News courtesy of David Slater – 08/04/2010 – 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!

News courtesy of David Slater – 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!

News courtesy of David Slater – 04/03/2010

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.

News courtesy of David Slater – 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!