Written By: David Slater
On Date: 18/4/2006
The kusi, the south-east monsoon, is well established now, although there was some fluctuation in the wind direction at the end of March, but the marlin seem to have moved on, boats have stopped try to fish in the Rips, and even the Watamu Banks seem short of black marlin.
But there are sailfish around, and giant trevally give good sport for those eager for a hard, heavy fight, while the felusi, dorado or dolphin-fish as the Americans call them, are ubiquitous at present, and give terrific fights on light lines, especially fun for the kids who are here for their Easter holidays, and yield great dinners too, for when eaten fresh these are one of the tastiest fish in the ocean.
But before the recent fishing news, here are the prize winners in the KASA Raffle, which was drawn at the dinner at Mnarani Club, Kilifi on Saturday 8th April. The dinner was a great success, with over eighty people attending, and especial thanks are due to Benjie and Claire Bowles and Anne Taylor, who did all the hard work organising it all. Over 200,000/- \was raised for the Association , which is available to help out the tagging programme and the Malindi Marine Association, a very active group mainly of indigenous fishermen and marine conservation enthusiasts, who are seeing their livelihood destroyed by indiscriminate trawling and uncontrolled commercial fishing.
Prize winners - KASA RAFFLE.
FISHING PLUS ACCOMMODATION PRIZES
A Day’s Fishing and 2 Nights for 2 at Hemingways Resort Barbara Scanlon
donated by Garry Cullen
A Day’s Fishing donated by Simon Hemphill and Lode Vanhoutte
2 Nights for 2 at Shimoni Reef Lodge donated by Ranjit Sondhi
A Day’s Fishing on Seahorse donated by Peter Ready and John c/o Truly
2 Nights for 2 at Driftwood Beach Club donated by Roger Sylvester
A Day’s Fishing and 1 Night for 2 at Pemba Channel Fishing Club Robin Nixon
donated by Peter Ruysenaars
FISHING PRIZES
A Day’s Fishing on Little Toot donated by Nils Korschen Merete Nixon
and Lunch for 4 at Peponi Hotel
6 Hours Fishing on Inca donated by Eligio Battaia Lode Vanhoutte
and Lunch or/ Dinner at Bob’s Restaurant donated by Bob
Half a Day’s Fishing on Sashimi donated by Stuart Saunders Pat Borsato
and Lunch at the Globe Restaurant
A Day’s Fishing on Alleycat donated by Peter Darnborough Esther Steiger
A Day’s Fishing on Tarka donated by Callum Looman Henry Henley
A Day’s Fishing on a Big Boat donated by Angus Paul Erica Thomas
A Day’s Reef Fishing on Malachite donated by Angus Paul Simon Hemphill
A Day’s Fishing on Clueless donated by Robert Duff Rod Edmondson
ACCOMMODATION PRIZES
2 Nights for 2 at Honi + Trout Fishing in The Aberdares Russell Brumby
donated by Jessica & Henry Henley
2 Nights for 6 at Rhino Retreat Ron Darnborough
donated by Colin Church, Rhino Ark
2 Nights for 2 at Diani House donated by John & Lulu Clark Dick Chater
and Dinner at The Cave donated by Hans & Diana Strydom
2 Nights for 2 at Turtle Bay Beach Club Lode Vanhoutte
donated by Damian Davies
2 Nights for 2 at Kilaguni Serena Lodge Carole Hardman
donated by Jan Mahomed
2 Nights for 2 at Longonot Ranch House Billy Furnish
donated by Tony & Susie Church, Samwati Homes Ltd.
2 Nights for 2 at Manda Bay Robert Duff
donated by Fuzz & Bimbi Dyer and Andy & Caragh Roberts
1 Night for 2 at Chui Lodge Dave Darnborough
donated by Peter Zwager
1 Night for 2 at Satao Rock Camp Ron Darnborough
donated by Mike Kirkland
1 Night for 2 at Galdessa Camp Emma Thomas
donated by Max Cheli
Accommodation for 2 at Alliance Safari Beach Hotel Jodie Thomas
donated by Raymond Matiba
OUR OTHER WONDERFUL PRIZES
2 Return Tickets to the Masai Mara Nick Taylor
donated by Chris Cronchey
Scenic “Flight of Paradise” donated by Julie Trainer Frankie Faber
and Lunch at 40 Thieves donated by Hans & Diana Strydom
Dinner for 2 at The Tamarind Restaurant Pat Hemphill
donated by Hugh Walters
Haul out and Launch Dave Darnborough
donated by Rene Faber, Kilifi Boatyard Ltd.
KShs. 3,000:00 worth of Fishing Flies John Lockhart-Muir
donated by Johnny Onslow
KShs. 3,000 worth of Fishing Flies Garry Cullen
Donated by Joss Taylor
Discover Scuba Diving Course Marc, Diani
donated by Erwin & Esther Steiger
Fun Boat Sailing Course Pat Hemphill
donated by Erwin & Esther Steiger
3 Vouchers of KShs. 3,000:00 each for Capt. Andy’s Ron Darnborough
donated by Andy Thomas Jos Fielden
Pat Hemphill
2 Hampers from Dormans Ltd. Dave Darnborough
donated by Jeremy Block Sue Lawrence-Brown
A Hamper from Ma Cuisine Ltd. Hans & Diana Strydom
donated by Nicole Church
A Hamper of Wine, Glasses & Canapes Robin Nixon
donated by Howard & Sue Lawrence-Brown
A Photograph Album
donated by Denis Mathews, Matbronze Ltd. Carolla Rees
A Woollen Rug
donated by Anne Taylor Garry Cullen
Shirts & Kikoys
donated by Tony & Allison Allport, Aristos Safaris Ltd. Henry Henley
A Set of Cushions
donated by Penny Sandys-Lumsdane, Kamili Designs Ltd. Ken Oulton
A Pair of Binoculars
donated by Imran Moosa, Kiun Ltd. Henry Henley
4 Music DVDs Pat Borsato
donated by John Andrews
“Lettow-Vorbeck’s Soldiers” by Walther Dobbertin, 1932 Damian Davyes
donated by Gerald Rilling
E-mail Address
< eafricabk@ix.netcom.com>
A terrific list of prizes, I'm sure you'll all admit; tho' why I never win any I don't know!!
I have added the email address for Jerry Rilling, a specialist bookseller of Africana books, who was kind enough to donate this last prize, a private reprint of a book from World War 1 in East Africa, in case anyone is interested in his catalogue, just contact him; I have had some very interesting books from him.
Back to fishing, and going to end March:--
Pat Hemphill from Shimoni took Broadbill down to fish some clients from the Mnemba Island Resort in Zanzibar and found interesting fishing, catching three big sailfish one day, and playing a huge one around 55 kgs that eventually got off, the biggest sail he had seen for years. The next day, they tried in the direction of Pemba, and tagged a blue and a striped marlin far out, then while returning found a spot with very large sail, releasing three all about 35 kgs and raising several more the same size. This gave Broadbill a grand slam, her third of the season.
Clueless, fishing at the other end of Kenya from Lamu, found three black marlin and a couple of sail on the North Kenya Banks, and in the same area, Castle Lager, running up from Watamu on an overnight trip, boated a broadbill they estimated at 150 kgs but were unable to weigh it as there were no scales at a camp nearby. This must be one of the biggest of this species yet landed in Kenya.
Seahorse, fishing from Watamu with regular angler Billy Furnish, had a successful overnight in the South Mlima area, ending with four broadbill tagged, the two biggest of about 75 kgs, and with two sail as well, a good trip.
The boats are not so busy now as the season is coming to an end, and the wind is swinging about in all directions. There have been days when all boats found fish, like last Monday when, B's Nest tagged a black marlin for Sam Spicer, Clueless finished with two blacks and two sail, Ol Jogi, White Bear and Seahorse all had sail but most of them had lost a marlin as well!
Tarka also had a sail the previous day, and a marlin the day after, so a busy scene around the Banks, Mountains and Rips.
At Malindi, Malachite continued a successful run with a black of 65.5 kgs, while Neptune had two blacks earlier in the week. Snowgoose and Zambarani also had black marlin, and quite a few sail are still being caught, with half a dozen of these being raised some days by a boat, so they have not yet moved away from the Malindi/Ngomeni area.
This is the time of year when the dorado, or felusi in Swahili, start to build up their numbers, and there are plenty of these everywhere now from Lamu to Mombasa and south. At Mtwapa and Mombasa, both Bado and Instedda had catches of 100 kgs, mostly of these fish. This is probably the fastest growing fish we have, and they put on weight at an amazing rate, not surprising when one watches the shoals of them attacking everything that moves in the water. Five or six dorado on at once is not uncommon, and as they all run and jump in different directions, the line tangles have to be seen to be believed! It can take ten minutes to sort all the lines after this sort of attack!
In early April, heavy rain hit the north coast, with falls of two to three inches in the night, so with the month moving along, the fishing season will soon be coming to a close. Tourism also slackens off after Easter, and many hotels close next month for annual overhauls, while boat captains and crews are all happy to haul the boats from the water and take a rest.
The fish are still there, of course, but the main gamefish species, sailfish and marlin, see the start of the south-east monsoon as the signal for them to move on in their annual migration patterns, although not much is known about these.
This is one good reason for tagging fish, as recovered tags yield scientists the information necessary to understand the fish's life cycle and to manage fish stocks.
Sadly, in the Indian Ocean there is no management of fish stocks and it is interesting to note the words of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan "Certain fish stocks have declined to the point where their commercial value has become insignificant. Other stocks have been so substantially reduced that their biological survival is seriously threatened".
This is particularly relevant in Kenya, where dozens of foreign commercial vessels, long liners, purse seiners and trawlers, operate indiscriminately; while, sadly, so many are licensed here, there is no Environmental Impact Assessment to measure the long term effects on our fisheries, and no effective enforcement authority to monitor and ensure commercials do not operate in areas where they should not.
Most sports fishing boats are reporting catches of dorado or felusi, which is a good sporting fish and very good eating; while kingfish and giant trevally are also usually plentiful this month, with most of the latter species being tagged and released, as they are a resident species easily depleted.
Castle Lager has had good fishing after the return from the North Kenya banks area where they caught that huge broadbill around 160 kgs, which was too heavy for the available scales! A trip to the Rips yielded a blue marlin estimated at 100 kgs, and nine dorado as well, while a couple of days earlier they had another broadbill and two sail. Two days ago they tagged six giant trevally in the 20-30 kg range, with plenty of dorado as well, so these teams from South Africa have been kept busy.
From Hemingways, B's Nest released a couple of striped marlin for Bo and Joel Anderson - many anglers ask the skipper to get them a marlin, so it was great to satisfy two fishermen on the trip! With 13 dorado as well, a good day. The next day, Ol Jogi, not to be outdone, tagged a black marlin with David McCarthy from England on the rod, but on B's Nest's next trip the anglers had to be happy with a sailfish, two giant trevally and a dozen dorado - but this is as good a day as one might expect anywhere!
Paul Sheard fishing on B's Nest had a striped marlin last Sunday 9th April, the only marlin of the week recorded so far. With the wind set firmly in the south-east for the last few weeks, these fish are leaving the Rips and migrating, so perhaps this is the last one for this season? But black marlin should still be with us in the inshore areas such as the Banks, but there are also a lot of kingfish around and a few wahoo, and this 'toothy' brigade makes fishing with live bait difficult, as the baits are soon cut in half, while the wily kingfish usually avoids the hooks!
Ol Jogi was out with the Cullen family, and Philip Tilly tagged a good giant trevally of 40 kgs, and another smaller one was released, with some yellowfin and dorado completing the bag. B's Nest was successful with Paul Stevens tagging a sail and two GT's. Pete Darnborough took a load of kids out, tagging a sail and a GT and boating a wahoo and five dorado, so the family will have fish for Easter! The next day produced a similar catch, and there are some sail around on the Banks, where they often remain for a while after leaving the Malindi area on their southerly trek.
The week before, Seahorse had a busy overnight outside the Centre Mlima with Billy Furnish, three broadbill, a black marlin and two sail making up a good trip - all these fish were released as is customary among sport-fishers these days.
As it is now near the end of the season, not many trips are being made out of Malindi, tho' Malachite and Eclare did short trips, with kingfish, wahoo, felusi and frigate mackerel being caught, but some boats are already out of the water being overhauled, and weather permitting, there is always a boat working all through the off season, with black marlin expected to reappear in early July if past years are anything to go by.
So that brings the fishing news up to date, and probably to an end, as not much will be happening now, but if there is any news of interest we will try to send it round.
Otherwise, the new season kicks off in July, and with luck, we will find that the early run of black marlin starts, a good omen for the rest of the season. See you then!!
Capt Andy’s Fishing Supply
(www.fishingkenya.com)
FOR ALL YOUR FISHING TACKLE NEEDS,RODS,REELS,LINES,HOOKS & LURES
BOATS of ALL SIZES, and a new product line
for 2005: _ ZODIAC INFLATIBLES
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Watamu - Tel 254 (0)42 32131 - Fax 254 (0)42 32132
Email - captandy@iwayafrica.com
Mombasa - Tel 254 (0)41 471106 Fax 254 (0)41 471117
Email - mombasa@captandyskenya.com
Nairobi - Lenana Forest Centre, Ngong Road.
Tel 254 (0)20 577706.
Email - nairobi@captandyskenya.com
Kisumu - Tel 254 (0)57 41898
Email - captandy.ksm@africaonline.co.ke
The south-east wind blows, the marlin move on Kenya