The fishing pattern around Watamu and Malindi continues much the same, with yellowfin tuna and wahoo the main target fish, but there are still some black marlin around to reward those keen anglers who persevere in looking for them.
Alleycat had a good day with two marlin tagged and released, and followed this with another marlin a couple of days later. The boat also missed two more marlin, and has tagged a couple of sailfish, while boating good catches of tuna and wahoo, so five successful days kept anglers happy.
Unreel also tagged a small black marlin, making a good day with some tuna and wahoo, while Simba, out for a trial run, the first this season, with skipper Mtawali and crew, released a black marlin, a great way to start their season. Tarka has had good catches of tuna and wahoo, with their biggest yellowfin at 35kgs, but the marlin have eluded them this week.
Tega, at Malindi, has been active tagging a pair of sailfish, as well as catching tuna and wahoo. They also have been jigging deep for catches of amberjack and giant trevally. Eclare also caught a sailfish together with two kingfish over 20kgs, while Neptune had a sailfish and a 22kg wahoo. Both boats have been targeting giant trevally using poppers, casting to the fish along the edge of the reef, and Neptune left yesterday travelling to Ziwaiyu and north, to be rewarded their first day with thirteen giant trevally on their poppers – an interesting method of fishing not widely used on Kenya boats. These would be experienced anglers, often bringing their own specialized tackle, happy to test their techniques in our Kenyan waters.
The Malindi SFC host their Festival Tournament over the weekend of Sat. 22nd -Sun 23rd October. This is the opening competition of the season, and the winners will also qualify for the IGFA World Championships held annually, next year in Costa Rica. The light line competition is on the Friday for those pundits who fish with their 10kg or less breaking strain lines. A popular tournament, which will see many of our top local fishermen pitted against international anglers, this is also a great social occasion.
