The wind has changed at last and the south wind, the kusi, has started to blow hard and it looks as if it will stay that way now. This is the signal for the marlin to move on in their annual migration, but this year it has happened very late in the season and it is the boats that are vanishing as they are taken out of the water for annual maintenance. With an early Easter, tourism is running down at the coast as it prepares for the off season.

Alleycat has been out several trips and in two days out in the Rips they found marlin each day. Nick Michaelides released a blue marlin as well as losing a striped marlin which shook the hook and the next day, Rick Bates caught a blue marlin, his first blue after 28 years of fishing. Well done, Rick! On a couple of trips fishing closer in on the Banks the same boat caught some wahoo, including one big fish of 23kgs, and lost a striped marlin.

Seahorse also had a blue marlin, as did Unreel, and both these boats have now gone for their overhaul, but Jasiri tagged a sailfish for George Hazell on a short day, losing a black marlin near the Boiling Pot as well as boating three wahoo, three tuna and two dorado, then tagged a blue marlin in the Rips on another trip.

Peter Glover went out to the Rips in his small boat with Nick Conway, and they hooked a blue marlin which dived deep and died – three hours later they landed the big fish which weighed in at 171 kgs, a good effort!

Not much recent news from Malindi, where a week ago Snowgoose found a blue marlin and three sail while Eclare released a striped marlin, but the trips are becoming fewer now as tourism slows down.
The Baringo tournament is one to look forward to for up-country anglers, three days over the holiday weekend at the end of the month. There are boats available to hire and plenty of accommodation options from camping to lodges, only five hours drive from Nairobi. Good prizes also, a big entry is expected – what better way to spend the weekend!