Known locally as ‘suli suli’, Sails are by far the most numerous of the Billfish we have here. Finicky and sometimes skittish or playful, they can make a fool of the best of anglers at times, and are very dramatic when not over powered by excessively heavy tackle. Experienced anglers will know this spectacular acrobat is more fun on light tackle – just ask for it!

Click Here for a Sailfish Information sheet.

Sails will jump and slither across the surface of the water in a never to be forgotten display. Relatively easy to bring in when hooked (that’s the tricky part) the Sailfish is a milestone in any anglers’ early fishing experience.

There is a run of Sail just outside Watamu around August, while the main season off Malindi, a few miles north of here, runs November to March. Our Sail fishing is as good as almost anywhere in the world; four to six to the boat quite normal, with our best at twenty-three, all released!

Sails also make a tremendous and heart-stopping challenge when fished for on fly tackle.

Next comes the Royal Family of the fishy world: the Marlin. We have three types here - Striped, Blue and Black.

Striped Marlin
Stripies tend to run offshore in cleaner water and can travel in packs. Smaller and slimmer than the other two, this fish will still give a good account of itself.

Blue Marlin
A jumping Blue Marlin is the ultimate thrill as the power and fury of these fish under full throttle is simply awesome. Complete changes of direction by these fish will convince fishermen that there are two on at once and frantic re-routing of the boat is the order of the day as line is usually getting desperately low within seconds of the opening of hostilities.

A big Blue Marlin is a privilege to see and they are found usually in the deep water following the yellowfin or other tuna shoals. Some very big Blue Marlin can be expected mid February to mid March. Those who doubted the existence of thousand pound marlin off Kenya were put well in their place by the capture of a 1247lbs blue, caught by German angler Johannes Kramer on 18/3/95.

Black Marlin
Blacks come closer to shore and are often encountered in very shallow water. The buffalo of the species, this guy is tough. If you haven’t done your homework he’ll find you out and be gone. Often fighting deep, using his pectoral fins to hold him down in the water they are worthy adversaries.

Medium size Blacks can be expected around August/September, but the main season is from December to mid/late March. The 2000 season has seen a tremendous run in August with a dozen or more strikes to a boat in one day, with up to 5 fish tagged and released , by one boat!

Over the past five or six years, and at first entirely on a trial-and-error basis, some of the main operators of charter-fishing in Kenya have pioneered a new and offbeat attraction: overnight expeditions in search of the Broadbill swordfish. Such a venture does not appeal to everyone. But those who have sampled it acknowledge that it gives the rich tapestry of life a whole new dimension.

Although initially this was a search-and-hope operation, there is no great problem nowadays in knowing where to start. It has become a demonstrable fact that they congregate and feed where undersea topography plunges to give substantial depth of water. So skippers will employ a G.P.S. to head for one of their favoured waypoints, where the ideal depth will be between 1500 and 2000 feet.

Boats will often aim to get lines in at dusk, when everybody can just about see what they’re doing, and a strike at that time is not wholly unknown. But this is strictly a night-fishing enterprise. Like the lion on the plains, the Broadbill – with its prominent eyes – has no difficulty in finding prey during hours of darkness. And again like the lion, this fish will tend to "switch off" during full-moon periods, so that in practice: the darker the better.

Techniques have evolved through a cumulative process of learning and experimentation. The old system used to be drifting, whenever the current was running at a convenient 3 to 4 knots, while keeping the boat lights on, reckoning that this would attract squid and thus bring in the predators. At that time, squid was regarded as the "only" bait.

Drifting at night is never comfortable. And squid, however preciously presented, is not vital when none is available, Broadbill have been known to go for a chunk of bonito, or for frigate mackerel, half-beak garfish, or any sort of small fish they are really not fussy. Moreover, when drifting with bait, problems with sharks’ can often occur, while bits of the bait tend to get nipped-off by snake mackerel or whatever.

It is now agreed here that the best method is undoubtedly trolling, at something like 4 to 5 knots. This obviously covers more ground and brings attendant benefits in contexts of comfort, safety and resultant strikes. And the professionals are now convinced that bigger fish will be hooked when trolling than through any other technique.

All agree nowadays that boat lights should certainly be off, so that (human) eyes can get adjusted to the darkness, while the hunting circumstances for this predatory fish will be untainted. Lights may of course be put on for a while at the trace-grabbing moment, but not until then. It is important that light-sticks be used when trolling, either in the lure or (more often) where the swivel is on the leader.

The broadbill is arguably the strongest fighter in the ocean, and an experience not to be missed. So far mainly small broadies have been caught off Watamu, (i.e. 30 – 70kg) but 4 or 5 in a night is not uncommon.

Click here for a Broadbill Swordfish information sheet.

We have three species of Caraharinus here- Hammerheads, Tigers and the high leaping Mako. These are often caught while fishing for tuna; they also take Marlin baits fished live. We don't drift with chum or ‘rubby-dubby’ here - it doesn’t work due to the current.

A rarity off Kenya is the Great White shark, with a real whopper netted by local fishermen in 1995. Unfortunately the fishermen had quickly dismembered the fish for food before the whole fish could be weighed and photographed. The head alone weighed in at over 1000lb, with the whole fish estimated at 5-6,000lb!

Tiger sharks are being caught with ever increasing frequency and always give a good account of themselves.

Other shark species caught include bull sharks to 250kg, and Oceanic white-tips.

We do encourage the release of all sharks unless of record proportions are brilliantly supported by our clients who have come to prefer tagging than billing these magnificent fish.

World record size are here but these big ones have yet to be boated under the very strict IFGA regulations. Usually caught on live bait using down-riggers, they are very tough fighters.

They are slow-growing fish are generally tagged and released, as was this 38kg specimen caught by David Bird.

Click here for an information sheet for the Giant Trevally.

Known here as ‘Falusi’, elsewhere somewhat confusingly as ‘dolphin’, these fish come streaking across to your lures, iridescent with all the colours of the rainbow as they take to the air when feeling the hook.

Fabulous light tackle fish and great eating when prepared on the day of catch. Most run around 3 to 5 kg, though monsters of 25kg are occasionally caught here.

Click here for a Dorado information sheet.

Big Yellowfin (up to 200 lbs.) migrate past here between August and November (and sometimes come back again) and the ‘schoolie’ small Yellowfin are around virtually year round. Very strong fish and, with a big one being a good test of character, Yellowfin always give a powerful performance, invariably going deep. Another very worthy quarry on light spinning gear.

Skipjack, Kawakawa (bonito) and Frigate Mackerel swim in shoals surrounding and forcing small baitfish to the surface, making it boil and giving their position away. These fish make excellent bait, either fished whole, or as strips. Many never make it back to the boat, the toothy predators being so thick on the ground that many get nailed on the retrieve.