a dorado with the Belcher brothers.
Sailfish have been the major activity the last few days, with Ol Jogi catching two followed by a single while fishing half days, and Castle Lager also had two sail followed by a single, but Chui Too, a small 20ft boat, found a 100kg Black Marlin to show that the amateurs can do it too!
A quick reminder, the skippers course at Capt Andy's Mombasa from 7th - 11th Sept, and the KASA dinner presenting the annual trophies at Mtwapa's La Marina restaurant on Friday 11th Sept.

Strong winds blow after Easter.

Our Kenya game fishing season is somewhat arbitrary, as some boats fish throughout the year, but April/May is regarded as the end of the season while July can be assumed to be the start. As usual Tarka from Watamu, with skipper Callum Looman, was first into the action in early July with a couple of sailfish released and a nice pair of yellowfin tuna, the best at 26kgs. A few days later they caught two black marlin around the 70 kg mark, which spurred Neptune from Kingfisher boats at Malindi to try the next day – they had the marlin on and jumping but it came off, a common story, but with five sailfish, three good wahoo, a kingfish and many smaller fish, a pretty good day for Angus and Andy.
Alleycat is another boat always in the reckoning, and they had their first black marlin of the season a few days later together with three sail, while regular angler Peter Hofmann on Neptune released a black estimated at 150kgs, the biggest so far, and with half a dozen sail as well, a memorable day. As July ended, Unreel had a couple of days with four sail, B's Nest also had four sail and another day with three, while Snowgoose caught sail and all the boats were racking up scores of wahoo and kingfish, many over 20kgs, yellowfin tuna and shark.
Regular anglers from UK Richard Edwards with Philip and Nick Matthias always come at this time of year, invariably with great success, tagging nine sail and a boatful of other fish their first trip, following this two days later with a marlin, a sail and a giant trevally. In Neptune again, they had a very quiet day on the Banks, so returned via the Boiling Pot only to catch two marlin and a couple of sail in the shallows, an unlikely area and proving that one should never give up when fishing!
Castle Lager, with their South African club members, started well in August with a marlin, and three sail the next day, while Neptune had an interesting experience with Peter Vogt and Dr Althaus from Germany. Hooking into a marlin of about 150kg which jumped all over the place and was clearly seen, a change was noticed when the fish went deep and hugged the bottom – eventually a huge bull shark was pumped up to the boat, which had eaten the marlin and got hooked itself. Weighing 185 kgs, inflated by a huge meal of marlin, but a sad end to the sporting fish which would have been released!
Of great interest to boat owners and skippers, Stan Walters, a senior instructor from South Africa, will be holding a five day course in seamanship and navigation from Mon.7th to Friday11th Sept. at Capt Andy's Mombasa. This course will give local skippers a qualification and certificate recognised internationally – it not only improves performance, especially in safety procedures, but is essential for charter boat owners – the prospect of legal action in case of an accident, with an unqualified skipper, doesn't bear thinking about! Places are still available, but book NOW!
On Friday Sept 11th , KASA will also hold an informal dinner to present the annual prizes for the best catches of the year, both to individuals and skippers – this will be at the La Marina restaurant at Mtwapa – all are welcome, a fun evening with disco. For both events, contact Sammy at kasa@africaonline.co.ke or any branch of Capt Andy's.
At Shimoni, Jasiri tagged a stripey, and a few days later had two more, while Broadbill and Shuwari both lost blacks, so fishing action there early in the season a good sign. Plenty of fish coming in recently at Watamu and Malindi, updated news next week.

 

Written by David Slater