MALINDI FISHING TRIP

The Marlin

The marlin fish caught in Kenya big game sport fishing can weigh from 100lb to well over 1000lb, the heaviest fish ever caught on rod and line in Kenyan (Malindi) waters was a 1,248lb blue marlin caught in 1995.
This fish is displayed along with many other fish on the walls of the Malindi Sea fishing Club (MSFC). The MSFC is a truly wonderful place, steeped in angling history, and they make what is undoubtedly the finest prawn curry in the world!

Nocturnal Broadbill sword fish

There are barely a handful of destinations scattered around the world where that most elusive member of the billfish clan, the nocturnal broadbill swordfish is regularly caught; Kenya (Malindi, Watamu and Shimon) is probably the best, fishing for these elusive fish involves an overnight trip, which in itself is a wonderful experience. Broadbill are caught year round but the prime time is generally regarded as being January-March .

The Giant Trevally

The giant Trevally is something of a cult angling species, Kenya offers the visiting angler an excellent chance of doing battle with this immensely powerful members of the jack family. GTs are commonly known to live over reefs and banks, often in large shoals of fish that can include individual specimens in excess of 100lb.

The Yellow Fin Tuna

Tuna notably the Yellow Fin Tuna found in such abundance off the coast of Kenya are one of the strongest fish in the sea; guaranteed to raise a sweat on the brow of even the fittest angler! School size Yellow Fin Tuna, fish from 10-40lb, can be caught through out the season.
The biggest Yellow Fin Tuna, fish that in recent years have included specimens to over 220lb, have appeared in August and September, but be warned, fighting these brutally strong fish is certainly not for the unfit or faint hearted! Other species of Tuna can also be caught in these waters including skip jack, long tail, big eye and the eastern little tuna that are widely referred to as bonito.

Tiger and Mako sharks

Many species of shark can be encountered off the Kenyan coast, a sizeable population of Tiger Sharks has been located off Watamu hooking one, can almost be a formality; successfully playing a hooked tiger shark to the boat to be tagged and released is entirely another matter! The much prized Mako shark is another species that is occasionally encountered by anglers fishing off Kenya. These predators average from 300-800lb but many 1,000lb
A day’s offshore fishing in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa will produce many other species including; the incredibly fast Wahoo, the gloriously coloured and sweet tasting Dorado or Felusi (in Swahili). Two species of barracuda, king mackerel-known as kingfish, cobia, rainbow runner etc

NEWS FROM THE MALINDI FISHING CLUB
Also on the Banks, Unreel tagged a black marlin as well as a sail at the beginning of the week, with Tarka weighing a small hammerhead shark the next day – interesting, as these strange looking creatures are not seen much these days, and even those looking for any sharks around Watamu are having a disappointing time at present. Late September and October are the prime months on the Banks for yellowfin tuna, and if there are rainy days when the tuna come up to the surface more then sharks are usually plentiful, indeed a nuisance as not everyone wants to catch them, but with four tuna on at a time one of the rods invariably turns into a shark as these voracious creatures swallow the tuna and hook themselves!


September is also the best month for wahoo, an exciting fish to catch as they run so fast on the surface and with several on at once when a pack strikes, some can end up in front of the boat while others are far behind. They also have an expensive habit of biting through the lines with their razor teeth and one finds oneself with several expensive lures cut off! Ol Jogi found three wahoo recently , plus a kingfish and a cobia, sometimes called a black runner and always rare here, but excellent eating and even better when smoked!

Another trip to the North Kenya Banks for Neptune found big yellowfin again, with a 37.5 kg fish the biggest, while Clueless staying overnight had a couple of broadbill although the tunny did not come up. But Little Toot out from Lamu has found some good tunny up there so perhaps these are starting their run, and may show later in the Rips off Watamu and down at Shimoni.

The Kenya Association of Sea Anglers, KASA, held a dinner at La Marina restaurant at Mtwapa to present the annual trophies. Formerly given for the biggest in the year of the different species, more emphasis is now given to annual boat catches, particularly for tag and release achievements, and for individual efforts. Skipper Callum Looman with 96 marlin on his boat Tarka, plus a further eight on his second boat White Dove, received the accolade for the most marlin – over a hundred in a season has only been achieved twice before, both times on Shimoni boats, while skipper Angus Paul on Neptune with 758 sailfish in the season broke all previous records. For private amateur boats, Andy Thomas’s White Mischief led for both marlin, with 21, and sailfish, with 117. For individuals, mention must be made of Joss Taylor, who released a blue marlin estimated at 350kgs and a black estimated at 300 kgs, in the same trip.